Scharnhorst class battleship
Encyclopedia
The Scharnhorst class were the first capital ships, alternatively referred to as battlecruiser
s or battleship
s, built for the German Navy (Kriegsmarine
) after World War I
. The class comprised two vessels: the lead ship
Scharnhorst
and Gneisenau. Scharnhorst was launched first, and so she is considered to be the lead ship by some sources; however, they are also referred to as the Gneisenau class in some other sources, as Gneisenau was the first to be laid down and commissioned. They marked the beginning of German naval rearmament after the Treaty of Versailles
. The ships were armed with nine 28 cm (11 in) SK C/34 guns in three triple turrets, though there were plans to replace these weapons with six 38 cm (15 in) SK C/34 guns in twin turrets.
The two ships were laid down in 1935, launched in late 1936, and commissioned into the German fleet by early 1939. Scharnhorst and Gneisenau operated together for much of the early portion of World War II
, including sorties into the Atlantic to raid British merchant shipping. The two ships participated in Operation Weserübung
, the German invasion of Norway. During operations off Norway, the two ships engaged the battlecruiser and sank the aircraft carrier — in the engagement with Glorious, Scharnhorst achieved one of the longest-range naval gunfire hits in history. In early 1942, the two ships made a daylight dash up the English Channel
from occupied France to Germany.
In late 1942, Gneisenau was heavily damaged in an Allied air raid against Kiel
. In early 1943, Scharnhorst joined the Tirpitz
in Norway to interdict Allied convoys to the Soviet Union. Scharnhorst and several destroyer
s sortied from Norway to attack a convoy; the Germans were instead intercepted by British naval patrols. During the battle of North Cape
, the Royal Navy
battleship sank Scharnhorst. In the meantime, repair work on Gneisenau had begun, and the ship was in the process of being rearmed. However, when Scharnhorst was sunk, work on her sister was abandoned. Instead, she was sunk as a blockship
in Gdynia
in 1945; the wreck was broken up for scrap in the 1950s.
This book states the classification of each class of capital ship, and states that the , , , , , , , and class ships were classified as Linienschiffe (ship of the line). and Panzerschiffe (armoured ship).Gröner, pp 5–14.
This book states that the , , , and classes were classified as Panzerschiffe, and the and classes were classified as 4th rate Panzerschiffe. Contemporary British sources classified these Panzerschiffe as battleships and the 4th rate Panzerschiffe as coast defence ships. For example: the Naval Annual, 1888–89 p76
lists the , Friedrich Carl, , Hansa, Preußen, , Sachsen, and Oldenburg classes as battleships. The Naval Annual, 1899 pp81-4 lists Brandenburg and Kaiser Friedrich III classes as 1st class battleships, the Sachsen, Oldenburg, and Kaiser classes as 3rd class battleships, and the Siegfried and Odin classes as coast defence ships.
Their adversary, the Royal Navy
rated them as battlecruisers though after the war classified them as battleships. Jane's Fighting Ships 1940 lists both the Scharnhorst and Bismarck
classes as "Battleships (Schlachtschiffe)" Another adversary, the United States Navy
, rated them as battleships. In English language reference works they are sometimes referred to as battleships and sometimes as battlecruisers.For example, William Garzke's and Robert Dulin's Battleships: Axis and Neutral Battleships in World War II refer to the ships as battlecruisers, while Conway Maritime Press's All the World's Battleships 1906–Present call them battleships. See pages 127 and 43, respectively.
, which established the terms concluding World War I, restricted German naval shipbuilding to cruisers displacing no more than 10000 long tons (11,200 ST). Debates in Germany over the role and size of its navy continued through the 1920s, when increased naval shipbuilding in France and the Soviet Union prompted the Germans to begin drawing up designs for large capital ships. The first design, completed in 1928, called for a 17500 long tons (19,600.1 ST) battlecruiser armed with eight 30.5 cm (12 in) guns in four twin gun turret
s. In 1933, Adolf Hitler
came to power in Germany; he made clear to the naval command that he had no intention of building a large fleet to challenge British supremacy at sea. He was primarily concerned with the possibility of a limited war with France, which would require the protection of German sea lanes. To this end, he authorized two more ships—the D class
—to augment the three Panzerschiffe (armoured ships). These ships would displace 19,000 tons and have the same armament and speed as the Panzerschiffe; the extra tonnage would be taken up by increased protection. Hitler wanted to follow this course so he would not be seen as overtly flaunting the Treaty of Versailles. However, he did not realize that such "unsinkable" commerce raiders would provoke Great Britain more severely than 26,000-ton battlecruisers armed with 28.3 cm (11.1 inch) guns, which would be perceived as inferior to all the Royal Navy battleships and battlecruisers then in commission.
To combat the German Panzerschiffe, the French built two small s in the early 1930s. This in turn prompted the German navy to begin plans for a more powerful battlecruiser design. Since 1933, Erich Raeder
, the head of the German Navy, had argued to increase the defensive qualities of the Panzerschiffe, and to increase the offensive power of the main battery with the addition of a third triple turret. This was also the view of the Kriegsmarine
, which saw the 19,000-ton design as being unbalanced. Hitler agreed to increased armour protection and internal subdivision, but refused to permit an increase in armament. Finally, by February 1934, Hitler acquiesced over the addition of the third turret. The new ship would displace 26000 long tons (29,120.1 ST) and be armed with nine 28.3 cm guns in three triple turrets. To secure political freedom to build the new ships, Hitler concluded the 1935 Anglo-German Naval Agreement
, which guaranteed Great Britain a 3 to 1 superiority in capital ships, and, more importantly, removed the limitations on warship displacement for the German navy.
The construction of new D class cruisers were canceled to make way for Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. The provisional names of the planned D class cruisers, Ersatz
Elsaß and Ersatz Hessen, were reallocated to the new ships, the contracts for which were awarded to the Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven
and the Deutsche Werke
in Kiel
. Construction was held up by 14 months, partly because Hitler wanted to secure the treaty with Britain before work began, and partly due to numerous design changes after the ships had been ordered.
Because the maximum calibre of naval gun allowed under the Anglo-German Naval Agreement was 40.6 cm (16 inch), Hitler soon had second thoughts about the guns to be used for the new ships and ordered that they be armed with 38 cm (15 inch) weapons. However, the 28.3 cm turrets were readily available; 38 cm turrets would take years to develop, and Hitler wanted capital ships as soon as possible to fulfill his political ideals. He was also reminded that, despite the allowances of the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, the British had historically been sensitive about increases in main gun calibers aboard German capital ships. He therefore acquiesced to the ships' being armed with 28.3 cm guns, with the provison that they be upgunned to 38 cm at the earliest opportunity. The 38 cm turret was eventually used in the Bismarck class battleships
.
Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were 226 m (741.5 ft) long at the waterline; Scharnhorst was 234.9 m (770.7 ft) long overall, while Gneisenau had a slightly shorter overall length, at 229.8 m (753.9 ft). The ships both had a beam
of 30 m (98.4 ft). They were designed to displace 35540 MT (34,978.6 LT), which would have given the ships a draft
of 9.1 m (29.9 ft). At standard displacement of 32100 LT, which reduced draft to 8.3 m (27.2 ft), while at a full combat load of 38100 LT, draft increased to 9.9 m (32.5 ft). The ships' hulls were constructed from longitudinal steel frames, over which the outer hull plates were welded. Their hulls contained 21 watertight compartments and had a double bottom
for 79% of their length.
The German navy considered the ships to be poor sea boats; they were bow-heavy when fully equipped and very "wet" as high as the bridge. This problem was mitigated to some extent by the installation of an "Atlantic bow" in January and August 1939 to Gneisenau and Scharnhorst respectively, though use of the "A" turret remained restricted in heavy seas. The ships had rear problems as well; their stern was also frequently "wet" and the ships were very slow entering a turn. They always required assistance from tugboat
s in shallow waters. With the rudder
hard over, the ships lost over 50% speed and heeled over more than 10°. During trials, the ships heeled as much as 13° at hard rudder.
Scharnhorst and Gneisenau had a crew of between 56–to 60–officers and 1,613–to 1,780–enlisted men. The crew was augmented by another 10 officers and 61 men when serving as a squadron flagship
. They carried a number of smaller watercraft, including two picket boats, two launches
, two barges, two pinnace
s, two cutters, two yawl
s, and two dinghies
.
Scharnhorst was powered by three Brown, Boveri, & Co
geared steam turbine
s, while Gneisenau was equipped with three Germania
geared turbines. The turbines drove three-bladed screws that were 4.8 m (15.7 ft) in diameter. Steam was provided to the turbines by 12 Wagner ultra-high-pressure oil-fired boilers, which produced pressures up to 58 standard atmospheres (5,876,850 Pa) and temperatures up to 450 °C (842 °F). The engines were rated at 160,000 shaft horsepower (shp) at 265 revolutions per minute
(rpm), and on trials produced up to 165,930 shp at 280 rpm. When steaming in reverse, the engines were rated for 57,000 shp. The ships had a designed speed of 31 knots (16.9 m/s), though on trials both vessels beat their designed speeds—Scharnhorst hit 31.5 knots (17.1 m/s) and Gneisenau made 31.3 kn (17 m/s). The ships carried 2800 metric tons (2,755.8 LT) of fuel oil as designed, though additional storage areas, including hull spaces between the belt and torpedo bulkhead
, increased capacity to 5080 metric tons (4,999.8 LT). At maximum fuel load, the ships were expected to steam for 8100 nautical miles (15,001.2 km) at a cruising speed of 19 kn (10.3 m/s); however, Scharnhorst reached only 7100 nmi (13,149.2 km) at 19 knots, while Gneisenau managed only 6200 nmi (11,482.4 km) at that speed.
