The story of the World War II German battleship Bismarck is legendary. The massive warship was destroyed by British ships and planes and then scuttled by its crew in one of the most famous naval battles in the Atlantic during the war.

Bismarck, however, had a sister. The Tirpitz was commissioned into the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) in February 1941, and after a series of improvements, she weighed even more than the Bismarck. This was the heaviest battleship ever built by a European navy.

Tirpitz sliding down the slipway at her launch. Photo Credit.

The British Royal Navy and Royal Air Force each dedicated several missions to destroying this behemoth, finally succeeding in November 1944. Apart from the sizable periods of time the Tirpitz spent under repair from the damages the British caused in a few of the missions, she was effectively an entire fleet in one ship. So feared was the Tirpitz, that is, the British had to dedicate a huge counter-force to remain in the region, should the Germans release this beast in an attack.