Ive always wondered why were the british in such a hurry to destroy the Bismark and the Tirpitz battleships that germany had. didnt the british had around 10 or more of their own? and even if they did, their massive fleet and airforce could have taken out the 2 ships pretty eaisly i would think. And why didnt hitler want more battleships to be made if the british feared them so much? even another one that would be a secret and held at one of germany's ports could have shifted the naval balance. thanks for anyone that answers
There were several reasons why the RN wanted to sink the German battleships. Firstly, a battleship that is on the surface, whether in port or not, represents a threat; a battleship that is underwater does not. The German battleships could make rapid sorties against Allied convoy routes. A battleship could easily destroy a convoy; and the RN did not have enough battleships to escort every single convoy. By destroying the German battleships, they removed this threat.
Secondly, the RN did not have enough battleships for all the tasks it had to complete. The RN did not only have to contend with the German fleet, it also had to hold off the Italian fleet, with its seven battleships, and the Japanese fleet. The Mediterranean Fleet had usually just five battleships, while the Eastern Fleet was always weak. By sinking the German battleships, the RN would release forces to take on these other, more significant threats. It's worth noting that the RN only strengthened Eastern Fleet after the last German capital ship, the Scharnhorst was sunk.
Finally, not every one of the British battleships was capable of taking out the German battleships; the five unmodernised Revenge-class ships were practically obsolete. They were well armed, but underarmoured, especially for 1941. The German battleships were, while built to a relatively old-fashioned design, used significantly more modern technology. The Queen Elizabeths were relatively obsolete as well, albeit only the unmodernised Barham and Valiant, and they spent most of their time in the Mediterranean.
Building more battleships, meanwhile, was difficult for Germany. Battleships needed steel, men and equipment. All of these were in short supply for the Germans, and were more useful for other things. Every ton of steel used to build a battleship was one that couldn't be used for building tanks. Building more ships was also difficult because Germany did not have the shipbuilding industry that Britain or the US did. With few slipways, the Germans could not build battleships in numbers, and so did not.