Electrical power was supplied to the ships by five electricity plants. Each plant consisted of four diesel generators and eight turbo-generators. The four diesel generators were divided into pairs: two provided 150 kilowatts each and two supplied 300 kW each. The eight turbo-generators were also of mixed capacity; six ran supplied 460 kW each and the remaining two provided 230 kW each. Total power output was 4,120 kW at 220 volt
s.
s, two forward and one aft. These guns were an improvement over the earlier 28.3 cm SK C/28 guns mounted on the Deutschland class cruisers. While the 28.3 cm guns were of a smaller caliber than main guns of other navies, they were still preferred by a number of gunnery officers in the Kriegsmarine due to their higher rate of fire. The guns were equipped with three different types of shells, an armour-piercing
(AP) L/4,4 shell that weighed 330 kg (727.5 lb) and two high explosive (HE) shells that both weighed 315 kg (694.4 lb)— an L/4,4 type with a base fuse and an L/4,5 version with a nose fuse. All three types of shells used the same propellant
charges: an RPC/38 42.5 kg (93.7 lb) fore charge and an RPC/38 76.5 kg (168.6 lb) main charge. They fired these shells at a rate of fire
of 3.5 rounds per minute. Muzzle velocity
for the AP shells was 890 meters per second (2,920 feet per second); the guns were expected to fire 300 rounds before enough wear had been incurred to warrant replacement. Scharnhorsts and Gneisenaus guns were mounted in three Drh LC/34 turrets. The turrets were named, in alphabetical order from the bow of the ship: "Anton", "Bruno" and "Cäsar". Similarly to most other German installations, those turrets had an electric system of rotation, but all other operations were hydraulic systems. Although rotating mass of the turret was 750 tonnes (internal barbette diameter 10.2 m), traversing speed was quite good – 7.2 deg/sec. The turrets allowed depression of the guns to −8° and elevation to 40° for "A" and "C" turrets, while "B" turret was capable of depressing to −9°. At maximum elevation, the guns could hit targets out to 40,930 m (44,760 yards).
The ships carried a secondary battery of twelve 15 cm SK C/28
L/55 quick-firing guns. The guns were mounted in four Drh L. C/34 twin turrets and four MPL/35 pedestal mounts. Both the turrets and pedestal mounts enabled barrel depression to −10°; the turrets allowed elevation to 40° while the pedestals limited it to 35°. These guns fired 45.3 kg (99.87 lb) shells at a rate of 6–8 per minute. They were expected to fire 1,100 rounds before barrel wear made repair or replacement necessary. The guns in pedestals had a range of 22,000 m (24,060 yd), while those in the turrets, capable of 5 more degrees of elevation, had a slightly longer range, at 23,000 m (25,153 yd). They were supplied with between 1,600–1,800 shells, or 133–150 shells per gun.
Their anti-aircraft battery consisted of fourteen 10.5 cm C/33
L/65 guns, sixteen 3.7 cm L/83 guns, and between ten to twenty 2 cm guns. The 10.5 cm guns fired at a rate of 15–18 rounds per minute, and had an effective ceiling of 12,500 m (41,010 feet). They were mounted in six Dop. L. C/31 twin mounts amidships, which allowed depression to −8° and elevation to 80°. When used to engage surface targets, the guns had a maximum range of 17,700 m (19,357 yd) at an elevation of 45°. The 3.7 cm guns were placed in eight manually-operated Dopp LC/30 twin mounts. At 85°, they had an effective ceiling of 6,800 m (22,310 ft), though tracer
s were limited to 4,800 m (15,750 ft). They had a rate of fire of 30 rounds per minute.
After 1942, six 53.3 cm deck-mounted torpedo tubes were taken from the light cruiser
s Leipzig
and Nürnberg
and installed on the ships. The tubes were supplied with 18 torpedoes. The torpedoes were 7.186 m (23 ft 7 in) long and carried a 300 kg (661 lb) Hexanite
warhead. They could be set for three speeds: 30 kn (16.3 m/s), 40 kn (21.8 m/s), and 44 kn (24 m/s). At 30 knots, the torpedoes had a range of 14,000 m (15,300 yd); at 40 knots, the range fell considerably, to 8,000 m (8,750 m). At 44 knots, the range was reduced even further, to 6,000 m (6,560 yd). It was later found that the 44 kn speed caused the engine to overheat, and after this discovery, its use was discontinued.
Both Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were equipped with two sets of Seetakt radar
. One was mounted on the forward gun director, which was located on top of the bridge. The second radar set was emplaced on the rear main battery gun director. The Seetakt sets operated at 368 megacycles, initially at 14 kW, though the sets were upgraded to operate at 100 kW, on the 80 cm wavelength
.
The Scharnhorst class ships were equipped with Krupp
armour. Their upper armoured deck was 50 mm (2 in) thick, and backed by the main armour deck. This deck was 20 mm (0.78740157480315 in) thick aft, increased to 50 mm in the central portion of the ship that contained the ammunition magazines and machinery spaces, and decreased down to 20 mm in the bow. It was supported by 105 mm (4.1 in) thick slopes on either longitudinal side. The slopes connected to the lower edge of the main belt, an arrangement referred to as the "turtle deck." The slopes significantly increased armour protection in the critical areas of the ship. The ships' vitals were well armoured against any caliber shell fired by battleships at the time at ranges where the shell would have to penetrate both the main belt and the sloping deck. At very long ranges, however, the deck armour could be easily penetrated by heavy-caliber shells. All of these sections were composed of Wotan Hart (Wotan Hard) steel.Wotan Hart armour had a breaking strength of 85–96 kg/sq mm, and would expand up to 20%. Wotan Weich armour had a breaking strength of 65–75 kg/sq mm, and expanded up to 25%. See: Gröner, p. x The armoured belt was 350 mm (13.8 in) thick in the central portion of the ship, where the critical areas of the ship were located. Forward of the "A" turret the belt was reduced to 150 mm (5.9 in), which tapered down to zero at the bow of the ship. Aft of the rear gun turret the belt decreased to 200 mm (7.9 in), and eventually tapered down to nothing at the stern. The central portion of the belt was backed by 170 mm (6.7 in) thick shields. The belt armour was composed of Krupp Cemented steel (KC). The side protection system could not be penetrated by a 1016 kg (2,239.9 lb) 406 mm (16 in) shell at any range over 11000 m (12,029.7 yd).
The forward conning tower
had 350 mm-thick sides and a roof that was 200 mm-thick. The rear conning tower was less well armoured, with sides and a roof that were only 100 mm (3.9 in) and 50 mm thick, respectively. The gun turrets for the main battery had 360 mm (14.2 in) thick faces, 200 mm thick sides, and 150 mm thick roofs. The barbette
s that held the 28 cm gun turrets were also heavily armoured; the sides were 350 mm thick and tapered down to 200 mm on the centerline, where they were shielded by the gun turrets above. The faces of the 15 cm turrets were 140 mm (5.5 in) thick, with 60 mm (2.4 in) thick sides and 50 mm thick roofs. The 10.5 cm gun mounts were equipped with 20 mm (0.78740157480315 in) gun shields. All of this armour was KC steel.
The underwater protection system was designed to withstand a direct hit from a 250 kg (551.2 lb) explosive warhead; British aerial torpedo
es had smaller warheads than this, though their ship-launched weapons were more powerful. The navy conducted several full-scale underwater explosion tests with sections of armour cut from the old pre-dreadnought
. The tests revealed that welded steel construction better withstood the impact of the 250 kg warhead than did rivet
ed steel plates. However, the torpedo bulkhead
, composed of Wotan Weich (Wotan, soft) steel, placed behind the armoured belt was riveted; this was done because plate joints that had been incorrectly welded would not sufficiently withstand explosive shocks. The underwater protection system was constructed out of several layers: the outer layer that was between 12–66 mm (.47–2.6 in) thick, directly underneath the main armoured belt, was designed to detonate the torpedo warhead. Behind the outer plate was a large void which would allow gases from the explosion to expand and dissipate. Beyond this was a fuel bunker with an 8 mm (0.31496062992126 in) thick outer wall; this would absorb any remaining explosive force. The bunker was supported by longitudinal stiffeners and transverse bulkheads.
The underwater side protection had numerous faults, however. It was extremely strong amidships, but weakened on either end of the citadel. The underwater protection could only stop a 200 kg (440.9 lb) warhead in these areas. Another significant weakness in the design was the arrangement of the torpedo bulkhead. It was connected to the lower portion of the sloped deck, at an angle of 10°; two riveted angled bars held it in place. The bars were constantly under a great deal of stress, due to normal bending forces in the hull. When combined with the explosive force of a torpedo warhead, the bars could not sustain the increased pressure and could fail. Also, the beam of 30 m meant that the protection system had to be weaker around the main battery turrets, as a significant amount of the hull space was taken up by the magazines and barbettes.
Gneisenau was laid down on 3 May 1935 at the Deutsche Werke
in Kiel. She was launched on 8 December 1936, and completed on 21 May 1938. During her launch, the ship sustained minor damage to her stern; the chains slowing her slide down the slipway broke, and the ship drifted too far and became beached on the opposite shore. After her commissioning, Gneisenau spent the first year of her career conducting trials and training cruises in the Baltic Sea
. The cruises revealed the wetness of the bow and bridge; in January 1939 her "Atlantic bow" was installed. Scharnhorst was laid down at the Kriegsmarinewerft
in Wilhelmshaven
, on 16 May 1935. She was launched on 30 June 1936 and completed on 7 January 1939. In mid 1939, the ship conducted trials in the Baltic Sea
; as with Gneisenau, the ship's low freeboard
necessitated the installation of the "Atlantic bow", which was completed in August 1939. During that refit, a large hangar for the ship's aircraft was added amidships. The ship emerged from the dockyard in October.
On 21 November, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, the light cruiser
s Köln
and Leipzig
, and several destroyers conducted a sweep between Iceland and the Faroe Islands
; during the operation, the German ships encountered the British armed merchant cruiser ; Scharnhorst sank the ship, but in the process sustained a hit from one of Rawalpindis 152 mm guns. Scharnhorst stopped to pick up survivors, but the arrival of the cruiser prompted the German ships to withdraw.
