Scharnhorst and Gneisenau Free

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Gneisenau was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiserof Nazi Germany 's Kriegsmarine. She was the second vessel of her classwhich included one other ship, Scharnhorst. The ship was built at the Deutsche Werke dockyard in Kiel ; she was laid down on 6 May and launched on 8 December Gneisenau and Scharnhorst operated together for much of the early portion of World War II, including sorties into the Atlantic to raid British merchant shipping. After a successful raid in the Atlantic inGneisenau and her sister put in at BrestFrance. The two battleships were the subject of repeated bombing raids by the RAF ; Gneisenau was hit several times during the raids, though she was ultimately repaired. In earlythe two ships made a daylight dash up the English Channel from occupied France to Germany. After reaching Kiel in early February, the ship went into drydock. On the night of 26 February, the British launched an air attack on the ship; one bomb penetrated her armored deck and exploded in the forward ammunition magazine, causing serious damage and many casualties. InHitler ordered the cessation Scharnhorst and Gneisenau conversion work, and on 27 Marchshe was sunk as a blockship in Gotenhafen Gdynia in German-occupied Poland. She was eventually broken up for scrap in Gneisenau was ordered as Ersatz Hessen as a replacement for Scharnhorst and Gneisenau old pre-dreadnought Hessenunder the contract name "E. This caused flooding in the bow Scharnhorst and Gneisenau damaged electrical systems in the forward gun turret. As a result, she went back to the dockyard for extensive modification of the bow. The original straight stem was replaced with a raised "Atlantic bow. Her standard crew numbered 56 officers and 1, enlisted men, though during the war this was augmented up to 60 officers and 1, men. While serving as a squadron flagship, Gneisenau carried an additional ten officers and 61 enlisted men. Six Gneisenau left Germany for a round of trials in the Atlantic in June Scharnhorst and Gneisenau As it was peacetime, the ship carried primarily practice ammunition, with only a small number of live rounds. She was back in Germany when war began in September On the 4th, the day after the British declaration of war, Gneisenau was attacked by fourteen Wellington bombers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, though they made no hits. The intent of the operation was to draw out British units and ease the pressure on the heavy cruiser Admiral Graf Speewhich was being pursued in the South Atlantic. Two days later, the German flotilla intercepted the auxiliary cruiser Rawalpindi. Scharnhorst fired first, followed by Gneisenau eight Scharnhorst and Gneisenau later. The ship was quickly reduced to a burning Scharnhorst and Gneisenau Marschall ordered Scharnhorst to pick up survivors while he stood by in Gneisenau. Scharnhorst and Gneisenau cruiser Newcastle arrived on the scene, which prompted Marschall to halt rescue operations and flee. Scharnhorst and Gneisenau Germans reached Wilhelmshaven on 27 November, and on the trip both battleships incurred significant damage from heavy Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and winds. During the repairs, the bow was remodeled a second time to incorporate additional flare and sheer, in an attempt to improve her seaworthiness. Gneisenau went into the Baltic for trials on 15 Januaryafter the completion of the refit. The two ships left Wilhelmshaven on the morning of 7 April, along with the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper and fourteen destroyers. The cruiser and destroyers carried the assault forces for Narvik and Trondheim, while Gneisenau and Scharnhorst provided cover for them. Before being sunk, Glowworm rammed Admiral Hipperthough the latter was Scharnhorst and Gneisenau seriously damaged. The crews of the two battleships went to battle stations, though they did not take part in the brief engagement. AtGneisenau and Scharnhorst took up a position west of the Vestfjorden to provide distant cover to both of the landings at Narvik and Trondheim. At on the 9th, Gneisenau located the British battlecruiser Renown with her Seetakt radar ; the call to battle stations rang out on both Gneisenau and Scharnhorstthough it was Renown that fired first, at Gneisenau and Scharnhorst then turned to disengage. One shell hit the director Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and passed through it without exploding; regardless, it cut several cables and killed one officer and five enlisted men. The second shell disabled the rear turret. This prompted Gneisenau to cease firing Scharnhorst and Gneisenau increase speed in order to break away from Renown. During the high-speed escape, both Gneisenau and Scharnhorst were flooded by significant quantities of water over their bows, which caused problems in both of their forward gun turrets. Admiral Hipper rejoined the two battleships off Trondheim on the morning of 11 April, and the three ships returned to Wilhelmshaven, arriving the following day. There, the damage incurred during the engagement with Renown was repaired. She was then drydocked in Bremerhaven for periodic maintenance on 26—29 April. The explosion caused significant damage to the hull