Bismarck by madtatt - FINISHED – Trumpeter with Pontos set – 1:200 - PLASTIC

[Joe100]

Oh and don’t forget the depth charge racks and chlorosulfonic acid canisters stored on the main deck behind D turret. Two details oft missed. 
 

Bismarck carried 18 depth charges. Two racks were installed at the stern, each carrying 3 WBDs (water bombs). These weren’t for ASW, they were used to confuse enemy fall of shot spotting. 

 

[Jeff59]

On 8/31/2025 at 2:11 PM, Joe100 said:

The system on the bow you’re referring to is S-Anlage active sonar. The photos posted here predate the installation. The photo of the ship in dry dock, the colorized one, that was taken in the autumn of 1940, and the S-anlage equipment was likely installed around December. Details of this are sketchy due to the enormous secrecy the KM placed around all of its sonar, EMII, and EMIII devices. Here is an excerpt from my book:
 

Active and Passive Sound Systems

 

Codenamed Sonderfernsteueranlage (special remote control system), the Bismarck was fitted with the S-Anlage sonar system, an early active and passive sonar designed to detect ships, submarines, tethered mines, and even incoming torpedoes. The installation was located in Section XVI of the ship, with the main transmitting and receiving unit housed in a cut-out at the bulbous bow. In addition to this forward installation, two more oscillators were positioned further back on either side of the bow. The bow section itself could swivel up to 270°, providing a broad underwater scanning arc.

 

The S-Anlage operated by emitting a horizontal sound pulse and then recording the returning echoes, a principle essentially identical to later sonar technology. Information was displayed on a Braun tube (an early cathode-ray tube screen), where the distance to a detected object was measured in hectometers (1 hectometer = 100 meters). The system offered a maximum range of 15,000 meters (15 km) and an accuracy of ±2°, making it effective for determining both range and bearing.

 

In practice, the sonar was capable of identifying a variety of underwater threats, including submarines, surface ships, tethered mines, and torpedoes. Against torpedoes, in particular, it theoretically gave Bismarck some capacity to respond to incoming attacks. However, sonar technology in the early 1940s remained primitive, lacking the precision and real-time tracking ability of modern systems.

 

The equipment was developed by several manufacturers, including Atlas Werke (Bremen), Elac (Kiel), and AEG, although it is uncertain which company supplied the unit actually installed on Bismarck. While the S-Anlage represented a significant step forward, it was not advanced enough to deliver the kind of comprehensive situational awareness available with later generations of sonar. Nevertheless, its combination of active and passive capability, together with its swiveling detection head, marked it as a forerunner of more modern naval sonar systems.

 

No known photographs of Bismarck’s S-Anlage installation exist. Evidence suggests it was fitted in very late 1940; surviving photographs of the ship in drydock are either from before its installation or were deliberately censored to conceal the equipment.

 

 

So if you’re modeling Bismarck in 1941, she should be fitted with the S-Anlage in the bow. There is a grainy photo of the S-Anlage oscillators fitted to Lützow if you care to have a google.
 

Also fitted at the same time (~December 1940) were new propellers, but no photos of these exist. The variable pitch screws were removed and single cast screws installed. If this wasn’t carried out in December it was done by February 1941. 

Thanks for that information Joe, that kind of confirms my thoughts about there not being enough time to install this equipment during her short period in floating dock whilst getting her propellers and degaussing cable fitted, since lm depicting her on her maiden voyage 14th 15th Sep l can now make the choice to reseal these openings in hull 👍 Again thanks for that input 🤛

[Joe100]

No worries. Yeah, in 1940 she wouldn't have her S-anlage oscillators or the knockouts for them either. Also, her screws would be the variable pitch type. They were testing different angles on the blades to decide what to cast as the service screws. They used a single reduction gear and the screws turned really fast at full-chat, 270rpm in fact, and they were trying to get the cavitation under control. It's funny the germans thought double reduction gear was too complex... I can't remember if I mentioned it above or not, but it is unknown if they installed the single piece screws, there is no evidence they did, but she was in and out of dry dock a lot in the spring of 41, so it's possible.

 

Also, you'll need to leave off the rangefinders, and half the 105mm gun mounts for the September fit. She wore an experimental camouflage starting in October 1940, so if you want to paint her in that I have diagrams and photos. I don't think I've ever seen anyone model the ship in that scheme. It'd be the same equipment fit, but it'd be fun to see. 

 

The S-anlage equipment installed on Tirpitz is better documented. I have copies of the original KM drawings from '41 which show how the equipment was set up. Neat stuff. I've also heard a rumor that the S-anlage documents relating to Bismarck were found in the Bundesarchiv last year, or year before. I don't see them in the master archive list, but they may be in with other documents, so who knows.