Bismarck/Tirpitz construction & framing model

[madaboutbismarck]

Hello fellow Bismarck enthusiasts

I am a regular reader of this site and, a couple of others, I am wanting to request some help, in a huge project that I undertook 2 years ago.
I am a Marine designer and draughtsman, and come from a family heavily involved in the Shipping and marine field
2 Years ago I started collecting plans of Bismarck and Tirpitz from the various sources around the world, eg Bundesarchive, US national archives etc, in order to take on the mammoth job of building the ship as a 3d model, I know there are some very good models in 3d out there, however this one has a different purpose, it is a complete model, it has all framing, stringers Longitudinals, bulkheads, everything, and is also internally fitted out.
It is possible to examine every aspect of the ships construction, and to do walkthroughs of the ship, anywhere.
The way I have tackled this Is to start with the original lines plan, and examine all other drawings for offsets and measurements relating to the hull, also all sections, and bulkhead and longitudinal construction drawings.
These plans are then sometimes draw based on there measurements or sometimes are scanned into the 3d program I use and traced, the parts are then made into actual components and positioned in 3d space at there correct location, even lines plans are traced and all waterlines, buttocks and sections are then place in 3d space forming the skeleton of the ship.
After considerable time and tweaking of parts the whole comes together close enough to produce the hull surface, and from it can be drawn the armour plates and there recesses the openings and sea cocks, weld and rivet seams etc, then the inside.
I believe these to be very accurate, in most cases 1mm
The only thing I have not included is the furniture of the compartments
Compartmentation of the double bottom, and its framing are also drawn
In cases where there are no drawings of the ship I have resorted to books on naval architecture of the time that describe the practises of the German navy and shipbuilding of which there are few but most are printed between 1943- 1947
I would be very pleased to hear from other keen members who have knowledge of the technical side of her construction, and to somehow work with them on eliminating any errors that may have crept in.
I am just about ready to post some images of parts of this on a website, but not quite ready yet.
I have also had requests to provide drawings to model builders, including offsets for the hull, and all major features of her construction, this I will do, if needed
If anyone has seen the Anatomy of the ship Dreadnought, you will be familiar with the superb quality of the drawings and the construction details; this is what I am aiming for.
So far the file size of the model is near 120 MB so it is big, and required me to get my wife to build a server, which has been great, sped things up, no end
My wife is a computer programmer and does a lot of video and photographic editing and has been able to enhance video footage and photos of Bismarck to help with the job.
Thanks for taking the time to read this; any feedback would be greatly appreciated

Richard Dunn

[marcelo_malara]

Richard, I really wish I could help you, but I have no access to the info you need. On the other side, I am very glad someone is working on the kind of project you are undertaking, myself being a fun of all the technical aspects of warships. May be finally comes the date when we can all look at the building details of the most famous warship ever, more detailed than even Dreanought´s Anatomy.

Good luck!!!!

[Ulrich Rudofsky]

Two essential texts on German warship constructions are unfortunately not in English; however, the illustrations, formulae, and tables may be sufficient for an English-speaking engineer.

"Kriegsschiffbau" by H. Evers, 1st ed, 1931 or 2nd ed. 1943, Springer Verlag, Berlin.

"Kriegsschiffbau" by Wilhelm Hadeler, Volumes A & B, 1968, Wehr und Wissen Verlagsgesellschaft, Darmstadt.