![UK-NWE-Norway-1a](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/UK-NWE-Norway-1a.jpg)
The action off Lofoten was a
naval battle
Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other battlespace involving a major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years. Even in the interior of large lan ...
fought between the German ''
Kriegsmarine
The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...
'' and the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
off the southern coast of the
Lofoten Islands
Lofoten () is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches and untouched lands. There are two towns, Svolvær ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. A German
squadron
Squadron may refer to:
* Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies
* Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...
under
''Vizeadmiral'' Günther Lütjens
Johann Günther Lütjens (25 May 1889 – 27 May 1941) was a German admiral whose military service spanned more than thirty years and two world wars. Lütjens is best known for his actions during World War II and his command of the battleship d ...
consisting of the
battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...
s and met and engaged a British squadron under
Admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...
Sir
William Whitworth William Whitworth may refer to:
* Sir William Whitworth (Royal Navy officer) (1884–1973)
* William Whitworth (journalist) (born 1937), American journalist and editor
* William Whitworth (politician) (1813–1886), British cotton manufacturer and ...
consisting of the
battlecruiser
The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of attr ...
and nine
destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
s. After a short engagement, ''Gneisenau'' suffered moderate damage and the Germans withdrew.
Background
The German invasion of
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
,
Operation Weserübung
Operation Weserübung (german: Unternehmen Weserübung , , 9 April – 10 June 1940) was Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway during the Second World War and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign.
In the early morning of 9 Ap ...
, began on 9 April 1940. In order to prevent any disruption of the invasion by the British, the ''Kriegsmarine'' had previously dispatched a force under Vice Admiral Günther Lütjens to protect the troop
convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...
landing at
Narvik
( se, Áhkanjárga) is the third-largest municipality in Nordland county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Narvik. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Ankenesstranda, Ball ...
. The German squadron consisted of the battleships ''Scharnhorst'' and ''Gneisenau'', the
heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in caliber, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Tr ...
, and ten destroyers. With intelligence suggesting that the Germans were massing ships, the British sent out a squadron under Admiral Sir William Whitworth to deny German access to
neutral
Neutral or neutrality may refer to:
Mathematics and natural science Biology
* Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity
Chemistry and physics
* Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction in ...
Norwegian waters by laying
mines in
Operation Wilfred
Operation Wilfred was a British naval operation during the Second World War that involved the mining of the channel between Norway and its offshore islands to prevent the transport of Swedish iron ore through neutral Norwegian waters to be use ...
and prevent any German naval movements into the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
.
Shortly after departing German waters on 7 April, Lütjens' force was attacked by British bombers which did no damage to the squadron. On 8 April, ''Admiral Hipper'' and the German destroyers were dispatched to Narvik while the German
capital ship
The capital ships of a navy are its most important warships; they are generally the larger ships when compared to other warships in their respective fleet. A capital ship is generally a leading or a primary ship in a naval fleet.
Strategic im ...
s headed north for a diversionary manoeuvre into the North Atlantic. As ''Admiral Hipper'' left, she met and engaged the British destroyer which had become separated from Admiral Whitworth's main force. Though ''Vizeadmiral'' Lütjens—and the two German battleships—was nearby, their assistance was deemed unnecessary, and ''Admiral Hipper'' sank ''Glowworm'', though taking some damage in return. Whitworth's main force then caught sight of ''Scharnhorst'' and ''Gneisenau'' at 03:30 on 9 April and moved to engage the battleships.
Whitworth's force consisted of the battlecruiser ''Renown'' and the nine remaining destroyers. , , , and were
H-class destroyers while was an
E-class destroyer and , , and were of the . was of the
G class G class or Class G may refer to:
Locomotives
* NZR G class (1928), a type of steam locomotive used in New Zealand
* Tasmanian Government Railways G class, a class of 0-4-2T steam locomotive used in Australia
* V/Line G class, a class of diese ...
. ''Renown'' had been completely reconstructed between 1936 and 1939, with lighter machinery, increased armour and upgraded armament. She mounted a main battery of six 42-
calibre
In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the finished bore match ...
15-inch guns with improved shells and greater range and a dual-purpose secondary battery consisting of twenty 4.5-inch (QF 4.5 inch L/45) guns arranged in ten turrets. The four I and E-class destroyers had been rigged for mine laying and most of their normal armament had been removed; they only had two guns each. ''Greyhound'' and the H-class destroyers were more capable ships, each armed with eight
torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes.
There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s and four 4.7-inch guns. Of the H-class destroyers, ''Hardy'' was built as a destroyer leader and thus had an additional 4.7-inch gun.
