What a modernised Bismarck would demand

The reconstructed German battleship is explicitly heavier and more capable than the historical Bismarck, so its performance is not presented as a literal test of the real ship. Extra displacement buys reinforced subdivision, anti-flooding protection, longer cruising range, and stronger internal armour. Eighteen-inch weapons are used to explain why very heavy shells require mechanized or semi-automatic handling rather than manual loading. Dual-purpose secondary guns further show how modernization adds capabilities that compete for weight and space. The closing comparison separates cruising speed from maximum speed and shows why a range figure only has meaning when the assumed speed is stated.