On 7 April 1940, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau formed the primary covering force for the invasions of Narvik
and Trondheim
in Norway during Operation Weserübung
. At 04:30 on 9 April, the Seetakt radar on Gneisenau picked up a contact; both ships went to battle stations. Half an hour later, muzzle flashes were observed, from what turned out to be the old battlecruiser which had been part of the cover for a British minelaying
operation. The British battlecruiser initially targeted Gneisenau, at a range of 11800 m (12,904.6 yd). In the span of five minutes, Gneisenau hit Renown twice, but sustained one 15" and two 4.5 hits in return. One of the two 4.5" hits disabled Gneisenaus A turret, The 15" hit destroyed the main armament fire control station, and knocked out her Seetakt radar. Scharnhorsts gunnery radar suffered technical problems, which prevented her from effectively engaging Renown. The British ship engaged Scharnhorst for a brief period starting at 05:18, though effective maneuvering by Scharnhorst allowed her to escape unhit. Fears that the destroyers escorting Renown might make a torpedo attack prompted the German commander to break off the engagement. By 07:15, the German ships had escaped from the slower Renown. In the course of their escape Scharnhorst suffered from damage to her A turret caused by the heavy seas coming over her bows. Scharnhorst and Gneisenau rendezvoused with the heavy cruiser
Admiral Hipper
before proceeding to Wilhelmshaven.
Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, with Admiral Hipper and four destroyers, departed again on 4 June. After operations in the North Sea that resulted in the sinking of several British transports, Admiral Hipper and the destroyers were detached to refuel in occupied Norway. At 16:45 on 8 June, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau spotted the British aircraft carrier
, which was escorted by the destroyers and , at a range of around 50000 m (54,680.7 yd). The destroyers laid a smoke screen in an attempt to hide the carrier, but the Germans quickly closed the distance. At 17:26, the range had decreased by half, to around 25000 metres (27,340.3 yd), and both German ships opened fire. Scharnhorst struck Glorious at a range of approximately 24200 m (26,465.4 yd), one of the longest recorded hits in the history of naval gunfire.The British battleship scored a hit on the Italian battleship Giulio Cesare
at the Battle of Calabria
in 1940 at approximately the same range. Glorious was hit by at least three shells and reduced to a burning hulk. At 19:00, the ship capsized and sank. Scharnhorst shifted fire to Ardent while Gneisenau engaged Acasta; both ships sank their targets. Before she sank, Acasta launched four torpedoes at Scharnhorst; the ship evaded three, though the fourth struck the starboard side near the rear gun turret. During the engagement, Scharnhorst fired 212 main battery shells.
The torpedo hit caused significant damage to Scharnhorst; several watertight compartments, including parts of the starboard engine room, were flooded, she took on a list of 3°, and she was 3 m (9.8 ft) down by the stern. The two ships withdrew to Trondheim, though Scharnhorst was limited to a speed of 20 knots (10.9 m/s)—they arrived in the afternoon of 9 June. On June 11, 12 Hudson
bombers from the RAF attempted to bomb Scharnhorst; they all missed their target. Another air raid, this time 15 Blackburn Skua
s launched by the Royal Navy
's , followed on 13 June. The Luftwaffe
intercepted the raid and shot down eight of the aircraft, though seven made it through to the ship. Only one bomb found its mark, but it failed to explode. On 20 June, enough repair work had been done to permit the ship to sail down to Kiel. Two air attacks followed, but anti-aircraft fire from Scharnhorst and her escorts drove them both back. Reports of British ships in the area forced the ship to seek refuge in Stavanger
for two days, before she resumed the journey to Kiel. Repairs were effected over the following six months.
, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau broke into the Atlantic in late January 1941 to raid convoys between North America and Great Britain. On 8 February, they spotted a convoy, HX 106, but it was escorted by the battleship , armed with eight 38 cm (15 in) guns. The German ships therefore broke off the attack. A second convoy was encountered on 22 February; Scharnhorst sank the tanker Lustrous, while Gneisenau accounted for four cargo ships. On 8 March, Scharnhorst spotted another convoy, but it too had battleship protection, in the form of . A week later, on the 15th, another convoy was intercepted; Scharnhorst sank two vessels while Gneisenau captured three and sank one. Following the engagement, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau headed for Brest
in occupied France; they arrived by 22 March.
On 6 April, four Beaufort
torpedo-bombers attacked Gneisenau in port. Only one of the aircraft attacked successfully; the hit did significant damage to the ship. Gneisenau shipped some 3050 metric tons (3,001.8 LT) of water, which caused her to list 2° and settle lower in the water. The shock force of the explosion also did a great deal of internal damage; fuel tanks were ruptured and electrical systems were damaged. A salvage tugboat was brought alongside to assist in flood control. Gneisenau was put into dry dock for repairs, which were prolonged by further British air raids. On the night of 9–10 April, British high-level bombers attacked both Gneisenau and Scharnhorst. The latter escaped unscathed, but the former was struck four times; 72 men were killed and another 90 were wounded.
While docked in La Pallice on 24 July, Scharnhorst was attacked by several squadrons of Halifax
bombers; five bombs—two high explosive 227 kg (500.4 lb) and three semi-AP 454 kg (1,000.9 lb)—found their mark. Two 454 kg bomb managed to penetrate both armoured decks, all the way down through the double bottom, before coming to rest on the sea floor; it however failed to explode. The third also failed to detonate. One of the 227 kg bombs penetrated the upper deck just forward of the rear gun turret, and exploded on the main armoured deck. The last bomb fell on the starboard side and also detonated on the main armour deck. The ship listed at 8°, after having taken in between 1520 long tons (1,702.4 ST) and 3050 long tons (3,416 ST) of water. Casualties amounted to two men killed and 15 wounded. The following day Scharnhorst arrived in Brest for repairs, which lasted for four months.
made preparations for Operation Cerberus
, a daylight dash up the English Channel
. The ships were to be redeployed to Norway, to assist in the disruption of convoys to the Soviet Union, as well as the defence of occupied Norway. The ships left Brest late on 11 February, and remained undetected for the majority of the operation. East of Dover
, a flight of six Swordfish
torpedo bombers attacked the ships without result. At 15:31, Scharnhorst struck a magnetic mine, which damaged the ship's circuit breakers enough to shut down the entire electrical system. The ship was immobilized briefly—between 15:49 and 16:01, all three turbines were restarted and the ship resumed a speed of 27 kn (14.7 m/s). A series of air attacks ensued, though through evasive maneuvers, anti-aircraft fire, and Luftwaffe fighters, they were all repulsed. By noon on 13 February, Scharnhorst had reached Wilhelmshaven, though after two days she was transferred to Kiel for repairs, which lasted until July 1942.
Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen had continued their journey to Norway while Scharnhorst was immobilized. At 14:45, the ships were attacked by five Whirlwind fighter-bombers—German fighters beat them back. Several more air attacks followed over the next two hours, though without success for the British. At 16:17, five British destroyers attempted to torpedo the German ships, but heavy fire from Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen mauled one and forced the others to turn away. Near Terschelling
, Gneisenau struck a mine that did minor damage to the hull, though the explosive shock damaged one of her three turbines. Her captain ordered the ship to stop while temporary repairs were conducted, which lasted for about 30 minutes. By 03:50 on 13 February, the ship had reached Helgoland.
. Repairs lasted until 26 February. On 8 March, Scharnhorst and four destroyers departed Gdynia; she arrived off Narvik on 14 March. For 6 months, fuel shortages curtailed any major operations by Scharnhorst or the other ships in Norway, which included the Tirpitz
and the heavy cruiser Lützow
.
. The British fleet had a significant advantage, however: they were able to decrypt German naval codes, and so they were aware of Bey's intentions. The cruisers , , and were positioned to block Scharnhorst. Admiral Bruce Fraser
, aboard the battleship , was some 270 miles away, and steaming to cut off Scharnhorst after she was engaged by the three cruisers. Belfast picked up Scharnhorst on radar at 08:40; forty minutes later lookouts on Sheffield spotted the ship, at a distance of 11000 m (12,029.7 yd). Shortly thereafter, Belfast fired star shells to illuminate the target, and Norfolk opened fire with her 20.3 cm (8 in) guns; in the span of 20 minutes, she hit Scharnhorst twice. The second hit destroyed Scharnhorsts forward Seetakt
radar.
By 10:00, Scharnhorst, using her 4–6 knot speed advantage, broke off the engagement and resumed searching for the convoy. At 12:00, Belfast again picked up Scharnhorst, and in 20 minutes were again in range. This time, Scharnhorst had better luck with her gunnery; at 12:23, Norfolk was hit twice by 28.3 cm shells. One hit disabled a gun turret, and the second tore a hole in the hull and disabled her radar. Near-misses rained shell splinters down on Sheffield. At 12:41, Scharnhorst again increased speed and broke off the engagement. The British shadowed her, and relayed position reports to Admiral Fraser in Duke of York. At 13:15, Admiral Bey decided to call off the search and return to port. Shortly before 17:00, the British ships closed it: Belfast again illuminated the ship with star shells, while Duke of York fired salvos from her main battery. A hit from Duke of York disabled "A" turret, and at 18:00, another hit penetrated the upper portion of the belt and caused significant damage to the engine room. This hit temporarily reduced her speed to 8 kn (4.4 m/s), though repairs quickly allowed her to steam at 22 kn (12 m/s).
Twenty-eight cm shells from Scharnhorst struck Duke of Yorks mast and disabled her surface radars. The lack of radar forced Duke of York to cease fire at 18:24, after having hit Scharnhorst at least 13 times. The hits from Duke of York disabled most of Scharnhorsts armament in the process. Admiral Fraser ordered his destroyers to approach the ship and torpedo her. Scharnhorst was hit at least four times by torpedoes fired by and Stord. The hits caused extensive flooding and slowed the ship to 12 kn (6.5 m/s). Duke of York then closed to 9100 m (9,951.9 yd) to hammer away at the ship. At the time, only "C" turret on Scharnhorst remained operational; surviving gun crews transferred ammunition from the disabled "A" and "B" turrets to "C" turret. As more water entered Scharnhorst, her speed continued to fall to 5 kn (2.7 m/s). At 19:25, the light cruiser fired three torpedoes, followed by six from Belfast. Several destroyers closed in and fired torpedoes as well, though in the smoke and haze, it was unknown how many hit the crippled ship. Scharnhorst was listing severely and very low in the water. At 19:45, the ship capsized to starboard and sank, with her propellers still spinning. She sank at the position 72°16′0"N 28°41′0"E. Of the crew of 1,968 officers and men, only 36 survived. Rear-Admiral Erich Bey was lost with his ship.