The German force consisted of the two ''Scharnhorst''-class battleships, each with a main battery of nine
28.3 cm guns and a secondary battery of twelve
15 cm guns. In a close range engagement, the British force was superior, but at a distance the guns on Whitworth's destroyers were outranged and the German firepower was greater. The German force also held a speed advantage over ''Renown'', having a top speed of to the battlecruiser′s , but was slower than the destroyers, which could steam at . Thus, Lütjens clearly held an advantage over ''Renown'', though the German force was significantly vulnerable to attack from Whitworth′s destroyers.
Battle
At 03:50, ''Gneisenau'' sighted ''Renown'' on its radar (but failed to identify her) and the German ships cleared for action. Due to poor weather conditions, neither side was able to engage the other until 04:05, as heavy seas and poor visibility prevented the two squadrons from closing within range. ''Renown'' began the action by attacking ''Gneisenau'' with her 15-inch guns. The German warships returned fire at 04:11 with ''Gneisenau'' scoring two hits on ''Renown'' with her 11-inch shells. Both shells failed to explode, with the first hitting the British battlecruiser's foremast and the second passing through the ship near the steering gear room. About the same time, ''Renown'' struck ''Gneisenau'' with two shells, with a third a little later. These hits damaged the German battleship's director tower, forward range finders, and aft turret putting it out of action, a port anti-aircraft gun was also hit. ''Renown'' then moved her fire to ''Scharnhorst'', which had moved to hide ''Gneisenau'' with smoke. Both German ships suffered damage from the heavy seas as they sought to avoid ''Renown''s fire and both suffered serious electrical problems in their turrets as a result, resulting in poor output from their guns. ''Renown'' also suffered some damage to her starboard bulge from the rough seas and firing of her guns, limiting speed. These early salvos were sporadic and lasted until 05:00, when the engagement was broken off for 20 minutes due to waves breaking over ''Renown''s forward turrets as the German ships headed directly into the storm to escape. By this time ''Renown''s destroyer escort had fallen back due to the severe weather and ''Scharnhorst'' started to suffer radar problems at about 04.20.
At 05:20, the action reignited, with ineffectual fire coming from both sides. With both ships damaged by their speed through the storm, ''Gneisenau'' missing a turret and ''Scharnhorst''s radar out of action, as well as fearing a
torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
attack on the damaged ''Gneisenau'', the Germans increased their speed and disengaged at 06:15. The Germans mistook Whitworth's smaller vessels for much more powerful capital ships and as a result thought they were heavily outgunned. Damaged and determined to steer clear of what he thought was a superior force, Lütjens managed to shake off the British squadron and end the action by sailing west into the
Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...
. With her damaged bulge and the problems of firing forwards into a storm ''Renown'' was forced to break off the search, instead moving to cut off the ships should they turn round.
''Renown'' fired 230 15-inch and 1065 4.5-inch rounds during the action, while ''Scharnhorst'' fired 182 11-inch rounds and ''Gneisenau'' only managed to fire 54 11-inch rounds.
Aftermath
Despite the Royal Navy winning a minor tactical victory over the ''Kriegsmarine'', the Germans considered the engagement a strategic success due to the fact that Whitworth's force was delayed long enough to keep it from interfering with the landings at Narvik. After the action had ended, Whitworth's force continued to search for the German capital ships. With the British squadron occupied, the German destroyer-transports managed to make their way through to
Narvik
( se, Áhkanjárga) is the third-largest municipality in Nordland county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Narvik. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Ankenesstranda, Ball ...
after destroying two
Norwegian coastal defence ships in their path. After their engagement with ''Renown'', the German battleships linked up with ''Admiral Hipper'' on the 11th near Trondheim. From there, they returned to Germany, reaching Wilhelmshaven on 12 April where the battle and weather damage to ''Scharnhorst'' and ''Gneisenau'' was repaired.
[Haarr, p. 316.]
See also
*
List of Kriegsmarine ships
The list of ''Kriegsmarine'' ships includes all ships commissioned into the ''Kriegsmarine'', the navy of Nazi Germany, during its existence from 1935 to the conclusion of World War II in 1945.
See the list of naval ships of Germany for sh ...
*
List of classes of British ships of World War II
Citations
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* Smith, Peter C (2008) ''The Battle-Cruiser HMS Renown 1916-48.'' Barnsley: Pen and Sword Maritime. ''.''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lofoten, Action off
Naval battles and operations of the European theatre of World War II
Naval battles of World War II involving Germany
Lofoten
Lofoten () is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches and untouched lands. There are two towns, Svolvær ...
Conflicts in 1940
1940 in Norway
1940 in Germany
1940 in the United Kingdom
Action off Lofoten
The action off Lofoten was a naval battle fought between the German ''Kriegsmarine'' and the British Royal Navy off the southern coast of the Lofoten Islands, Norway during World War II. A German squadron under ''Vizeadmiral'' Günther Lütj ...
Norwegian campaign
April 1940 events