and flooded several compartments, which caused the ship to take on a half-degree list to port. The concussive shock from the blast damaged many Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and topside components, including the starboard low-pressure turbine and the rear rangefinders. Repairs were effected in a floating drydock in Kiel from 6 to 21 May. A brief shakedown cruise followed in the Baltic, and by the 27th, she was back in Kiel at full combat readiness. Gneisenau and Scharnhorst left Wilhelmshaven on 4 June to return to Norway. They were joined by Admiral Hipper and four destroyers. Admiral Marschall, who had returned Scharnhorst and Gneisenau sick leave to command the sortie, detached Admiral Hipper and the four Scharnhorst and Gneisenau to refuel in Trondheim, while he steamed to the Harstad area. Scharnhorst was closer and therefore fired first. This allowed Gneisenau to overtake her sister during the action. In less than an hour's shooting, Glorious was reduced to a burning hulk. Gneisenau then turned her fire on AcastaScharnhorst and Gneisenau Scharnhorst dispatched Ardent. Before Acasta was sunk, she fired a spread of torpedoes at Gneisenauwhich the latter successfully evaded. One Scharnhorst and Gneisenau them struck Scharnhorsthowever, and caused serious damage. After all three Scharnhorst and Gneisenau ships had been Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, Marschall withdrew his force to Trondheim to conduct emergency repairs to Scharnhorst. In the meantime, Marschall sortied with Gneisenau Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, Admiral Hipperand four destroyers, though after two days he returned to Trondheim when it became clear that the British convoys were too heavily guarded. His intention Scharnhorst and Gneisenau to give the impression he was attempting to break out into the Atlantic, to draw British attention away from Scharnhorst as she made the return voyage to Germany. The torpedo hit Gneisenau in the bow, just forward of the splinter belt, and caused serious damage. The ship took on a significant amount of water in the two forward watertight compartmentsand she was forced to return to Trondheim at reduced speed. A strong force from the British Home Fleet attempted to intercept the flotilla, but the British failed to find it. Upon arrival, Gneisenau went into drydock at the Howaldtswerke dockyard for five months of repair work. Scharnhorst joined Gneisenauin preparation for Operation Berlinthe planned breakout into the Atlantic Scharnhorst and Gneisenau designed to wreak havoc on the Allied shipping lanes. The two ships were forced to put into port during the storm: Gneisenau went to Kiel for repairs while Scharnhorst put into Gdynia Gotenhafen. They were detected in the Skagerrak and the heavy units of Scharnhorst and Gneisenau British Home Fleet deployed to cover the passage between Iceland and Scharnhorst and Gneisenau Faroes. By 3 February, the two battleships had evaded the last British cruiser patrol, and had broken into the open Atlantic. On 6 February, the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau ships refueled from the tanker Schlettstadt south of Cape Farewell. Shortly after on 8 February, lookouts spotted convoy HXthough it was escorted by the battleship Ramillies. The two battleships steamed off to the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau to search for more shipping. On 22 February, the pair spotted an empty convoy sailing west, though it dispersed at the appearance of the battleships. He chose the Cape Town-Gibraltar convoy route, and positioned himself to the northwest of Cape Verde. The two ships encountered another convoy, escorted by the battleship Malayaon 8 March. On 15 March, the two battleships, with the two tankers in company, encountered a dispersed convoy in the mid-Atlantic. The next day, stragglers from a convoy were sighted. He therefore decided to head for Brest in occupied France, which the ships reached on 22 March. Scharnhorst and Gneisenau then entered drydock Scharnhorst and Gneisenau periodic maintenance. After arriving in Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, Gneisenau was the subject of repeated British air raids. The first attack took place on the night of 30—31 March, and a second occurred on 4—5 April. As a result of the attacks, the ship was moved out of the dry dock and moved Scharnhorst and Gneisenau the harbor. The flooding also disabled several components of the ship's propulsion system. The explosion caused significant destruction to the side plating as well as the starboard and centerline propeller shafts. Scharnhorst and Gneisenau concussive shock also caused widespread damage to the ship's electronic components. A salvage tug came alongside to assist in the pumping effort. Following the attack, Gneisenau returned to the drydock for repairs. All four hit the starboard side of the forward superstructure. Scharnhorst and Gneisenau of the bombs exploded on the main armor deck while the other two failed to detonate. The attack killed 72 initially and wounded 90, of whom 16 later died of their injuries. The bombs slightly damaged the main armor deck and caused some structural damage on the starboard side. The aircraft hangar was rearranged, and the catapult that had been mounted on top of it was removed. The British continued to attack the ship in drydock, though no further damage was done. The intention Scharnhorst and Gneisenau to deploy the vessels to Norway to interdict Allied convoys to the Soviet Union. The so-called " Channel Dash ", codenamed Operation Cerberus, would avoid the increasingly effective Allied radar and patrol aircraft in the Atlantic. Vice Admiral Otto Ciliax was given command of the operation. In early February, minesweepers swept a route through the English Channelthough the British failed to detect the activity. Liaison officers were present on all three ships. German aircraft arrived later to jam British radar with chaff. The British failed to penetrate the Luftwaffe fighter shield and all six Swordfish were destroyed. German battleship Scharnhorst - Wikipedia