Gneisenau was also scheduled to deploy to Norway, but she suffered heavy damage during a bombing raid on the night of 26–27 February 1942. A 454 kg bomb penetrated the armoured deck just ahead of the forward turret; shell splinters detonated the ammunition magazine, which did tremendous damage to the bow of the ship and burnt out "A" turret; 112 men were killed and another 21 were injured. It was estimated that it would take two years to make the ship ready for service. Since this was such a long period, it was determined that it would be more efficient if during the repair work, the ship was reconstructed to mount six 38 cm (15 in) guns in place of her 28.3 cm weapons. To accomplish this, the hull would need to be lengthened by 10 m (32.8 ft) to provide additional buoyancy and the electrical system would have to be overhauled. Turrets "B" and "C" were to be removed and transferred to Norway to serve as coastal defence guns.
On 4 April, Gneisenau, along with the icebreaker
Castor and the old pre-dreadnought departed Kiel for Gdynia. Once there, conversion work began: the wrecked bow was removed and her "B" and "C" turrets were removed and disassembled for transport. Krupp would build the new 38 cm turrets, which required strengthening of the barbette structures to support their weight. By early 1943, repair work was largely completed and the ship was ready to receive the improved bow and 38 cm turrets, but this was not to be. The failure of surface units to intercept and destroy a convoy in the Arctic on 31 December 1942 prompted Hitler to order all major surface units to be scrapped. Work on Gneisenau ceased, and materials that had been allocated for her repair were diverted to other projects.
The ship was then disarmed and all but abandoned in the harbor. Her 15 cm guns were placed as coastal batteries in Denmark. When the Soviet army approached in early 1945, the ship was towed out into the outer harbor and sunk as a block ship, on 23 March 1945. A Polish salvage firm raised the wreck on 12 September 1951 and subsequently broke the ship up for scrap metal. "C" Turret remains in Trondheim, Norway; the Norwegian government offered without success to return the turret to Germany for display in a museum. The 15 cm guns in Denmark were taken over by the Danish military; two of the turrets were moved to Stevnsfort in 1952. The guns were put into reserve in 1984, though they continued to be fired during annual training. They fired their last shot in 2000, after which the fortress was turned into a museum.
Battlecruiser
Battlecruisers were large capital ships built in the first half of the 20th century. They were developed in the first decade of the century as the successor to the armoured cruiser, but their evolution was more closely linked to that of the dreadnought battleship...
s or battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s, built for the German Navy (Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
) after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The class comprised two vessels: the lead ship
Lead ship
The lead ship or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable military ships and larger civilian craft.-Overview:...
Scharnhorst
German battleship Scharnhorst
Scharnhorst was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of the German Kriegsmarine. She was the lead ship of her class, which included one other ship, Gneisenau. The ship was built at the Kriegsmarinewerft dockyard in Wilhelmshaven; she was laid down on 15...
and Gneisenau. Scharnhorst was launched first, and so she is considered to be the lead ship by some sources; however, they are also referred to as the Gneisenau class in some other sources, as Gneisenau was the first to be laid down and commissioned. They marked the beginning of German naval rearmament after the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
. The ships were armed with nine 28 cm (11 in) SK C/34 guns in three triple turrets, though there were plans to replace these weapons with six 38 cm (15 in) SK C/34 guns in twin turrets.
The two ships were laid down in 1935, launched in late 1936, and commissioned into the German fleet by early 1939. Scharnhorst and Gneisenau operated together for much of the early portion of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, including sorties into the Atlantic to raid British merchant shipping. The two ships participated in Operation Weserübung
Operation Weserübung
Operation Weserübung was the code name for Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway during the Second World War and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign...
, the German invasion of Norway. During operations off Norway, the two ships engaged the battlecruiser and sank the aircraft carrier — in the engagement with Glorious, Scharnhorst achieved one of the longest-range naval gunfire hits in history. In early 1942, the two ships made a daylight dash up the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
from occupied France to Germany.
In late 1942, Gneisenau was heavily damaged in an Allied air raid against Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
. In early 1943, Scharnhorst joined the Tirpitz
German battleship Tirpitz
Tirpitz was the second of two s built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the architect of the Imperial Navy, the ship was laid down at the Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven in November 1936 and launched two and a half years later in April...
in Norway to interdict Allied convoys to the Soviet Union. Scharnhorst and several destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s sortied from Norway to attack a convoy; the Germans were instead intercepted by British naval patrols. During the battle of North Cape
Battle of North Cape
The Battle of the North Cape was a Second World War naval battle which occurred on 26 December 1943, as part of the Arctic Campaign. The German battlecruiser , on an operation to attack Arctic Convoys of war materiel from the Western Allies to the USSR, was brought to battle and sunk by superior...
, the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
battleship sank Scharnhorst. In the meantime, repair work on Gneisenau had begun, and the ship was in the process of being rearmed. However, when Scharnhorst was sunk, work on her sister was abandoned. Instead, she was sunk as a blockship
Blockship
A blockship is a ship deliberately sunk to prevent a river, channel, or canal from being used.It may either be sunk by a navy defending the waterway to prevent the ingress of attacking enemy forces, as in the case of HMS Hood at Portland Harbour; or it may be brought by enemy raiders and used to...
in Gdynia
Gdynia
Gdynia is a city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland and an important seaport of Gdańsk Bay on the south coast of the Baltic Sea.Located in Kashubia in Eastern Pomerania, Gdynia is part of a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdańsk and suburban communities, which together...
in 1945; the wreck was broken up for scrap in the 1950s.
Classification
They were the first class of German ships to be officially classified by the Kriegsmarine as Schlachtschiff (battleship). Previous German battleships were classified as Linienschiffe (ships of the line),Gröner, pp 16–28.This book states the classification of each class of capital ship, and states that the , , , , , , , and class ships were classified as Linienschiffe (ship of the line). and Panzerschiffe (armoured ship).Gröner, pp 5–14.
This book states that the , , , and classes were classified as Panzerschiffe, and the and classes were classified as 4th rate Panzerschiffe. Contemporary British sources classified these Panzerschiffe as battleships and the 4th rate Panzerschiffe as coast defence ships. For example: the Naval Annual, 1888–89 p76
Brassey's Naval Annual
The Naval Annual was a book that sought to bring together a large amount of information on naval subjects, which had hitherto been obtainable only by consulting numerous publications and chiefly from foreign sources...
lists the , Friedrich Carl, , Hansa, Preußen, , Sachsen, and Oldenburg classes as battleships. The Naval Annual, 1899 pp81-4 lists Brandenburg and Kaiser Friedrich III classes as 1st class battleships, the Sachsen, Oldenburg, and Kaiser classes as 3rd class battleships, and the Siegfried and Odin classes as coast defence ships.
Their adversary, the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
rated them as battlecruisers though after the war classified them as battleships. Jane's Fighting Ships 1940 lists both the Scharnhorst and Bismarck
Bismarck class battleship
The Bismarck class was a pair of battleships built by the German Kriegsmarine shortly before the outbreak of World War II. The ships were the largest warships built by the German Navy and the heaviest capital ships ever completed in Europe...
classes as "Battleships (Schlachtschiffe)" Another adversary, the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, rated them as battleships. In English language reference works they are sometimes referred to as battleships and sometimes as battlecruisers.For example, William Garzke's and Robert Dulin's Battleships: Axis and Neutral Battleships in World War II refer to the ships as battlecruisers, while Conway Maritime Press's All the World's Battleships 1906–Present call them battleships. See pages 127 and 43, respectively.
Development
The Treaty of VersaillesTreaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
, which established the terms concluding World War I, restricted German naval shipbuilding to cruisers displacing no more than 10000 long tons (11,200 ST). Debates in Germany over the role and size of its navy continued through the 1920s, when increased naval shipbuilding in France and the Soviet Union prompted the Germans to begin drawing up designs for large capital ships. The first design, completed in 1928, called for a 17500 long tons (19,600.1 ST) battlecruiser armed with eight 30.5 cm (12 in) guns in four twin gun turret
Gun turret
A gun turret is a weapon mount that protects the crew or mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in many directions.The turret is also a rotating weapon platform...
s. In 1933, Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
came to power in Germany; he made clear to the naval command that he had no intention of building a large fleet to challenge British supremacy at sea. He was primarily concerned with the possibility of a limited war with France, which would require the protection of German sea lanes. To this end, he authorized two more ships—the D class
D class cruiser (Germany)
The D class cruisers were a pair of cruisers, classified as Panzerschiffe by the Kriegsmarine. The ships were improved versions of the preceding s, authorized by Adolf Hitler in 1933. They were intended to counter a new French naval construction program...
—to augment the three Panzerschiffe (armoured ships). These ships would displace 19,000 tons and have the same armament and speed as the Panzerschiffe; the extra tonnage would be taken up by increased protection. Hitler wanted to follow this course so he would not be seen as overtly flaunting the Treaty of Versailles. However, he did not realize that such "unsinkable" commerce raiders would provoke Great Britain more severely than 26,000-ton battlecruisers armed with 28.3 cm (11.1 inch) guns, which would be perceived as inferior to all the Royal Navy battleships and battlecruisers then in commission.
Erich Raeder
Erich Johann Albert Raeder was a naval leader in Germany before and during World War II. Raeder attained the highest possible naval rank—that of Großadmiral — in 1939, becoming the first person to hold that rank since Alfred von Tirpitz...
