Johann Günther Lütjens was a German admiral whose military service spanned more than 30 years and two world wars. Lütjens is best known for his actions during World War II and his command of the battleship Bismarck during her foray into the Atlantic Ocean in 1941. He was killed in action during the last battle of the battleship Bismarck.
Lütjens in 1934
Berthold-Gymnasium Freiburg, 1900
German cruiser Karlsruhe off San Diego, California in 1934
Günther Lütjens in visit to Cali, Colombia 1935
German battleship Bismarck
Bismarck was the first of two Bismarck-class battleships built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. Named after Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the ship was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1936 and launched in February 1939. Work was completed in August 1940, when she was commissioned into the German fleet. Bismarck and her sister ship Tirpitz were the largest battleships ever built by Germany, and two of the largest built by any European power.
Bismarck in 1940
Bismarck in port in Hamburg
Bismarck on trials; the rangefinders had not yet been installed
Bismarck, photographed from Prinz Eugen, in the Baltic at the outset of Operation Rheinübung