''Scharnhorst'' was a 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 ...
, alternatively described as a
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 ...
or
battlecruiser, of
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
's ''
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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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 ...
''. She was the
lead ship
The lead ship, name 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 to naval ships and large civilian vessels.
Large ships are very complex and may ...
of
her class, which included her sister ship . The ship was built at the
''Kriegsmarinewerft'' dockyard in
Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') 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, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...
; she was laid down on 15 June 1935 and launched a year and four months later on 3 October 1936. Completed in January 1939, the ship was armed with a main battery of nine
28 cm (11 in) C/34 guns in three triple turrets. Plans to replace these weapons with six
38 cm (15 in) SK C/34 guns in twin turrets were never carried out.
''Scharnhorst'' and ''Gneisenau'' operated together for much of the early portion of
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 ...
, including sorties into the Atlantic to raid British merchant shipping. During her first operation, ''Scharnhorst'' sank the armed merchant in a short engagement (November 1939). ''Scharnhorst'' and ''Gneisenau'' participated in
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 ...
(April–June 1940), the German invasion of Norway. During operations off Norway, the two ships engaged the battlecruiser and sank the
aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
as well as her escort destroyers and . In that engagement ''Scharnhorst'' achieved one of the longest-range naval gunfire hits in history.
In early 1942, after British bombing raids, the two ships made the
Channel Dash
The Channel Dash (german: Unternehmen Zerberus, Operation Cerberus) was a German naval operation during the Second World War. ( Cerberus), a three-headed dog of Greek mythology who guards the gate to Hades. A (German Navy) squadron comprisin ...
up the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
from occupied France to Germany. In early 1943, ''Scharnhorst'' joined the in Norway to interdict Allied convoys to the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. ''Scharnhorst'' and several
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 sortied from Norway to attack a convoy but British naval patrols intercepted the German force. During the
Battle of the North Cape
The Battle of the North Cape was a Second World War naval battle that occurred on 26 December 1943, as part of the Arctic campaign. The , on an operation to attack Arctic Convoys of war materiel from the Western Allies to the Soviet Union, wa ...
(26 December 1943), the
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 ...
battleship and her escorts sank ''Scharnhorst''. Only 36 men survived, out of a crew of 1,968.
Design
![Scharnhorst1943](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Scharnhorst1943.png)
''Scharnhorst''
displaced at
standard displacement
The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...
and at
full load
The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...
. She was
long overall
__NOTOC__
Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, an ...
and had a
beam
Beam may refer to:
Streams of particles or energy
*Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy
**Laser beam
*Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles
**Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...
of and a maximum
draft
Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to:
Watercraft dimensions
* Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel
* Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail
* Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...
of . She was powered by three
Brown, Boveri & Cie
Brown, Boveri & Cie. (Brown, Boveri & Company; BBC) was a Swiss group of electrical engineering companies.
It was founded in Zürich, in 1891 by Charles Eugene Lancelot Brown and Walter Boveri who worked at the Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon. In 1 ...
geared
steam turbines
A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...
, which developed a total of and yielded a maximum speed of on speed trials. Her standard crew numbered 56 officers and 1,613 enlisted men, augmented during the war to 60 officers and 1,780 men. While serving as a
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, ...
flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
, ''Scharnhorst'' carried an additional 10 officers and 61 enlisted men.
She was armed with a
main battery
A main battery is the primary weapon or group of weapons around which a warship is designed. As such, a main battery was historically a gun or group of guns, as in the broadsides of cannon on a ship of the line. Later, this came to be turreted ...
of nine
28 cm (11.1 in) L/54.5 guns arranged in three triple
gun turret
A gun turret (or simply turret) is a mounting platform from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility and ability to turn and aim. A modern gun turret is generally a rotatable weapon mount that houses the crew or mechani ...
s: two turrets were placed forward in a
superfiring arrangement (Anton and Bruno), and one aft (Caesar). The design also enabled the ship to be up-gunned with six 15-inch guns, which never took place. Her
secondary armament
Secondary armament is a term used to refer to smaller, faster-firing weapons that were typically effective at a shorter range than the main (heavy) weapons on military systems, including battleship- and cruiser-type warships, tanks/armored ...
consisted of twelve
15 cm (5.9 in) L/55 guns, eight of which were placed in two-gun turrets and the remaining four were carried in individual turrets. Her anti-aircraft armament consisted of fourteen
10.5 cm L/65 and sixteen
SK C/30 L/83, and initially ten
C/30 anti-aircraft guns. The number of 2 cm guns was eventually increased to thirty-eight. Six above-water
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, taken from the
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. Prior to thi ...
s and , were installed in 1942.
''Scharnhorst'' had an
armor belt
Belt armor is a layer of heavy metal armor plated onto or within the outer hulls of warships, typically on battleships, battlecruisers and cruisers, and aircraft carriers.