, the head of the German Navy, had argued to increase the defensive qualities of the Panzerschiffe, and to increase the offensive power of the main battery with the addition of a third triple turret. This was also the view of the Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
, which saw the 19,000-ton design as being unbalanced. Hitler agreed to increased armour protection and internal subdivision, but refused to permit an increase in armament. Finally, by February 1934, Hitler acquiesced over the addition of the third turret. The new ship would displace 26000 long tons (29,120.1 ST) and be armed with nine 28.3 cm guns in three triple turrets. To secure political freedom to build the new ships, Hitler concluded the 1935 Anglo-German Naval Agreement
Anglo-German Naval Agreement
The Anglo-German Naval Agreement of June 18, 1935 was a bilateral agreement between the United Kingdom and German Reich regulating the size of the Kriegsmarine in relation to the Royal Navy. The A.G.N.A fixed a ratio whereby the total tonnage of the Kriegsmarine was to be 35% of the total tonnage...
, which guaranteed Great Britain a 3 to 1 superiority in capital ships, and, more importantly, removed the limitations on warship displacement for the German navy.
The construction of new D class cruisers were canceled to make way for Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. The provisional names of the planned D class cruisers, Ersatz
Ersatz
Ersatz means 'substituting for, and typically inferior in quality to', e.g. 'chicory is ersatz coffee'. It is a German word literally meaning substitute or replacement...
Elsaß and Ersatz Hessen, were reallocated to the new ships, the contracts for which were awarded to the Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven
Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven
Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven was the naval shipyard in Wilhelmshaven, Prussian Hanover, between 1918 and 1945 in the German Navy's extensive base located there.-History:...
and the Deutsche Werke
Deutsche Werke
Deutsche Werke was a German shipbuilding company founded in 1925 when Kaiserliche Werft Kiel and other shipyards were merged. It came as a result of the Treaty of Versailles after World War I that forced the German defence industry to shrink...
in Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
. Construction was held up by 14 months, partly because Hitler wanted to secure the treaty with Britain before work began, and partly due to numerous design changes after the ships had been ordered.
Because the maximum calibre of naval gun allowed under the Anglo-German Naval Agreement was 40.6 cm (16 inch), Hitler soon had second thoughts about the guns to be used for the new ships and ordered that they be armed with 38 cm (15 inch) weapons. However, the 28.3 cm turrets were readily available; 38 cm turrets would take years to develop, and Hitler wanted capital ships as soon as possible to fulfill his political ideals. He was also reminded that, despite the allowances of the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, the British had historically been sensitive about increases in main gun calibers aboard German capital ships. He therefore acquiesced to the ships' being armed with 28.3 cm guns, with the provison that they be upgunned to 38 cm at the earliest opportunity. The 38 cm turret was eventually used in the Bismarck class battleships
Bismarck class battleship
The Bismarck class was a pair of battleships built by the German Kriegsmarine shortly before the outbreak of World War II. The ships were the largest warships built by the German Navy and the heaviest capital ships ever completed in Europe...
.
General characteristics
Beam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
of 30 m (98.4 ft). They were designed to displace 35540 MT (34,978.6 LT), which would have given the ships a draft
Draft (hull)
The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
of 9.1 m (29.9 ft). At standard displacement of 32100 LT, which reduced draft to 8.3 m (27.2 ft), while at a full combat load of 38100 LT, draft increased to 9.9 m (32.5 ft). The ships' hulls were constructed from longitudinal steel frames, over which the outer hull plates were welded. Their hulls contained 21 watertight compartments and had a double bottom
Double bottom
A double bottom is a ship hull design and construction method where the bottom of the ship has two complete layers of watertight hull surface: one outer layer forming the normal hull of the ship, and a second inner hull which is somewhat higher in the ship, perhaps a few feet, which forms a...
for 79% of their length.
The German navy considered the ships to be poor sea boats; they were bow-heavy when fully equipped and very "wet" as high as the bridge. This problem was mitigated to some extent by the installation of an "Atlantic bow" in January and August 1939 to Gneisenau and Scharnhorst respectively, though use of the "A" turret remained restricted in heavy seas. The ships had rear problems as well; their stern was also frequently "wet" and the ships were very slow entering a turn. They always required assistance from tugboat
Tugboat
A tugboat is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal,or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for...
s in shallow waters. With the rudder
Rudder
A rudder is a device used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft or other conveyance that moves through a medium . On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane...
hard over, the ships lost over 50% speed and heeled over more than 10°. During trials, the ships heeled as much as 13° at hard rudder.
Scharnhorst and Gneisenau had a crew of between 56–to 60–officers and 1,613–to 1,780–enlisted men. The crew was augmented by another 10 officers and 61 men when serving as a squadron flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
. They carried a number of smaller watercraft, including two picket boats, two launches
Launch (boat)
A launch in contemporary usage refers to a large motorboat. The name originally referred to the largest boat carried by a warship. The etymology of the word is given as Portuguese lancha "barge", from Malay lancha, lancharan, "boat," from lanchar "velocity without effort," "action of gliding...
, two barges, two pinnace
Pinnace (ship's boat)
As a ship's boat the pinnace is a light boat, propelled by sails or oars, formerly used as a "tender" for guiding merchant and war vessels. In modern parlance, pinnace has come to mean a boat associated with some kind of larger vessel, that doesn't fit under the launch or lifeboat definitions...
s, two cutters, two yawl
Yawl
A yawl is a two-masted sailing craft similar to a sloop or cutter but with an additional mast located well aft of the main mast, often right on the transom, specifically aft of the rudder post. A yawl (from Dutch Jol) is a two-masted sailing craft similar to a sloop or cutter but with an...
s, and two dinghies
Dinghy
A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed for use as a ship's boat by a larger vessel. It is a loanword from either Bengali or Urdu. The term can also refer to small racing yachts or recreational open sailing boats. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor,...
.
Propulsion
Initially, diesel propulsion was planned for these ships, as had been used for the three Panzerschiffe. However, it was decided to use superheated steam propulsion. The main reason was that the required total output for the desired speed was three times that of the Panzerschiffe. In the case of triple-screw ships, this would have meant more than twice the shaft horsepower per shaft of the Panzerschiffe, and in the case of a quadruple-screw ship, this would have amounted to more than 40,000 horsepower per shaft. This requirement was beyond the diesel technology then available, and devising engines that could meet this demand would take an unforeseeable amount of time. Since high-pressure superheated steam had already proved successful, it was considered the most suitable choice for high power machinery.Scharnhorst was powered by three Brown, Boveri, & Co
Brown, Boveri & Cie
Brown, Boveri & Cie was a Swiss group of electrical engineering companies.It was founded in Baden, Switzerland, in 1891 by Charles Eugene Lancelot Brown and Walter Boveri who worked at the Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon. In 1970 BBC took over the Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon...
geared steam turbine
Steam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....
s, while Gneisenau was equipped with three Germania
Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft
Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft was a German shipbuilding company, located in the harbour at Kiel, and one of the largest and most important builders of U-boats for the Kaiserliche Marine in World War I and the Kriegsmarine in World War II.-History:The company was founded in 1867 by Lloyd Foster, as...
geared turbines. The turbines drove three-bladed screws that were 4.8 m (15.7 ft) in diameter. Steam was provided to the turbines by 12 Wagner ultra-high-pressure oil-fired boilers, which produced pressures up to 58 standard atmospheres (5,876,850 Pa) and temperatures up to 450 °C (842 °F). The engines were rated at 160,000 shaft horsepower (shp) at 265 revolutions per minute
Revolutions per minute
Revolutions per minute is a measure of the frequency of a rotation. It annotates the number of full rotations completed in one minute around a fixed axis...
(rpm), and on trials produced up to 165,930 shp at 280 rpm. When steaming in reverse, the engines were rated for 57,000 shp. The ships had a designed speed of 31 knots (16.9 m/s), though on trials both vessels beat their designed speeds—Scharnhorst hit 31.5 knots (17.1 m/s) and Gneisenau made 31.3 kn (17 m/s). The ships carried 2800 metric tons (2,755.8 LT) of fuel oil as designed, though additional storage areas, including hull spaces between the belt and torpedo bulkhead
Torpedo bulkhead
A torpedo bulkhead is a type of armor common on the more heavily armored warships, especially battleships and battlecruisers of the early 20th century. It is designed to keep the ship afloat even if the hull was struck underneath the belt armor by a shell or by a torpedo...
, increased capacity to 5080 metric tons (4,999.8 LT). At maximum fuel load, the ships were expected to steam for 8100 nautical miles (15,001.2 km) at a cruising speed of 19 kn (10.3 m/s); however, Scharnhorst reached only 7100 nmi (13,149.2 km) at 19 knots, while Gneisenau managed only 6200 nmi (11,482.4 km) at that speed.
Electrical power was supplied to the ships by five electricity plants. Each plant consisted of four diesel generators and eight turbo-generators. The four diesel generators were divided into pairs: two provided 150 kilowatts each and two supplied 300 kW each. The eight turbo-generators were also of mixed capacity; six ran supplied 460 kW each and the remaining two provided 230 kW each. Total power output was 4,120 kW at 220 volt
Volt
The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...
s.
Armament
The Scharnhorst class ships were built with nine 28.3 cm (11.1 inch) SK C/34 54.5 caliber quick-firing guns in three triple turretTurret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
s, two forward and one aft. These guns were an improvement over the earlier 28.3 cm SK C/28 guns mounted on the Deutschland class cruisers. While the 28.3 cm guns were of a smaller caliber than main guns of other navies, they were still preferred by a number of gunnery officers in the Kriegsmarine due to their higher rate of fire. The guns were equipped with three different types of shells, an armour-piercing
Armor-piercing shot and shell
An armor-piercing shell is a type of ammunition designed to penetrate armor. From the 1860s to 1950s, a major application of armor-piercing projectiles was to defeat the thick armor carried on many warships. From the 1920s onwards, armor-piercing weapons were required for anti-tank missions...
