Bismarck, << BIHZ mahrk, >> was a German battleship that was sunk in one of the most important naval actions of World War II (1939-1945). The Bismarck was one of the most powerful battleships afloat. It displaced more than 45,000 long tons (45,700 metric tons) of water and had eight 15-inch guns. Germany planned to use the ship to raid Atlantic Ocean shipping lanes.
British cruisers sighted the Bismarck in the Denmark Strait, between Greenland and Iceland, on May 23, 1941. The next day, the Bismarck sank the British battle cruiser Hood and damaged a new British battleship off the coast of Greenland. Every available British warship joined in a chase of the ship. The British sighted the Bismarck near France on May 26. British airplanes attacked the ship, and five destroyers fired at it all night. Two battleships and a cruiser attacked it the next morning. That same morning, it sank about 600 miles (970 kilometers) off the French coast. American researchers found the ship in 1989. An inspection showed that the Germans may have sunk the Bismarck to keep the British from seizing it.
See also Hood .