The belt armor is designed to prevent projectiles from penetrating ...
that was thick in the central portion, where it protected the ship's ammunition
magazine
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
s and propulsion machinery spaces. The ship had an armored deck that was thick on the flat portion, increasing to on downward-sloping sides that connected to the bottom of the belt. Her main battery turrets had of armor on their faces and on their sides. The
conning tower
A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer in charge can conn the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for the ship's engine, rudder, lines, and gro ...
was protected with 350 mm on the sides.
Commanding officers
At her commissioning, ''Scharnhorst'' was commanded by ''Kapitän zur See'' (''KzS'')
Otto Ciliax
Otto Ciliax (30 October 1891 – 12 December 1964) was a German naval officer who served in the navies of the German Empire, the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. As an admiral during World War II, he commanded the German battleships. He was a re ...
. His tenure as the ship's commander was brief; in September 1939, an illness forced him to go on sick leave, and he was replaced by ''KzS''
Kurt-Caesar Hoffmann
Kurt-Caesar Hoffmann (26 August 1895 – 19 May 1988) was a senior naval commander in the German Navy ('' Kriegsmarine'') during World War II, who commanded the battleship . He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
Career
Hof ...
. Hoffmann served as the ship's captain until 1942. On 1 April 1942, Hoffmann, who had been promoted to
''Konteradmiral'' (Rear Admiral) and awarded the
Knight's Cross
Knight's Cross (German language ''Ritterkreuz'') refers to a distinguishing grade or level of various orders that often denotes bravery and leadership on the battlefield.
Most frequently the term Knight's Cross is used to refer to the Knight's Cr ...
, transferred command of the ship to ''KzS''
Friedrich Hüffmeier. In October 1943, shortly before ''Scharnhorst''s last mission, Hüffmeier was replaced by ''KzS''
Fritz Hintze, who was killed during the ship's final battle.
Service history
''Scharnhorst'' was ordered as ''Ersatz Elsass'' as a replacement for the old
pre-dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought battleships were sea-going battleships built between the mid- to late- 1880s and 1905, before the launch of in 1906. The pre-dreadnought ships replaced the ironclad battleships of the 1870s and 1880s. Built from steel, protec ...
, under the contract name "D." The
''Kriegsmarinewerft'' in
Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') 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, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...
was awarded the contract, where the keel was laid on 16 July 1935. The ship was launched on 3 October 1936, witnessed by
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
, Minister of War
Generalfeldmarschall
''Generalfeldmarschall'' (from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; en, general field marshal, field marshal general, or field marshal; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several ...
Werner von Blomberg
Werner Eduard Fritz von Blomberg (2 September 1878 – 13 March 1946) was a German General Staff officer and the first Minister of War in Adolf Hitler's government. After serving on the Western Front in World War I, Blomberg was appointed chi ...
, and the widow of ''
Kapitän zur See
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The rank is equal to the army rank of colonel and air force rank of group captain.
Equivalent ranks worldwide include ...
'' Schultz, the commander of the
armored cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast eno ...
, which had been sunk at the
Battle of the Falkland Islands
The Battle of the Falkland Islands was a First World War naval action between the British Royal Navy and Imperial German Navy on 8 December 1914 in the South Atlantic. The British, after their defeat at the Battle of Coronel on 1 November, sen ...
during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
Fitting-out
Fitting out, or outfitting, is the process in shipbuilding that follows the float-out/launching of a vessel and precedes sea trials. It is the period when all the remaining construction of the ship is completed and readied for delivery to her o ...
work followed her launch, and was completed by January 1939. ''Scharnhorst'' was commissioned into the fleet on 9 January for
sea trials
A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and i ...
, which revealed a dangerous tendency to ship considerable amounts of water in heavy seas. This caused flooding in the bow and 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." A raked funnel cap was also installed during the reconstruction, along with an enlarged aircraft hangar; the main mast was also moved further aft. The modifications were completed by November 1939, by which time the ship was finally fully operational.
''Scharnhorst''s first operation began on 21 November 1939; the ship, in company with her sister , the light cruiser , and nine destroyers, was to patrol the area between Iceland and the
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
. The intent of the operation was to draw out British units and ease the pressure on the heavy cruiser ("pocket battleship") , which was being pursued in the South Atlantic. Two days later, the German flotilla intercepted the British
armed merchant cruiser
An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...
. At 16:07, lookouts aboard ''Scharnhorst'' spotted the vessel, and less than an hour later ''Scharnhorst'' had closed the range. At 17:03, ''Scharnhorst'' opened fire, and three minutes later a salvo of her 28 cm guns hit ''Rawalpindi''s bridge, killing the captain
Edward Coverly Kennedy
Edward Coverley Kennedy (31 August 1879 – 23 November 1939) was a Royal Navy officer who is remembered as the captain of the armed merchant cruiser who engaged the German battleships and .Stephen Roskill : ''The War at Sea 1939–1945 Vol I ...
, and the majority of the officers. During the brief engagement, ''Rawalpindi'' managed to score a hit on ''Scharnhorst'', which caused minor splinter damage.
By 17:16, ''Rawalpindi'' was burning badly and in the process of sinking. Admiral
Wilhelm Marschall
Wilhelm Marschall (30 September 1886 – 20 March 1976) was a German admiral during World War II. He was also a recipient of the ''Pour le Mérite'' which he received as commander of the German U-boat during World War I. The ''Pour le Mérite'' ...