(AP) L/4,4 shell that weighed 330 kg (727.5 lb) and two high explosive (HE) shells that both weighed 315 kg (694.4 lb)— an L/4,4 type with a base fuse and an L/4,5 version with a nose fuse. All three types of shells used the same propellant
Propellant
A propellant is a material that produces pressurized gas that:* can be directed through a nozzle, thereby producing thrust ;...
charges: an RPC/38 42.5 kg (93.7 lb) fore charge and an RPC/38 76.5 kg (168.6 lb) main charge. They fired these shells at a rate of fire
Rate of fire
Rate of fire is the frequency at which a specific weapon can fire or launch its projectiles. It is usually measured in rounds per minute , or per second .-Overview:...
of 3.5 rounds per minute. Muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity is the speed a projectile has at the moment it leaves the muzzle of the gun. Muzzle velocities range from approximately to in black powder muskets , to more than in modern rifles with high-performance cartridges such as the .220 Swift and .204 Ruger, all the way to for tank guns...
for the AP shells was 890 meters per second (2,920 feet per second); the guns were expected to fire 300 rounds before enough wear had been incurred to warrant replacement. Scharnhorsts and Gneisenaus guns were mounted in three Drh LC/34 turrets. The turrets were named, in alphabetical order from the bow of the ship: "Anton", "Bruno" and "Cäsar". Similarly to most other German installations, those turrets had an electric system of rotation, but all other operations were hydraulic systems. Although rotating mass of the turret was 750 tonnes (internal barbette diameter 10.2 m), traversing speed was quite good – 7.2 deg/sec. The turrets allowed depression of the guns to −8° and elevation to 40° for "A" and "C" turrets, while "B" turret was capable of depressing to −9°. At maximum elevation, the guns could hit targets out to 40,930 m (44,760 yards).
The ships carried a secondary battery of twelve 15 cm SK C/28
15 cm SK C/28
The 15 cm SK C/28 was a German medium-caliber naval gun used during the Second World War. It served as the secondary armament for the Bismarck class and Scharnhorst-class battleships, Deutschland-class pocket battleships and the Graf Zeppelin class aircraft carrier...
L/55 quick-firing guns. The guns were mounted in four Drh L. C/34 twin turrets and four MPL/35 pedestal mounts. Both the turrets and pedestal mounts enabled barrel depression to −10°; the turrets allowed elevation to 40° while the pedestals limited it to 35°. These guns fired 45.3 kg (99.87 lb) shells at a rate of 6–8 per minute. They were expected to fire 1,100 rounds before barrel wear made repair or replacement necessary. The guns in pedestals had a range of 22,000 m (24,060 yd), while those in the turrets, capable of 5 more degrees of elevation, had a slightly longer range, at 23,000 m (25,153 yd). They were supplied with between 1,600–1,800 shells, or 133–150 shells per gun.
Their anti-aircraft battery consisted of fourteen 10.5 cm C/33
10.5 cm FlaK 38
The 10.5 cm SK C/33 was a German anti-aircraft gun used during World War II by the Kriegsmarine on a number of their larger capital ships. It was later adapted for Luftwaffe as a competitor to the famed 8.8 cm FlaK 18 as the 10.5 cm FlaK 38...
L/65 guns, sixteen 3.7 cm L/83 guns, and between ten to twenty 2 cm guns. The 10.5 cm guns fired at a rate of 15–18 rounds per minute, and had an effective ceiling of 12,500 m (41,010 feet). They were mounted in six Dop. L. C/31 twin mounts amidships, which allowed depression to −8° and elevation to 80°. When used to engage surface targets, the guns had a maximum range of 17,700 m (19,357 yd) at an elevation of 45°. The 3.7 cm guns were placed in eight manually-operated Dopp LC/30 twin mounts. At 85°, they had an effective ceiling of 6,800 m (22,310 ft), though tracer
Tracer ammunition
Tracer ammunition are bullets that are built with a small pyrotechnic charge in their base. Ignited by the burning powder, the phosphorus tail burns very brightly, making the projectile visible to the naked eye...
s were limited to 4,800 m (15,750 ft). They had a rate of fire of 30 rounds per minute.
After 1942, six 53.3 cm deck-mounted torpedo tubes were taken from the light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
s Leipzig
German cruiser Leipzig
The German light cruiser Leipzig was the lead ship of her class . She was the fourth German warship to carry the name of the city of Leipzig.-History:...
and Nürnberg
German cruiser Nürnberg
The Nürnberg, was a German light cruiser of the Leipzig class named after the city of Nuremberg. Some sources consider the Leipzig and Nürnberg to be of separate, single ship, classes...
and installed on the ships. The tubes were supplied with 18 torpedoes. The torpedoes were 7.186 m (23 ft 7 in) long and carried a 300 kg (661 lb) Hexanite
Hexanite
Hexanite was a castable German military explosive developed early in the 20th century before the First World War for the Kaiserliche Marine, intended to augment supplies of trinitrotoluene , which were then in short supply. Hexanite is significantly more powerful than TNT on its own...
warhead. They could be set for three speeds: 30 kn (16.3 m/s), 40 kn (21.8 m/s), and 44 kn (24 m/s). At 30 knots, the torpedoes had a range of 14,000 m (15,300 yd); at 40 knots, the range fell considerably, to 8,000 m (8,750 m). At 44 knots, the range was reduced even further, to 6,000 m (6,560 yd). It was later found that the 44 kn speed caused the engine to overheat, and after this discovery, its use was discontinued.
Both Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were equipped with two sets of Seetakt radar
Seetakt radar
The shipborne Seetakt radar was developed in the 1930s and was used by the German Navy during World War II.In Germany during the late 1920s, Hans Hollmann began working in the field of microwaves, which were to later become the basis of almost all radar systems. In 1935 he published Physics and...
. One was mounted on the forward gun director, which was located on top of the bridge. The second radar set was emplaced on the rear main battery gun director. The Seetakt sets operated at 368 megacycles, initially at 14 kW, though the sets were upgraded to operate at 100 kW, on the 80 cm wavelength
Wavelength
In physics, the wavelength of a sinusoidal wave is the spatial period of the wave—the distance over which the wave's shape repeats.It is usually determined by considering the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase, such as crests, troughs, or zero crossings, and is a...
.
Armour
Krupp
The Krupp family , a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, have become famous for their steel production and for their manufacture of ammunition and armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp, was the largest company in Europe at the beginning of the 20th...
armour. Their upper armoured deck was 50 mm (2 in) thick, and backed by the main armour deck. This deck was 20 mm (0.78740157480315 in) thick aft, increased to 50 mm in the central portion of the ship that contained the ammunition magazines and machinery spaces, and decreased down to 20 mm in the bow. It was supported by 105 mm (4.1 in) thick slopes on either longitudinal side. The slopes connected to the lower edge of the main belt, an arrangement referred to as the "turtle deck." The slopes significantly increased armour protection in the critical areas of the ship. The ships' vitals were well armoured against any caliber shell fired by battleships at the time at ranges where the shell would have to penetrate both the main belt and the sloping deck. At very long ranges, however, the deck armour could be easily penetrated by heavy-caliber shells. All of these sections were composed of Wotan Hart (Wotan Hard) steel.Wotan Hart armour had a breaking strength of 85–96 kg/sq mm, and would expand up to 20%. Wotan Weich armour had a breaking strength of 65–75 kg/sq mm, and expanded up to 25%. See: Gröner, p. x The armoured belt was 350 mm (13.8 in) thick in the central portion of the ship, where the critical areas of the ship were located. Forward of the "A" turret the belt was reduced to 150 mm (5.9 in), which tapered down to zero at the bow of the ship. Aft of the rear gun turret the belt decreased to 200 mm (7.9 in), and eventually tapered down to nothing at the stern. The central portion of the belt was backed by 170 mm (6.7 in) thick shields. The belt armour was composed of Krupp Cemented steel (KC). The side protection system could not be penetrated by a 1016 kg (2,239.9 lb) 406 mm (16 in) shell at any range over 11000 m (12,029.7 yd).
The forward conning tower
Conning tower
A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer can con the vessel; i.e., give directions to the helmsman. It is usually located as high on the ship as practical, to give the conning team good visibility....
had 350 mm-thick sides and a roof that was 200 mm-thick. The rear conning tower was less well armoured, with sides and a roof that were only 100 mm (3.9 in) and 50 mm thick, respectively. The gun turrets for the main battery had 360 mm (14.2 in) thick faces, 200 mm thick sides, and 150 mm thick roofs. The barbette
Barbette
A barbette is a protective circular armour feature around a cannon or heavy artillery gun. The name comes from the French phrase en barbette referring to the practice of firing a field gun over a parapet rather than through an opening . The former gives better angles of fire but less protection...
s that held the 28 cm gun turrets were also heavily armoured; the sides were 350 mm thick and tapered down to 200 mm on the centerline, where they were shielded by the gun turrets above. The faces of the 15 cm turrets were 140 mm (5.5 in) thick, with 60 mm (2.4 in) thick sides and 50 mm thick roofs. The 10.5 cm gun mounts were equipped with 20 mm (0.78740157480315 in) gun shields. All of this armour was KC steel.
The underwater protection system was designed to withstand a direct hit from a 250 kg (551.2 lb) explosive warhead; British aerial torpedo
Aerial torpedo
The aerial torpedo, airborne torpedo or air-dropped torpedo is a naval weapon, the torpedo, designed to be dropped into water from an aircraft after which it propels itself to the target. First used in World War I, air-dropped torpedoes were used extensively in World War II, and remain in limited...
es had smaller warheads than this, though their ship-launched weapons were more powerful. The navy conducted several full-scale underwater explosion tests with sections of armour cut from the old pre-dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought battleship is the general term for all of the types of sea-going battleships built between the mid-1890s and 1905. Pre-dreadnoughts replaced the ironclad warships of the 1870s and 1880s...
. The tests revealed that welded steel construction better withstood the impact of the 250 kg warhead than did rivet
Rivet
A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed a rivet consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite the head is called the buck-tail. On installation the rivet is placed in a punched or pre-drilled hole, and the tail is upset, or bucked A rivet...
ed steel plates. However, the torpedo bulkhead
Torpedo bulkhead
A torpedo bulkhead is a type of armor common on the more heavily armored warships, especially battleships and battlecruisers of the early 20th century. It is designed to keep the ship afloat even if the hull was struck underneath the belt armor by a shell or by a torpedo...
