page_title: SMS Bismarck
section_title: Service history
hierarchical_section_title: SMS Bismarck / Service history
context_page_description: SMS Bismarck was a Bismarck-class corvette built for the German Imperial Navy in the late 1870s. She was the lead ship of her class, which included five other vessels. The Bismarck-class corvettes were ordered as part of a major naval construction program in the early 1870s, and she was designed to serve as a fleet scout and on extended tours in Germany's colonial empire. Bismarck was laid down in November 1875, launched in July 1877, and was commissioned into the fleet in August 1878. She was armed with a battery of sixteen 15 cm guns and had a full ship rig to supplement her steam engine on long cruises abroad.
  Bismarck went on two major overseas cruises, the first in late 1878 to late 1880, which saw the ship visit South American ports and patrol the Central Pacific, where Germany had economic interests but no formal colonies at that time. During this cruise, she interfered with Samoan internal affairs and protected German interests in South America during the War of the Pacific. After returning to Germany, she was overhauled and received a new gun battery. Bismarck was reactivated in 1883 as Germany prepared to embark on the scramble for Africa.
context_section_description: The keel for Bismarck was laid down at the Norddeutsche Schiffbau AG (North German Shipyard) in Kiel in November 1875 under the contract name "B", which denoted that she was a new addition to the fleet, rather than a replacement for a vessel then in service. Her completed hull was launched on 25 July 1877; she was christened by Admiral Albrecht von Stosch, the head of the Kaiserliche Admiralität (Imperial Admiralty). The ship was commissioned on 27 August 1878 and thereafter began sea trials. These were completed by 1 October, when she was activated for an overseas deployment. Bismarck was transferred to Wilhelmshaven to be equipped for the voyage.
caption: Karl August Deinhard, the ship's commanding officer during her first deployment abroad
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