Designed in mids and being the first German ships to be built outside of the limitations of the Versailles treaty, the twins were designed for a formidable maximum speed and extended range to allow for Scharnhorst and Gneisenau raiding. Scharnhorst and Gneisenau could make 32 knots, superior to most of the ships of the Royal Navy, not to mention their own destroyer escort! The armament was a weak point, both ships carrying 9 11" guns, left over Scharnhorst and Gneisenau cancelled pocket battleships. If a later proposal to upgrade the main armament to six inch mm guns in three twin turrets had been implemented, it would make a very formidable opponent, faster than any British capital ship and nearly as well armored. But due to constraints of German pre-war economy and those imposed later by World War II, this modification was never carried out, until it was too late for Scharnhorst and Gneisenau to make any difference. War events eventually separated both ships, and each met a sad end at its own individual way - the Gneisenau scuttled in the entrance of the Gdynia harbour, and Scharnhorst at the bottom of the Arctic sea. Battlecruiser Scharnhorst In Scharnhorst and Gneisenau when first completed. The photo can be dated to early as indicated by the snowy conditions ashore. Note ship's badge mounted on her bow. Although the Scharnhorst was the "class" ship and was the first to be laid down and the first to be launched, her sister Gneisenau was completed quicker and was the first to enter service. Gneisenau's final silhouette. The main criticism of her initial design was the relatively low deck height above the water, which made the ship "wet" in North Atlantic conditions. This led to alterations in the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau line and installation of the 'Atlantic Bow' in a winter refit. She conducted trials in the Atlantic in June, Scharnhorst with a similar but not identical "Atlantic" bow installed in July-August Note the Arado Ar seaplanes on the ship's two catapults. View of the Gneisenau's forward two triple mm 11" gun turrets, with forecastle and Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in the foreground, circa later or The battleship Scharnhorst is in the left distance. She has been refitted Scharnhorst and Gneisenau a "clipper" bow. Battlecruisers Scharnhorst left and Gneisenau in an unidentified German port, circa The battlecruiser Scharnhorst and Gneisenau is in the background. The port forward mm turret of the Gneisenau or Scharnhorst seen from ahead. Single-mounted mm guns are beyond, at main deck level, with mm twin anti-aircraft guns above. The wooden foredeck of Scharnhorst, with anchor handling gear in the foreground and two triple mm gun turrets behind. The silhouette of the bridge in the background indicates that this photo was taken at Kiel during the winter of The most famous naval battle involving German twin battlecruisers was the sinking the British aircraft carrier Glorious off Norway, 8 June This photograph shows Scharnhorst firing her forward mm guns during this very engagement. Photographed from the Gneisenau. German warships in a Norwegian port, probably Trondheim, in June Battlecruiser Gneisenau is at left, with Scharnhorst in the left middle distance and heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper in right centre. Photographed through a porthole on the battleship Scharnhorst, during the winter of Probably taken in late Januarywhen Scharnhorst arrived in the Baltic from Wilhelmshaven, joining Gneisenau to work up for combat operations. View from the forward superstructure towards the bow, with the ice cover accumulating on the mm gun turrets. Although the installation of "Atlantic bow" improved deck conditions in rough waters, in stormy seas the ship still took Scharnhorst and Gneisenau of surf across the deck. Although the Channel Dash was a huge propaganda victory for the Germans, both the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau hit mines and were put out of operations for months - indeed, the Gneisenau would never see battle again. Here she lies in in the Alta Fjord, The standstill of service in northern Norway was agonizing for the crews, who were becoming more and more eager to go into action. Such feelings were also growing in Scharnhorst and Gneisenau high command, but given the marginal strength of Kriegsmarine's remaining force, giving in for these sentiments meant a disaster waiting to happen. In a single action on Christmas dayScharnhorst was ordered to sea in