, composed of Wotan Weich (Wotan, soft) steel, placed behind the armoured belt was riveted; this was done because plate joints that had been incorrectly welded would not sufficiently withstand explosive shocks. The underwater protection system was constructed out of several layers: the outer layer that was between 12–66 mm (.47–2.6 in) thick, directly underneath the main armoured belt, was designed to detonate the torpedo warhead. Behind the outer plate was a large void which would allow gases from the explosion to expand and dissipate. Beyond this was a fuel bunker with an 8 mm (0.31496062992126 in) thick outer wall; this would absorb any remaining explosive force. The bunker was supported by longitudinal stiffeners and transverse bulkheads.
The underwater side protection had numerous faults, however. It was extremely strong amidships, but weakened on either end of the citadel. The underwater protection could only stop a 200 kg (440.9 lb) warhead in these areas. Another significant weakness in the design was the arrangement of the torpedo bulkhead. It was connected to the lower portion of the sloped deck, at an angle of 10°; two riveted angled bars held it in place. The bars were constantly under a great deal of stress, due to normal bending forces in the hull. When combined with the explosive force of a torpedo warhead, the bars could not sustain the increased pressure and could fail. Also, the beam of 30 m meant that the protection system had to be weaker around the main battery turrets, as a significant amount of the hull space was taken up by the magazines and barbettes.
Construction and early actions
Deutsche Werke
Deutsche Werke was a German shipbuilding company founded in 1925 when Kaiserliche Werft Kiel and other shipyards were merged. It came as a result of the Treaty of Versailles after World War I that forced the German defence industry to shrink...
in Kiel. She was launched on 8 December 1936, and completed on 21 May 1938. During her launch, the ship sustained minor damage to her stern; the chains slowing her slide down the slipway broke, and the ship drifted too far and became beached on the opposite shore. After her commissioning, Gneisenau spent the first year of her career conducting trials and training cruises in the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
. The cruises revealed the wetness of the bow and bridge; in January 1939 her "Atlantic bow" was installed. Scharnhorst was laid down at the Kriegsmarinewerft
Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven
Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven was the naval shipyard in Wilhelmshaven, Prussian Hanover, between 1918 and 1945 in the German Navy's extensive base located there.-History:...
in Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea.-History:...
, on 16 May 1935. She was launched on 30 June 1936 and completed on 7 January 1939. In mid 1939, the ship conducted trials in the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
; as with Gneisenau, the ship's low freeboard
Freeboard (nautical)
In sailing and boating, freeboardmeans the distance from the waterline to the upper deck level, measured at the lowest point of sheer where water can enter the boat or ship...
necessitated the installation of the "Atlantic bow", which was completed in August 1939. During that refit, a large hangar for the ship's aircraft was added amidships. The ship emerged from the dockyard in October.
On 21 November, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, the light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
s Köln
German cruiser Köln
Köln was a German light cruiser prior to and during World War II, one of three K-Class cruisers named after cities starting with the letter K. This ship was named after the city of Köln . The others in her class were the Königsberg and the Karlsruhe...
and Leipzig
German cruiser Leipzig
The German light cruiser Leipzig was the lead ship of her class . She was the fourth German warship to carry the name of the city of Leipzig.-History:...
, and several destroyers conducted a sweep between Iceland and the Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
; during the operation, the German ships encountered the British armed merchant cruiser ; Scharnhorst sank the ship, but in the process sustained a hit from one of Rawalpindis 152 mm guns. Scharnhorst stopped to pick up survivors, but the arrival of the cruiser prompted the German ships to withdraw.
Operation Weserübung
Narvik
is the third largest city and municipality in Nordland county, Norway by population. Narvik is located on the shores of the Narvik Fjord . The municipality is part of the Ofoten traditional region of North Norway, inside the arctic circle...
and Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
in Norway during Operation Weserübung
Operation Weserübung
Operation Weserübung was the code name for Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway during the Second World War and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign...
. At 04:30 on 9 April, the Seetakt radar on Gneisenau picked up a contact; both ships went to battle stations. Half an hour later, muzzle flashes were observed, from what turned out to be the old battlecruiser which had been part of the cover for a British minelaying
Operation Wilfred
Operation Wilfred was a British naval operation during World War II that involved the mining of the channel between Norway and her offshore islands in order to prevent the transport of swedish iron ore through neutral Norwegian waters to be used to sustain the German war effort...
operation. The British battlecruiser initially targeted Gneisenau, at a range of 11800 m (12,904.6 yd). In the span of five minutes, Gneisenau hit Renown twice, but sustained one 15" and two 4.5 hits in return. One of the two 4.5" hits disabled Gneisenaus A turret, The 15" hit destroyed the main armament fire control station, and knocked out her Seetakt radar. Scharnhorsts gunnery radar suffered technical problems, which prevented her from effectively engaging Renown. The British ship engaged Scharnhorst for a brief period starting at 05:18, though effective maneuvering by Scharnhorst allowed her to escape unhit. Fears that the destroyers escorting Renown might make a torpedo attack prompted the German commander to break off the engagement. By 07:15, the German ships had escaped from the slower Renown. In the course of their escape Scharnhorst suffered from damage to her A turret caused by the heavy seas coming over her bows. Scharnhorst and Gneisenau rendezvoused with the heavy cruiser
Heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
Admiral Hipper
German cruiser Admiral Hipper
Admiral Hipper, the first of five ships of her class, was the lead ship of the Admiral Hipper–class of heavy cruisers which served with the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. The ship was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1935 and launched February 1937; Admiral Hipper...
before proceeding to Wilhelmshaven.
Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, with Admiral Hipper and four destroyers, departed again on 4 June. After operations in the North Sea that resulted in the sinking of several British transports, Admiral Hipper and the destroyers were detached to refuel in occupied Norway. At 16:45 on 8 June, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau spotted the British aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
, which was escorted by the destroyers and , at a range of around 50000 m (54,680.7 yd). The destroyers laid a smoke screen in an attempt to hide the carrier, but the Germans quickly closed the distance. At 17:26, the range had decreased by half, to around 25000 metres (27,340.3 yd), and both German ships opened fire. Scharnhorst struck Glorious at a range of approximately 24200 m (26,465.4 yd), one of the longest recorded hits in the history of naval gunfire.The British battleship scored a hit on the Italian battleship Giulio Cesare
Italian battleship Giulio Cesare
Giulio Cesare , motto Caesar Adest was a Conte di Cavour-class battleship that served in the Regia Marina in both World Wars before joining the Soviet Navy as the Novorossiysk. Her keel was laid down on 24 June 1910 at Cantieri Ansaldo, Genoa...
at the Battle of Calabria
Battle of Calabria
The Battle of Calabria, was a naval battle during the Battle of the Mediterranean in World War II. It was fought between the Italian Royal Navy and the British Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy. The battle occurred 30 miles to the east of Punta Stilo, the "toe" of Italy , on 9 July 1940...
in 1940 at approximately the same range. Glorious was hit by at least three shells and reduced to a burning hulk. At 19:00, the ship capsized and sank. Scharnhorst shifted fire to Ardent while Gneisenau engaged Acasta; both ships sank their targets. Before she sank, Acasta launched four torpedoes at Scharnhorst; the ship evaded three, though the fourth struck the starboard side near the rear gun turret. During the engagement, Scharnhorst fired 212 main battery shells.
The torpedo hit caused significant damage to Scharnhorst; several watertight compartments, including parts of the starboard engine room, were flooded, she took on a list of 3°, and she was 3 m (9.8 ft) down by the stern. The two ships withdrew to Trondheim, though Scharnhorst was limited to a speed of 20 knots (10.9 m/s)—they arrived in the afternoon of 9 June. On June 11, 12 Hudson
Lockheed Hudson
The Lockheed Hudson was an American-built light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built initially for the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and primarily operated by the RAF thereafter...
bombers from the RAF attempted to bomb Scharnhorst; they all missed their target. Another air raid, this time 15 Blackburn Skua
Blackburn Skua
The Blackburn B-24 Skua was a carrier-based low-wing, two-seater, single-radial engine aircraft operated by the British Fleet Air Arm which combined the functions of a dive bomber and fighter. It was designed in the mid-1930s, and saw service in the early part of the Second World War...
s launched by the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
's , followed on 13 June. The Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
intercepted the raid and shot down eight of the aircraft, though seven made it through to the ship. Only one bomb found its mark, but it failed to explode. On 20 June, enough repair work had been done to permit the ship to sail down to Kiel. Two air attacks followed, but anti-aircraft fire from Scharnhorst and her escorts drove them both back. Reports of British ships in the area forced the ship to seek refuge in Stavanger
Stavanger
Stavanger is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.Stavanger municipality has a population of 126,469. There are 197,852 people living in the Stavanger conurbation, making Stavanger the fourth largest city, but the third largest urban area, in Norway...
for two days, before she resumed the journey to Kiel. Repairs were effected over the following six months.
Operation Berlin
Under the command of Admiral Günther LütjensGünther Lütjens
Günther Lütjens was a German Admiral whose military service spanned almost 30 years. Lütjens is best known for his actions during World War II, primarily his service as admiral of the squadron comprising and her consort, , during the Operation Rheinübung sortie.-Early career:Günther Lütjens was...
, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau broke into the Atlantic in late January 1941 to raid convoys between North America and Great Britain. On 8 February, they spotted a convoy, HX 106, but it was escorted by the battleship , armed with eight 38 cm (15 in) guns. The German ships therefore broke off the attack. A second convoy was encountered on 22 February; Scharnhorst sank the tanker Lustrous, while Gneisenau accounted for four cargo ships. On 8 March, Scharnhorst spotted another convoy, but it too had battleship protection, in the form of . A week later, on the 15th, another convoy was intercepted; Scharnhorst sank two vessels while Gneisenau captured three and sank one. Following the engagement, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau headed for Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
in occupied France; they arrived by 22 March.
