Scharnhorst

Scharnhorst, circa 1939.

History

Design

The Scharnhorst class began as an extension of the previous "Panzerschiffe" design which resulted in the Deutschland class cruisers. Because Germany was still nominally bound by the restrictions imposed under the Treaty of Versailles, the initial plan was to build a successor class to the Deutschland which would replace Elsass and Hessen, two pre-dreadnoughts Germany had been allowed to keep under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.

It was in the early 1930s, as France began construction of the Dunkerque class, that design priorities began to change. Where the original concept was a 15,000-18,000 ton ship armed with nine 280mm guns in three turrets, the decision to change the new design so as to be competitive with the Dunkerque began to expand the size of what was to become the Scharnhorst class. The new design eventually called for sufficient armor to protect against the expected 330mm guns of Dunkerque as well as a repetition of the two triple 280mm armament of the previous Deutschland class. Weighing in at 26,000 tons, the navy was unhappy with the design, but two were ordered and laid down anyway in 1934. Just six months later, in July 1934, Adolf Hitler changed his mind, and the final design advocated by the navy, with the characteristic three triple 280mm armament and a final displacement of 35,540 tons, was authorized. The two ships were re-laid a year later.

Despite having been laid last, Gneisenau was completed first, her construction having been prioritized for propaganda purposes. She launched in May 1938 and prepared for sea trials. Gneisenau, due to the low freeboard of the class, proved to be very “wet” and received modifications to her bow in an attempt to address the issue. Scharnhorst also received a clipper bow in the summer of 1939, as well as a funnel cap. Her mainmast was re-positioned at this time, stepped between her catapult and fire director. Despite these changes, both ships continued to have a tendency to take excessive water over the bow in moderate and heavy seas.

Service

Scharnhorst officially completed trials in July 1939 and all modifications were completed near the end of August 1939. She began World War II by returning to Kiel where she received repairs for blast damage sustained during training. On 21 November 1939, both Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were ordered to sea in the Arctic. During this patrol, they encountered and sank the armed merchant cruiser HMS Rawalpindi, returning to Germany for maintenance in January 1940.

Having completed a second, failed sortie into the North Sea, the pair returned to port in time to participate in the invasion of Norway. Sailing in April, they, along with ten destroyers, were to cover the invasion of Narvik. Encountering HMS Renown on 9 April, Gneisenau came off the worse in an inconclusive engagement, with Scharnhorst sustaining significant environmental damage from the heavy seas.

Returning to port and making good all damage, both Scharnhorst and Gneisenau again sailed in support of German operations in Norway in June. On 8 June 1940, they encountered aircraft carrier HMS Glorious and her escorts, destroyers HMS Ardent and HMS Acasta. They sank Glorious, but Scharnhorst was torpedoed by Acasta and was forced to make for Trondheim. Scharnhorst eventually returned to Germany in June, but it would be the end of the year before she was back in action.

In late December 1940, both Scharnhorst and Gneisenau sailed as part of Operation Berlin in the Atlantic. Forced back to port by bad weather and mechanical failures, both ships returned within days, but sortied again on 22 January 1941. This time they managed to break into the Atlantic, and proceeded to sink twenty-two ships, returning to Brest in occupied France in March 1941. Here they became favorite targets of the Royal Air Force, with both ships being severely damaged and spending much of the year under repair and refit. It was here where both ships were refit with torpedo banks that had been landed by cruisers Leipzig and Nürnberg.

Having been joined in the meantime by cruiser Prinz Eugen on 11 February 1942, both Scharnhorst and Gneisenau left Brest for Operation Cerberus (which famously became known as the "Channel Dash"). While the force managed to evade British attacks, both Gneisenau and Scharnhorst struck mines, Scharnhorst twice. All ships reached Kiel on 13 February. Scharnhorst spent several months under repair.

It was not until January 1943 when Scharnhorst was finally returned to action, and she was sent to the Arctic. With the increasing presence of Allied air and sea power, Scharnhorst failed to make port in Narvik until March, her earlier attempts having been abortive. Moving to Altafjord, she remained at anchor — with the exception of a single sortie with Tirpitz — until December 1943.

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  The wappen (coat of arms) of Scharnhorst.

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  Launching ceremony of Scharnhorst, 3 October 1936.

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  Scharnhorst underway, date and location unknown.

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  Scharnhorst, circa 1939.

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  Scharnhorst in port during the winter of 1939–1940.

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  Scharnhorst in Kiel during the winter of 1939-1940.

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  An icy view of Scharnhorst's forward battery, 1939-1940.

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  Scharnhorst in port.

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  Scharnhorst firing against HMS Glorious.

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  Scharnhorst at sea.

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  Gneisenau (fore) and Scharnhorst (distance) as seen from Prinz Eugen during Operation Cerberus, February 1942.

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  Second view of Gneisenau (fore) and Scharnhorst (distance) from Prinz Eugen during Operation Cerberus, February 1942.

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  Aerial reconnaissance photo of Scharnhorst in Kiel after the Channel Dash, 1942.

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  Scharnhorst in Altafjord, Norway, 1943.

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  Survivors from Scharnhorst disembarking in Scapa Flow.

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  Memorial in Wilhelmshaven, Germany for Scharnhorst's crew.