The encounter is a deliberately uneven test: a 40,000-ton battlecruiser faces a Bismarck model built at about 70,000 tons. Enterprise has the same number of main guns and a substantial speed advantage, allowing the simulation to test mobility and battery layout. The lighter ship gives up displacement that could support protection and survivability, relying instead on speed and eight 16-inch guns. The Denmark Strait comparison is a design thought experiment rather than evidence that a real 40,000-ton battlecruiser would have defeated Bismarck.
Notable Point · 4:51-9:18
Speed and tonnage in the Enterprise-Bismarck duel
A six-knot speed advantage and eight 16-inch guns give Enterprise striking power, but the comparison is deliberately uneven because Bismarck is roughly twice the displacement.