appalling weather to attack the convoy JW 55B, only to go straight into a trap orchestrated by the British. Scharnhorst, which early during the engagement lost its fire control radar, put up a heroic resistance against HMS Duke of York and a number of Royal Navy cruisers. She went to bottom leaving only 36 survivors of a total complement of 1, men. Later that evening Admiral Bruce Fraser briefed his officers on board Duke of York: "I hope that if any of you are ever called upon to lead a ship into action against an opponent many times superior, you will command your ship as gallantly as Scharnhorst was commanded today". All Rights Reserved. Used by permission. Terms of use: This site is an interactive community of enthusiasts interested in the art of scale modelling of aircraft, armor, figures, spacecraft and similar subjetcs. All material within this site is protected under copyright, and may only be reproduced for personal use. Commissioning ceremony of Scharnhorst on 7 January Scharnhorst Scharnhorst and Gneisenau her crew her crew manning the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau along the modified bow. The Scharnhorst Scharnhorst and Gneisenau Gneisenau ships were invariably mentioned at the same time, and are fondly remembered as being "the ugly sisters" due to the fact they prowled together, and the havoc they wrought Scharnhorst and Gneisenau British shipping. BBC - History - World Wars: The Sinking of the 'Scharnhorst'

British Broadcasting Corporation Home. The sinking of the Scharnhorst was an enormous psychological blow for the German nation, at the height of World War Two. The wreck has recently been discovered on the sea bed, giving us new information about a Scharnhorst and Gneisenau tale of war. On 19 Decemberduring a conference held in Hitler's Wolfsschanze headquarters, Admiral Doenitz informed the Fuhrer that ' Scharnhorst will attack the next allied convoy headed from England to Russia. Earlier inHitler had told his admirals that their Navy was 'utterly useless'. All the heavy ships of the German Navy should be reduced to scrap, their guns removed and used for coastal defences. However Doenitz persuaded Hitler to send the battle cruisers Scharnhorst and Tirpitz to arctic Norway to harass Russian-bound convoys. However, an attack by British midget submarines badly damaged the Tirpitzleaving the Scharnhorst to operate alone. With her flared "clipper" bow and an extraordinary top speed of 33 knots, she had been described as one of the most beautiful warships ever built. On Christmas Day, Doenitz signalled Scharnhorst : 'The enemy is attempting to aggravate the difficulties of our eastern land forces in their heroic struggle by sending an important convoy of provisions and arms to the Russians. We must help'. The Scharnhorst set sail, unaware that she was being lured into a carefully constructed Royal Navy trap with two convoys providing the bait. Shadowing the westbound convoy, and forming the anvil for the attack, was Force One - the cruisers, BelfastNorfolk and Sheffield. The hammer Scharnhorst and Gneisenau Force Two - the battleship Duke of Yorkthe cruiser Jamaicaand four destroyers, which were approaching from the west. One of those destroyers was the Royal Norwegian Navy's destroyer Stord. This was confirmed at Bletchley Park, which had cracked the German Navy 'Enigma' code, and was listening Scharnhorst and Gneisenau German radio traffic. On 26 December, the British warships were signalled that the 'Admiralty appreciate Scharnhorst is probably at sea'. That Scharnhorst and Gneisenau of the 26th, Scharnhorst was only an hour from Scharnhorst and Gneisenau Murmansk-bound convoy. However, she was unaware that three British cruisers were approaching from the east. When they opened fire, Scharnhorst was taken totally by surprise, and a shell from HMS Norfolk destroyed the Scharnhorst 's radar. Scharnhorst made a second attempt to attack the convoy, and this time it was she who inflicted damage on HMS Norfolk. Admiral Bey, on board the Scharnhorsthad orders from Doenitz to withdraw 'if heavy forces encountered'. So he decided to withdraw to Norway, and use to the full her speed advantage of five knots. The British ships could only hope to shadow her at ever-increasing distances, rather than pursue her. To preserve his Scharnhorst and Gneisenau advantage, Bey released his Scharnhorst and Gneisenau destroyer escorts to make their own way back to Norway. Scharnhorst was now alone and blind, facing a total of 13 Allied warships, as four additional destroyers had now joined the cruisers. For the radar-less Scharnhorsta ten-gun broadside from the Duke of York announced the arrival of Force Two. Scharnhorst radioed that she was 'surrounded by heavy units'. But 'Lucky' Scharnhorst still had her greatest weapon - speed. Well on the way to escaping, she signalled Doenitz: ' Scharnhorst will ever reign supreme'. She signalled: 'To the Fuhrer. We shall fight to the last shell'. A total of 55 torpedoes are fired at Scharnhorstand 11 found their target. It was as good as over. The commander of Scharnhorst broadcast to his crew that 'I shake you all by the hand for the last time'. Admiral Fraser signalled: 'Has Scharnhorst sunk? Fraser then signalled Home Fleet Headquarters ' Scharnhorst sunk'. Well done. In his official Dispatches, Admiral