Rem Wоrd - Diagonal encyclopedia. Bible of the Time

© Rem Wоrd, 2021

ISBN 978-5-0051-5050-9

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Fifth place. The German battleship Bismarck, the largest ship of its time. Displacement equipped – 50,000 tons (twice as high as that of an aircraft carrier), length 251 m, width 36 m, draft 10 m. Maximum speed 55 km. h., autonomous navigation range of 17,000 km. The main armament is eight 380 mm. cannons in four towers.

Bismarck is ready to open fire

With almost one salvo, the battleship sinks the heavy British cruiser Hood. Only three sailors are saved

Swordfish, one of the first effective torpedo bombers. Prior to that, it was believed that naval aviation was ineffective against well-armored warships. The first duel of the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau with the British aircraft carrier Glories off the coast of Norway a year earlier, ended in favor of the classic «artillery» ships

The last minutes of the super battleship. On the evening of May 24, 1941, the Bismarck receives a torpedo into the side from one of the seven Suordfish torpedo bombers that took off from the deck of an approaching aircraft carrier. The torpedo hits the armored belt (145—320 mm) and does not produce any special effect. The next day, the air attack is repeated. One of the three torpedoes damages the steering, so the ship begins to circulate. In this state, «Bismarck» has to take battle with two battleships, a cruiser and several destroyers. Roll negatively affects shooting accuracy. British shells destroy the rangefinder post and damage the turrets. The cruiser hits the super battleship with three torpedoes. The ship is turned upside down by the keel. Of the 2,220 people, 114 are saved (three are taken by the approaching German submarine).

When the ship is turned upside down by the keel, the main battery towers crumble from it.

«Bismarck» at the bottom. The depth is 4875 meters. The image is constructed from photographs taken at close range and sonar data. The survey was carried out by the British Deep Ocean Expeditions in June 2001, using Russian deep-diving vehicles Mir and a rented oceanographic vessel Akademik Mstislav Keldysh. Based on materials obtained during diving, the famous American director James Cameron shoots the film «Expedition» Bismarck»(2002)

Medium caliber towers

«Bismarck» at the bottom. Optical image

«Yamato» on the road. Fourth place. The photograph is not able to fully convey the scale of the superlinkor. By the spring of 1945, Japan has almost no combat-ready aircraft carriers. Now the war is reduced to confrontation between the Anglo-American Air Force and Japanese ships, armed only with artillery. The result of such a competition is clearly not in favor of the latter. The world’s largest battleship Yamato is sent to the shores of Okinawa to support the besieged Japanese garrison with nine powerful 460mm fire. guns.

«Yamato» in battle with the US aircraft carrier group. An artistic picture. The battleship’s displacement is 63 thousand tons, three times the corresponding characteristics of an aircraft carrier. It is 11 thousand tons higher than the Titanic. The first battle, October 22, 1944, turns out to be successful for the Yamato and four ships like it. The superlinkor opens fire on the American aircraft carrier from a distance of 27 km., And achieves hits. For one escort aircraft carrier, two destroyers and a destroyer, the Japanese pay with three heavy cruisers.

«Dountless», dive bomber, the most effective aircraft of the US carrier-based aircraft of the second half of World War II, the opponent of the Yamato. It is worth noting that thanks to the policy of free sale of old military equipment (with removed weapons) to private hands, North America has the best-preserved WW2 fleet. Including the world’s only flying attack aircraft Il-2

Photo – «Yamato» leaving the bombs, morning April 7, 1945

This time, on April 7, 1945, the Yamato and her escort were attacked by 227 carrier-based aircraft at once. The battleship receives 10 torpedo hits and 13 250-kg hits. aerial bombs. Photo – «Yamato» at the time of the explosion of one of the bombs on the deck.

A certain idea of what is happening on board the Yamato is given by a photograph of the same type of battleship Hyugu, after the bombing in August 1945, towed in shallow water

However, it remains afloat, and only an explosion in an artillery cellar of 460 mm. shells destroys the pride of the Imperial Navy. 3 thousand sailors are killed. Oddly enough, 260 people survive in the center of such a powerful, 500 tons of TNT explosion. Another 1200 people – damage to the escort group. The losses of the Americans – 10 aircraft and 12 pilots. Photo – explosion of «Yamato». Noon, 7 April 1945