On 6 April, four Beaufort
Bristol Beaufort
The Bristol Beaufort was a British twin-engined torpedo bomber designed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, and developed from experience gained designing and building the earlier Blenheim light bomber....
torpedo-bombers attacked Gneisenau in port. Only one of the aircraft attacked successfully; the hit did significant damage to the ship. Gneisenau shipped some 3050 metric tons (3,001.8 LT) of water, which caused her to list 2° and settle lower in the water. The shock force of the explosion also did a great deal of internal damage; fuel tanks were ruptured and electrical systems were damaged. A salvage tugboat was brought alongside to assist in flood control. Gneisenau was put into dry dock for repairs, which were prolonged by further British air raids. On the night of 9–10 April, British high-level bombers attacked both Gneisenau and Scharnhorst. The latter escaped unscathed, but the former was struck four times; 72 men were killed and another 90 were wounded.
While docked in La Pallice on 24 July, Scharnhorst was attacked by several squadrons of Halifax
Handley Page Halifax
The Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engined heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing...
bombers; five bombs—two high explosive 227 kg (500.4 lb) and three semi-AP 454 kg (1,000.9 lb)—found their mark. Two 454 kg bomb managed to penetrate both armoured decks, all the way down through the double bottom, before coming to rest on the sea floor; it however failed to explode. The third also failed to detonate. One of the 227 kg bombs penetrated the upper deck just forward of the rear gun turret, and exploded on the main armoured deck. The last bomb fell on the starboard side and also detonated on the main armour deck. The ship listed at 8°, after having taken in between 1520 long tons (1,702.4 ST) and 3050 long tons (3,416 ST) of water. Casualties amounted to two men killed and 15 wounded. The following day Scharnhorst arrived in Brest for repairs, which lasted for four months.
Operation Cerberus
In early 1942, the crews of Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and the heavy cruiser Prinz EugenGerman cruiser Prinz Eugen
Prinz Eugen was an Admiral Hipper-class heavy cruiser, the third member of the class of five vessels. She served with the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. The ship was laid down in April 1936 and launched August 1938; Prinz Eugen entered service after the outbreak of war, in August 1940...
made preparations for Operation Cerberus
Operation Cerberus
The Channel Dash, , was a major naval engagement during World War II in which a German Kriegsmarine squadron consisting of both Scharnhorst class battleships, and heavy cruiser along with escorts, ran a British blockade and successfully sailed from Brest in Brittany to their home bases in Germany...
, a daylight dash up the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
. The ships were to be redeployed to Norway, to assist in the disruption of convoys to the Soviet Union, as well as the defence of occupied Norway. The ships left Brest late on 11 February, and remained undetected for the majority of the operation. East of Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
, a flight of six Swordfish
Fairey Swordfish
The Fairey Swordfish was a torpedo bomber built by the Fairey Aviation Company and used by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy during the Second World War...
torpedo bombers attacked the ships without result. At 15:31, Scharnhorst struck a magnetic mine, which damaged the ship's circuit breakers enough to shut down the entire electrical system. The ship was immobilized briefly—between 15:49 and 16:01, all three turbines were restarted and the ship resumed a speed of 27 kn (14.7 m/s). A series of air attacks ensued, though through evasive maneuvers, anti-aircraft fire, and Luftwaffe fighters, they were all repulsed. By noon on 13 February, Scharnhorst had reached Wilhelmshaven, though after two days she was transferred to Kiel for repairs, which lasted until July 1942.
Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen had continued their journey to Norway while Scharnhorst was immobilized. At 14:45, the ships were attacked by five Whirlwind fighter-bombers—German fighters beat them back. Several more air attacks followed over the next two hours, though without success for the British. At 16:17, five British destroyers attempted to torpedo the German ships, but heavy fire from Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen mauled one and forced the others to turn away. Near Terschelling
Terschelling
Terschelling is a municipality and an island in the northern Netherlands, one of the West Frisian Islands.Waddenislanders are known for their resourcefulness in using anything and everything that washes ashore. With few trees to use for timber, most of the farms and barns are built with masts...
, Gneisenau struck a mine that did minor damage to the hull, though the explosive shock damaged one of her three turbines. Her captain ordered the ship to stop while temporary repairs were conducted, which lasted for about 30 minutes. By 03:50 on 13 February, the ship had reached Helgoland.
Scharnhorsts deployment to Norway
In January 1943, it was decided to deploy Scharnhorst to Norway, along with Prinz Eugen and several destroyers. Attempts to sail on 7 and 23 January were aborted after the navy received reports of heavy activity at British air bases in Britain. A third try on 10 February terminated when Scharnhorst ran aground while trying to avoid collision with a U-boatU-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
. Repairs lasted until 26 February. On 8 March, Scharnhorst and four destroyers departed Gdynia; she arrived off Narvik on 14 March. For 6 months, fuel shortages curtailed any major operations by Scharnhorst or the other ships in Norway, which included the Tirpitz
German battleship Tirpitz
Tirpitz was the second of two s built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the architect of the Imperial Navy, the ship was laid down at the Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven in November 1936 and launched two and a half years later in April...
and the heavy cruiser Lützow
German pocket battleship Deutschland
Deutschland was the lead ship of her class of heavy cruisers which served with the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany during World War II. Ordered by the Weimar government for the Reichsmarine, she was laid down at the Deutsche Werke shipyard in Kiel in February 1929 and completed by April 1933...
.
Battle of North Cape
On 20 December 1943, Scharnhorst was ordered to intercept the next convoy to the Soviet Union, Convoy JW 55B. The ship was to operate only with five destroyers; Tirpitz had been damaged in a British raid in September, and Lützow was away for periodic repairs. On 25 December, the location of the convoy was ascertained, and at 19:00 the ship left port, under the command of Rear-Admiral Erich BeyErich Bey
Erich Bey was a German naval officer who most notably served as a commander of the Kriegsmarine's destroyer forces and commanded the battleship Scharnhorst in the Battle of North Cape on 26 December 1943, during which the German ship was sunk. He was killed during that action. Bey was also a...
. The British fleet had a significant advantage, however: they were able to decrypt German naval codes, and so they were aware of Bey's intentions. The cruisers , , and were positioned to block Scharnhorst. Admiral Bruce Fraser
Bruce Fraser, 1st Baron Fraser of North Cape
Admiral of the Fleet Bruce Austin Fraser, 1st Baron Fraser of North Cape GCB, KBE was a senior British admiral during World War II.-Early naval career:Fraser joined the Royal Navy as a Cadet on 15 January 1904...
, aboard the battleship , was some 270 miles away, and steaming to cut off Scharnhorst after she was engaged by the three cruisers. Belfast picked up Scharnhorst on radar at 08:40; forty minutes later lookouts on Sheffield spotted the ship, at a distance of 11000 m (12,029.7 yd). Shortly thereafter, Belfast fired star shells to illuminate the target, and Norfolk opened fire with her 20.3 cm (8 in) guns; in the span of 20 minutes, she hit Scharnhorst twice. The second hit destroyed Scharnhorsts forward Seetakt
Seetakt radar
The shipborne Seetakt radar was developed in the 1930s and was used by the German Navy during World War II.In Germany during the late 1920s, Hans Hollmann began working in the field of microwaves, which were to later become the basis of almost all radar systems. In 1935 he published Physics and...
radar.
Twenty-eight cm shells from Scharnhorst struck Duke of Yorks mast and disabled her surface radars. The lack of radar forced Duke of York to cease fire at 18:24, after having hit Scharnhorst at least 13 times. The hits from Duke of York disabled most of Scharnhorsts armament in the process. Admiral Fraser ordered his destroyers to approach the ship and torpedo her. Scharnhorst was hit at least four times by torpedoes fired by and Stord. The hits caused extensive flooding and slowed the ship to 12 kn (6.5 m/s). Duke of York then closed to 9100 m (9,951.9 yd) to hammer away at the ship. At the time, only "C" turret on Scharnhorst remained operational; surviving gun crews transferred ammunition from the disabled "A" and "B" turrets to "C" turret. As more water entered Scharnhorst, her speed continued to fall to 5 kn (2.7 m/s). At 19:25, the light cruiser fired three torpedoes, followed by six from Belfast. Several destroyers closed in and fired torpedoes as well, though in the smoke and haze, it was unknown how many hit the crippled ship. Scharnhorst was listing severely and very low in the water. At 19:45, the ship capsized to starboard and sank, with her propellers still spinning. She sank at the position 72°16′0"N 28°41′0"E. Of the crew of 1,968 officers and men, only 36 survived. Rear-Admiral Erich Bey was lost with his ship.
Gneisenaus reconstruction
On 4 April, Gneisenau, along with the icebreaker
Icebreaker
An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller vessels .For a ship to be considered an icebreaker, it requires three traits most...
Castor and the old pre-dreadnought departed Kiel for Gdynia. Once there, conversion work began: the wrecked bow was removed and her "B" and "C" turrets were removed and disassembled for transport. Krupp would build the new 38 cm turrets, which required strengthening of the barbette structures to support their weight. By early 1943, repair work was largely completed and the ship was ready to receive the improved bow and 38 cm turrets, but this was not to be. The failure of surface units to intercept and destroy a convoy in the Arctic on 31 December 1942 prompted Hitler to order all major surface units to be scrapped. Work on Gneisenau ceased, and materials that had been allocated for her repair were diverted to other projects.
The ship was then disarmed and all but abandoned in the harbor. Her 15 cm guns were placed as coastal batteries in Denmark. When the Soviet army approached in early 1945, the ship was towed out into the outer harbor and sunk as a block ship, on 23 March 1945. A Polish salvage firm raised the wreck on 12 September 1951 and subsequently broke the ship up for scrap metal. "C" Turret remains in Trondheim, Norway; the Norwegian government offered without success to return the turret to Germany for display in a museum. The 15 cm guns in Denmark were taken over by the Danish military; two of the turrets were moved to Stevnsfort in 1952. The guns were put into reserve in 1984, though they continued to be fired during annual training. They fired their last shot in 2000, after which the fortress was turned into a museum.
See also
- Design 1047 battlecruiserDesign 1047 battlecruiserDesign 1047, also known as Project 1047, was a series of plans for a class of Dutch battlecruisers prior to the Second World War. The ships were intended to counter a perceived threat posed by Imperial Japanese aggression to the Dutch colonies in the East Indies...
– a Dutch battlecruiser design that was heavily influenced by the Scharnhorst class design.