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The Battleship Bismarck
The Battleship Bismarck
The Battleship Bismarck
Ebook694 pages8 hours

The Battleship Bismarck

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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The Bismarck is probably the most famous warship of WWII. The German battleship, 45,000 tons, was completed in early 1941 and went on to sink the 'Mighty Hood', pride of the Royal Navy, during one of the most sensational naval encounters ever. After a dramatic chase around the North Atlantic, involving many units of the Royal Navy, Bismarck was finally dispatched with gunfire and torpedoes on 27 May, less than five months after she was completed. Her wreck still lies where she sank, 4800m down and 960km off the west coast of France. The Battleship Bismarck is the finest documentation of this famous ship ever published. What makes this and all 'Anatomy of the Ship' volumes unique is a complete set of superbly executed line drawings, both the conventional type of plan as well as explanatory views, with fully descriptive keys. These are supported by technical details, photos and a record of the ship's service history. Complete with color references on the book cover as well as large scale plans on the interior flaps.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateOct 15, 2003
ISBN9781612512945
The Battleship Bismarck

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Rating: 3.8703703999999997 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Straightforward account of Bismarck's short life in service, ending in it's sinking in the Atlantic, in 1941, written by one of the few German survivors. The final third of the book covers the five years the author spent as a prisoner of war, in the UK and Canada, 1941-46.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is the only book written by a survivor of the Bismarck. von Mullenheim-Rechberg was an officer on the ship and for awhile was the Captain's adjutant . Eventually he was a gunnery officer in charge of sighting targets for the rear turret thus he should have had a good view of what was happening. However because of the ship's lack of control, and the damaged communications from the first hits, he was never ever very clear on what was going on. He did take a tour of the vessel during a lull in the action before the final destruction and it was not a comforting picture he described of a warship after a battle.He was assigned to the Bismarck while she was being built so he gives us a description of her development and early trials. Then he moves on to her one and only war patrol. Along the way he examines where the secrecy of the voyage may have been compromised. He incorporates both German and British sources to make clear to the reader what and why certain actions were taken. He examines some of the controversial elements of the voyage in his appendices. The main issue is whether the Captain and crew did everything they could have to repair the damaged rudder. He also addresses the moral on board after the Admiral addressed the ship's company with a decidedly negative report on their situation after the rudder damage. This is a very readable study prepared by someone who was there. Recommended.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I found this book to be an excellent read on the voyage of the Bismark and its destruction. Now there have been many books written on that subject and many of them would be considered pretty much the same, but the part of the book that really cinched it for me was the last part which detailed the prisoner of war camps in Canada and the interrogations in England. Here was something I hadn't read about before and you get inside information on what went on (and there were a few incidents, but no spoilers here!). That alone was worth the book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Less than 150 men out of crew of several thousand survived the sinking of the Bismarck. The author was the highest ranking officer to survive and he was a junior officer. This is the only memoir written by a survivor of the Bismarck and for that reason alone it merits five stars. That it’s well written by a brilliant, sensitive man just adds to the pleasure of reading it.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    the title is very descriptive. Müllenheim-Rechberg was one of the survivors and has researched a good deal of the background of the story from the German side.

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The Battleship Bismarck - Bukard Baron von Mullenheim-Rechberg

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