The Bismark-class were the most powerful German capital ships ever built, and one of the finest battleships in Europe at their time of commissioning. The Bismarks were the only true battleships in service with the Kriegsmarine during World War II, and featured a conventional armament arrangement of eight SK C/34 38-cm (15-in) guns in four double turrets; this made them the only German battleships aside from the WW1-era Bayern-class to mount guns of that size. Secondary armament consisted of a dozen 15-cm guns but these were not viable as dual purpose guns, thus requiring additional 10.5-cm anti-aircraft guns. These proved very effective thanks to the use of no less than six directors, and overall accuracy of all guns was excellent, as evidenced during its gun battle with the Royal Navy in the Denmark Strait. The Bismark's main drawback was its armor, which suffered from having a low deck and was vulnerable to long-range fire. Underwater protection was also less efficient than many of its contemporaries. On the positive side, their 30 knot speed was more than adequate (faster than the feared "pocket battleships" that preceded it), despite being the heaviest battleships in Europe when built. Both ships had memorable careers, although the Bismark was sunk in its first mission (not before it dramatically sunk the pride of the Royal Navy, the HMS Hood) whereas the Tirpitz managed to tie down a good part of the Royal Navy in Atlantic waters for over three years by its mere existence. Thus ended a tradition of excellent German battleship design that spanned over half a century and which reached its zenith with this class.

The Bismark had a short but legendary life. It was dispatched in May 1941 to raid Allied shipping in the North Atlantic and intercepted in the Denmark Strait by the HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Hood, the latter which was sunk in the ensuing gun duel. A subsequent strike by Swordfish torpedo bombers crippled its rudder after which it was sunk by the HMS Rodney and HMS King George V before it could reach the safety of French ports. As a result, its sister ship, the Tirpitz was kept at anchor in Norwegian fjords and attacked unsuccessfully by numerous methods including carrier aircraft and midget submarines until a November 1944 raid by Lancaster bombers armed with 12,000-lb Tallboy bombs finally sunk it.