Bismarck was the first of two Bismarck class battleships built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. The ship was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1936 and launched in February 1939. She was commissioned in August 1940.

The battleship Bismarck was the largest battleship ever built by Germany. Each barrel of her 15” guns which weighed 250,000 lbs could destroy a ship over 15 miles away. At 820 ft, she was  very heavily armored. The side armor was an advanced 15” thick Krupp steel. The hull was subdivided into 22 watertight compartments. 

Bismarck's beam of 118' gave her a high degree of stability at sea. With two rudders, the extraordinarily heavy ship could maneuver without tug assistance in narrow waters. The Bismarck battleship could reach an amazing top speed of 30.1 knots.
 

Less than a year after her commissioning, battleship Bismarck departed to participate in the battle of the Atlantic. On the 23rd of May, she disabled the HMS Norfolk. The following day, Bismarck demonstrated her power with her accurate main guns. In a mere eight-minute time, she blew up the finest and biggest battlecruiser of Royal Navy. She scored four hits on another ship and forced her to retreat.  

The day after, Bismarck was intercepted by a crushingly superior British Home Fleet force, including five battleships, nine cruisers and two aircraft carriers.

Yet even this concentration of naval force might was not able to sink Bismarck. After over 400 shells and 12 torpedoes had hit her and all her ammunition exhausted, the Bismarck was scuttled by her own crew and sank on May 27th, 1940, at 10:39 AM. All commanders died aboard. Only 115 sailors of a crew of 2,065 lived. 

British Admiral John Tovey wrote in his memoirs, "The Bismarck had put up a most gallant fight against impossible odds worthy of the old days of the Imperial German Navy, and she went down with her colors flying."

We build two versions of the battleship Bismarck model. Version 1 is as the Bismarck appeared during her sea trial in 1941. Version 2 portrays the battleship during Operation Rheinübung in which the black and white stripes on the hull were painted over and became very blurry. In this camouflage the Bismarck sank HMS Hood and wounded HMS Prince of Wales. This authentic feature requires high skill that ONLY is achieved my us. Just let us know which Bismarck model version you prefer.    

Dimensions and prices of Bismarck battleship model:

28" long $2,990  Shipping and insurance in the contiguous USA included, other places: $300. Note that this size does not have lighting. Built per commission only. We require only a small deposit to start the process $900  The remaining balance won't be due until the model is completed. Click here for current lead time.

50" long x 15.5" tall x 7" wide: $6,925 Shipping and insurance in the contiguous USA included, other places: $600. Lighting is powered by a standard 9v battery placed under the base for your convenience. This model (version 1) is in stock and can be shipped within five business days. This scratch-built, primarily wood Bismarck model a work of art. It is not a cheap kit whose hull is die cast and superstructure plastic. Our Bismarck battleship model has beautiful wood deck, not synthetic wood like that of Agora. The model is fully assembled so you don't have to spends many boring hours and the real possibility of failing to assemble hundreds of parts properly.