German battlecruiser Scharnhorst

Scharnhorst was a 31,500 tonne Gneisenau class battlecruiser of the German Kriegsmarine, named the Prussian general and army reformer Gerhard von Scharnhorst and to commemorate the World War I armored cruiser SMS Scharnhorst.

Related Topics:
''Gneisenau'' class - Battlecruiser - Kriegsmarine - Prussian - Gerhard von Scharnhorst - World War I - Armored cruiser - SMS ''Scharnhorst''

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The ship was built at Wilhelmshaven, Germany, launched in October 1936, and commissioned in January 1939. After initial service, she was modified in mid-1939, with a new mainmast located further aft and her straight bow replaced by a "clipper bow" to improve her seaworthiness. However, her relatively low freeboard ensured that she was always very "wet" when at sea. The 38 cm guns intended for her and her sister Gneisenau were not ready when she was built, and so she was fitted with 9 guns of 28 cm instead. These were, of course, no match for the 38 cm guns of most of the larger battleships of her day.

Related Topics:
Wilhelmshaven - Germany - 1936 - 1939 - Mainmast - ''Gneisenau''

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War began before Scharnhorst's modification work was completed. Her first wartime operation was a sweep into the Iceland-Faroes passage in late November 1939 with Gneisenau in which she sank the British armed merchant cruiser HMS Rawalpindi. In the spring of 1940, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau covered the invasion of Norway. They engaged the British battlecruiser Renown on 9 April 1940, with no conclusive results. They sank the carrier HMS Glorious and her escorting destroyers Acasta and Ardent on 8 June at around 64 degrees N off Norway. In this action, Scharnhorst was torpedoed by Acasta. She was further damaged by a bomb a few days later and was under repair for most of the rest of 1940.

Related Topics:
Iceland - Faroes - HMS ''Rawalpindi'' - Norway - ''Renown'' - 9 April - 1940 - HMS ''Glorious'' - Destroyer - ''Acasta'' - ''Ardent'' - 8 June

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From 22 January until 22 March 1941, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau operated in the Atlantic, sinking 22 merchant ships and threatening British maritime supply lines. While at Brest, France, following this operation, the German ships were the targets of repeated air attacks. The resulting damage and trouble with defective boiler superheater tubes kept Scharnhorst non-operational into late 1941, when it was decided to send the two battle cruisers and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen back to Germany. Since it was too risky to attempt redeployment via the North Atlantic, on 11-13 February 1942, the three big ships, escorted by dozens of minesweepers and other small craft, made a daring dash — the "Channel Dash" — through the English Channel, called Operation Cerberus, to reach Germany. Caught off guard, the British were unable to stop the ships with air and surface attacks, though both Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were damaged by mines during the latter part of the voyage.

Related Topics:
22 January - 22 March - 1941 - Brest - France - Prinz Eugen - 11 - 13 February - 1942 - Channel Dash - English Channel - Operation Cerberus

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Repair work, a grounding, and her always troublesome steam powerplant kept Scharnhorst out of action until March 1943, when she went to northern Norway to join the battleship Tirpitz and other German ships threatening the Arctic convoy route to the USSR. Training exercises over the next several months climaxed in a bombardment of Spitzbergen on 8 September 1943, together with the Tirpitz.

Related Topics:
Tirpitz - Arctic convoy - USSR - Spitzbergen - 8 September - 1943

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On Christmas day, 1943, Scharnhorst and several destroyers, under the command of Konteradmiral Erich Bey, put to sea with the purpose of attacking the Russia-bound Arctic convoys JW 55B and RA 55A north of Norway. Unfortunately for the Germans, their orders were decoded by the British codebreakers and the Admiralty sent a superior force to intercept. The next day, in heavy weather and unable to locate the convoy, Bey detached the destroyers and sent them south, leaving Scharnhorst alone. Less than two hours later, the ship encountered the Royal Navy's escorting force of the cruisers Belfast, Norfolk, and Sheffield. Under cover of snow, the British cruisers opened fire. After several exchanges of salvoes, Scharnhorst's radar was disabled, leaving her unable to return accurate fire in low visibility. Norfolk suffered minor damage. In order to try to get around the cruisers to the convoy, Bey ordered Scharnhorst to take a southeast course away from the cruisers. In the late afternoon, the convoy's covering force, including the British battleship HMS Duke of York, made contact and opened fire. Despite suffering the loss of its hangar and a turret, Scharnhorst temporarily increased its distance from its pursuers. The great ship's luck ran out, however when another round from Duke of York destroyed a boiler room, reducing her speed. Then the cruiser Jamaica and the destroyers Musketeer, Matchless, Opportune, and Virago closed and launched torpedoes. Scharnhorst suffered a series of crippling blows, capsizing and sinking at 1945 hours on 26 December with her propellers still turning. Of a total complement of 1,968 men, only 36 survivors were rescued from the frigid seas; 30 by HMS Scorpion and 6 by Virago.

Related Topics:
Christmas day - Destroyer - Erich Bey - Russia - Codebreakers - Admiralty - Royal Navy - Cruiser - ''Belfast'' - ''Norfolk'' - ''Sheffield'' - ''HMS Duke of York'' - ''Jamaica'' - ''Musketeer'' - ''Matchless'' - ''Opportune'' - ''Virago'' - 26 December - ''HMS Scorpion''

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Later that evening Admiral Bruce Fraser briefed his officers on board Duke of York: "Gentlemen, the battle against Scharnhorst has ended in victory for us. 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".

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(Oddly, as a young lieutenant, Scharnhorst had served in 1793 under the Duke of York.)

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On October 3, 2000, the submerged wreck of Scharnhorst was located at about 72° 16? North latitude, 28° 41? East longitude, approximately 70 nautical miles (130 km) north-northeast of North Cape at a depth of nearly 300 m and photographed by the Norwegian Navy.

Related Topics:
October 3 - 2000 - North Cape

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:This article is in large part derived from a public domain publication of the Naval Historical Center, Department of the U.S. Navy http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-fornv/germany/gersh-s/scharn2.htm.

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