ABSTRACT
On 25 July 1877, the corvette SMS Bismarck was launched at the Norddeutsche Schiffbau A.G. in Kiel. She was the embodiment of current naval technology, of a strategic philosophy, and of diplomatic concerns. Like the five sister-ships of her class, and like many other cruising warships of this period, the Bismarck had an iron hull but was sheathed in wood, and was equipped with two forms of propulsion: a steam engine and full rigging for sails. Throughout her career, the Bismarck was constantly on duty overseas, serving as the presence of the German Empire in distant waters. Her tasks included the protection of German commercial interests and German citizens abroad, the gathering of scientific data, and the enforcing of foreign policy and diplomacy as determined by the Foreign Office in Berlin. Such a warship symbolized an era of industry and empire, but, more specifically, she exemplified the conflicted doctrine and identity of a modern armed force projecting on a global scale the power of an ambitious state.
