| July 1936 | Keel of Bismarck laid in Hamburg. |
| February 1939 | Bismarck launched. |
| August 1940 | Bismarck commissioned into the Kriegsmarine. |
| Sept–Nov 1940 | The Bismarck conducts sea trials in the Baltic Sea. |
| December 1940 | She returns to Hamburg for final outfitting. |
| 1941 | |
| March | Sails from Hamburg to Gotenhafen (Gdynia) on the Baltic. |
| April | Final sea trials and crew training exercises. |
| 5 May | Hitler inspects the Bismarck, accompanied by Admiral Lütjens. |
| 12 May | Admiral Lütjens and staff embark. |
| Sunday 18 May | |
| Start of Operation Rheinübung. | |
| 12pm | Bismarck slips her berth and anchors in Gotenhafen Bay to take on fuel and last-minute supplies. |
| Monday 19 May | |
| 2am | Bismarck proceeds to sea, accompanied by the Prinz Eugen. |
| 12pm | Rendezvous with two destroyers off island of Rügen. |
| 11.30pm | German Seekampfgruppe (naval task force) joined by a third destroyer. |
| Tuesday 20 May | |
| 2am | Seekampfgruppe begins four hour transit of the Great Belt in Danish waters. |
| 1pm | Bismarck sighted in the Kattegat by the Swedish cruiser Gotland. |
| Wednesday 21 May | |
| 8am | Seekampfgruppe enters the Korsfjord, near Bergen. |
| 11am | Bismarck anchors in the Grimstadfjord, an arm of the Korsfjord. |
| 1.15pm | Bismarck spotted by Coastal Command Reconnaissance Plane. |
| 8pm | Seekampfgruppe departs from the Korsfjord, and proceeds to sea, heading north. |
| Thursday 22 May | |
| 12.15am | Holland sails from Scapa Flow with Hood and Prince of Wales. |
| 2am | Bombing attack on the Grimstadfjord. |
| 4.20am | The German destroyers are detached, and return to the Korsfjord. |
| 12pm | Bismarck and Prinz Eugen in Norwegian Sea, still heading north at 24 knots. |
| 1.10pm | Course altered towards the Denmark Strait. |
| 9pm | Tovey learns that the Bismarck has sailed from Grimstadfjord. |
| 11pm | Tovey sails from Scapa with King George V and Victorious. |
| Friday 23 May | |
| 6pm | Seekampfgruppe approaches Denmark Strait, reaches limit of pack ice. Course altered to the south-west. |
| 7.22pm | Suffolk sights Bismarck, and reports her position. |
| 8.30pm | Bismarck sights Norfolk, and engages her, without scoring a hit. Forward radar damaged by the blast. Prinz Eugen takes the lead. |
| 10pm | British cruisers evade the Bismarck, and shadow her through the night. |
| Saturday 24 May | |
| Battle of the Denmark Strait. | |
| 5.37am | German Seekampfgruppe sights Hood and Prince of Wales at range of 17 miles (31km). |
| 5.52am | British ships open fire, Hood targeting Prinz Eugen, and Prince of Wales firing at Bismarck. |
| 5.54am | Prinz Eugen opens fire on Hood. |
| 5.55am | Bismarck opens fire on Hood. |
| 6am | Hood hit by salvo from Bismarck and blows up. |
| 6.02am | Bismarck switches fire to Prince of Wales, quickly scores hits. Prince of Wales also scores at least one hit on Bismarck. |
| 6.05am | Prince of Wales retires from the battle. |
| 6.09am | Bismarck ceases fire. Damage control report oil leak. |
| 12.40pm | Lütjens heads south, still shadowed by British cruisers. |
| 6.15pm | Prinz Eugen detached, leaving Bismarck to continue on alone. Owing to fuel leak Lütjens decides to put in to Saint-Nazaire. |
| Sunday 25 May | |
| 12.15am | Bismarck attacked by Swordfish from Victorious; one torpedo hit amidships, but no significant damage caused. |
| 1.31am | Bismarck engages Prince of Wales, but no hits are inflicted. |
| 3.15am | Bismarck alters course and evades pursuers. |
| 9.30am | Lütjens radios Germany, giving detailed report. The signal is intercepted. |
| Monday 26 May | |
| 10.30am | Bismarck spotted by Catalina flying boat. |
| 5.40pm | Sheffield locates and shadows Bismarck. |
| 9pm | Bismarck attacked by Swordfish from Ark Royal. Hit twice, and rudder jammed. |
| 9.30pm | Bismarck fires on Sheffield, but no hits inflicted. |
| 9.40pm | Lütjens radios Germany, reporting Bismarck can no longer manoeuvre. |
| 10.40pm | Bismarck shadowed by Polish destroyer Piorun and three British destroyers. |
| 11.59pm | Lütjens radios Germany, reporting hopeless situation. Speed now 7 knots. |
| Tuesday 27 May | |
| 7.10am | Lütjens sends final signal. |
| 8.45am | Bismarck sighted by Rodney and King George V. |
| 8.47am | Rodney opens fire. followed a minute later by King George V. |
| 8.49am | Bismarck returns fire. |
| 8.59am | Bismarck receives first 16in. hit from Rodney. Main gunnery director destroyed. |
| 9.02am | Forward turrets knocked out, after gunnery director put out of action. |
| 9.27am | Dora turret knocked out, fires raging. |
| 9.30am | Caesar turret knocked out – Bismarck’s guns now silenced. |
| 10.24am | Hit by two torpedoes from Dorsetshire, followed by a second salvo six minutes later. |
| 10.40am | Bismarck finally sinks. 116 survivors recovered from the water. |