Scharnhorst and Gneisenau stated that 'no ship Scharnhorst and Gneisenau the enemy sink' but, regardless of this, he proceeded to record an official position for that sinking. Almost 60 years later, a Norwegian underwater survey vessel searched the 25 square kilometres of the seabed surrounding that official position. However, the wreck wasn't found. However, is it Scharnhorst and Gneisenau more credible than the official position? None of the logs of the other ships taking part in the battle give any positions for the sinking, but there is a unique method to check the accuracy of the log position. It is similar to an aircraft simulator, but with a warship's bridge replacing the flight deck. In order to recreate the battle, the Bergen computers were loaded with navigational data from the log of the flagship, along with her documented performance data. A Scharnhorst and Gneisenau Battle of North Cape could now be fought. Seven hours later, at the climax of the re-fought battle, the virtual Scharnhorst is sunk. The simulator's computers download a different area for the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau - an area of the seabed approximately 20 sea-miles north of the position given in Fraser's official Dispatches. However, would a search of this new area of Scharnhorst and Gneisenau be any more fruitful? En route to its regular seabed mapping operations, Sverdrup had already surveyed the area indicated by both the simulator and the Duke of York 's logbook. Seen for the first time in almost 60 years, Scharnhorst 's hull lies upside down on the seabed. The vessel's multibeam sonar produces an image of Scharnhorst and Gneisenau objects, one m long, the other 70m long, and positioned at an angle to the first. Is it a wreck and more importantly, is it the wreck of Scharnhorst? The total dimensions are consistent with those of the battle cruiser. Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, it could be a geological feature on the seabed. It is a wreck - but is it Scharnhorst? The layout of the surviving weaponry, like torpedo launchers and gun-turrets, leaves no doubt. Her main mast and her rangefinders are the right way up on the seabed some distance away. As is her entire poop deck, with the stern anchor still in place. The hull shows extensive damage from both armour-piercing shells and torpedoes. HMS Duke of York fired 80 broadsides; and the Allied ships fired a total of 2, shells during the engagement. Some 55 torpedoes were launched at Scharnhorstand 11 are believed to have found their target. There is now an Scharnhorst and Gneisenau of why she sank so suddenly. A massive internal explosion - probably in an ammunition magazine below a forward gun turret, had blown off her bow. The entire bow section remains together as a mass of wreckage and armour, but separated from the main wreck. Of the Scharnhorst 's total crew of 1, men, only 36 survived. Many of those had been ordered to abandon ship, but were left behind in the water when the Allied ships quickly departed the area. Remembering the incident, Rex Chard, Navigating Officer on one of the destroyers, remarked, 'in sea-warfare one is always very sorry for the sailors. It's the ships you're after - not the men. It could have been you. We had to win. Our hearts have mellowed now, but in wartime those hearts are hardened. It was their ship, their pride and joy, and after the Home Fleet had finished with her, she was at the bottom of the Barents Sea. Although there were 38 survivors, none had been picked up by the German warships. Scharnhorst 's Scharnhorst and Gneisenau was an enormous psychological blow to the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau nation. Equally important to the Allied war effort, the routes of the Murmansk convoys were now much more secure. The loss of the Scharnhorst marked the beginning of the end for the era of the big gun. In future, aircraft-carriers would dictate the outcome of major naval engagements. Producer Norman Fenton's interest in locating the Scharnhorst resulted from his successful search in the Arctic for the wreck of the Hull trawler Gaul, during a television investigation into the use Scharnhorst and Gneisenau trawlers to Scharnhorst and Gneisenau on the Soviet Union's Northern Fleet. Search term:. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets CSS enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets CSS if you are able to do so. This page has been archived and is no longer updated. Find out more about page archiving. Setting the trap On 19 Decemberduring a conference held in Hitler's Wolfsschanze headquarters, Admiral Doenitz informed the Fuhrer that ' Scharnhorst will attack the next allied convoy headed from England to Russia. Wreck discovery Seven hours later, at the climax of the re-fought battle, the virtual Scharnhorst is sunk. Aftermath Of the Scharnhorst 's total crew of 1, men, only 36 survived. About the author Producer Norman Fenton's interest in locating the Scharnhorst resulted from his successful search in the Arctic for the wreck of the Hull trawler Gaul, during a television investigation into the use of trawlers to spy on the Soviet Union's Northern Fleet. World War One Centenary. Dan Scharnhorst and Gneisenau asks why so many soldiers survived the trenches in WW1. Settings Sign out.