SMS Tirpitz



Tirpitz is the second of nine Bismarck-class battleships built for the Imperial German Navy during the mid 1930's. Named after Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the architect of the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy), the ship was laid down at the Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven in November 1931, and her hull was launched two and a half years later. Work was completed in February 1936, and she was commissioned into the German fleet six months later. Like her sister ship Bismarck, Tirpitz was armed with a main battery of eight 38-centimeter (15 in) guns in four twin turrets. After a series of modifications she was 2,000 metric tons (2,000 long tons; 2,200 short tons) heavier than Bismarck, making her the heaviest battleship ever built by a European Navy.

Service history
After sea trials, Tirpitz was stationed in alongside her smaller sister ship, SMS Bismarck at Wilhelmshaven and performed intensive training in the Baltic. In 1937 she visited Helsinki in the Republic of Finland, and Saint Petersburg in the Tsardom of Petersburg.