, aboard ''Gneisenau'', ordered ''Scharnhorst'' to pick up survivors. These rescue operations were interrupted by the appearance of the cruiser . The German force quickly fled north before using inclement weather to make the dash south through the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
. Four Allied capital ships, the British , and , and the French
''Dunkerque'', followed in pursuit. The Germans reached Wilhelmshaven on 27 November, and on the trip both battleships incurred significant damage from heavy seas and winds. ''Scharnhorst'' was repaired in Wilhelmshaven, and while in dock, her boilers were overhauled.
Following the completion of repairs, ''Scharnhorst'' went into the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
for gunnery training. Heavy ice in the Baltic kept the ship there until February 1940 when she could return to Wilhelmshaven, arriving on 5 February. Between 18 February and 20 February, she participated in
Operation Nordmark
Operation Nordmark ( also : operation 'Kirkwall' ) was a sortie of the German fleet directed against British shipping between Norway and Shetland between 18 and 20 February 1940.
Background
In retaliation for the Altmark incident the Germans ...
, a brief sortie into the North Sea as far as the
Shetland Islands
Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom.
The islands lie about to the no ...
.
Operation Weserübung
She was then assigned to the forces participating in
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 ...
, the invasion of Denmark and Norway. ''Scharnhorst'' and ''Gneisenau'' were the covering force for the assaults on
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 ...
and
Trondheim
Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...
; the two ships left Wilhelmshaven on the morning of 7 April. They were joined by the heavy cruiser . Later that day, at around 14:30, the three ships came under attack by a force of British bombers, which failed to make any hits. Heavy winds caused significant structural damage that evening, and flooding contaminated a portion of ''Scharnhorst''s fuel stores.
![Bundesarchiv DVM 10 Bild-23-63-46, Schlachtschiff](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Bundesarchiv_DVM_10_Bild-23-63-46%2C_Schlachtschiff_%22Scharnhorst%22.jpg)
At 09:15 the following morning, ''Admiral Hipper'' was detached to reinforce the destroyers at Narvik, which had reported engaging British forces. Early on 9 April, the two ships
encountered the British battlecruiser HMS ''Renown''. ''Gneisenau''s
Seetakt radar
Seetakt was a shipborne radar developed in the 1930s and used by Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' during World War II.
Development
In Germany during the late 1920s, Hans Hollmann began working in the field of microwaves, which were to later becom ...
picked up a radar contact at 04:30, which prompted the crews of both vessels to go to combat stations. Half an hour later, ''Scharnhorst''s navigator spotted gun flashes from firing at ''Gneisenau''; the Germans returned fire three minutes later. ''Gneisenau'' was hit twice in the opening portion of the engagement, and one shell disabled her rear gun turret. ''Scharnhorst''s radar malfunctioned, which prevented her from being able to effectively engage ''Renown'' during the battle. At 05:18, the British battlecruiser shifted fire to ''Scharnhorst'', which maneuvered to avoid the falling shells. By 07:15, ''Scharnhorst'' and ''Gneisenau'' had used their superior speed to escape from the pursuing ''Renown''. Heavy seas and the high speed with which the pair of battleships escaped caused them to ship large amounts of water forward. ''Scharnhorst''s forward turret was put out of action by severe flooding. Mechanical problems with her starboard turbines developed after running at full speed, which forced the ships to reduce speed to .
''Scharnhorst'' and ''Gneisenau'' had reached a point north-west of
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 ...
, Norway, by 12:00 on 9 April. The two ships then turned west for 24 hours while temporary repairs were effected. After a day of steaming west, the ships turned south and rendezvoused with ''Admiral Hipper'' on 12 April. An
RAF
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
patrol aircraft spotted the three ships that day, which prompted an air attack. The German warships were protected by poor visibility, however, and the three ships safely reached port later that day. ''Scharnhorst'' returned to Germany, and was repaired at the
Deutsche Werke
Deutsche Werke was a German shipbuilding company that was 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 defense industry to shri ...
in
Kiel
Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021).
Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...
. During the repair process, the aircraft
catapult
A catapult is a ballistic device used to launch a projectile a great distance without the aid of gunpowder or other propellants – particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. A catapult uses the sudden release of stored p ...
that had been installed on the rear gun turret was removed.
Operation Juno
The two ships left Wilhelmshaven on 4 June to return to Norway. They were joined by ''Admiral Hipper'' and four destroyers. The purpose of the sortie was to interrupt Allied efforts to resupply the Norwegians and to relieve the pressure on German troops fighting in Norway. On 7 June, the squadron rendezvoused with the tanker to refuel ''Admiral Hipper'' and the four destroyers. The next day, the British trawler was discovered and sunk, along with the oil tanker ''Oil Pioneer''. The Germans then launched their
Arado 196
The Arado Ar 196 was a shipboard Aerial reconnaissance, reconnaissance low-wing monoplane aircraft built by the Germany, German firm of Arado Flugzeugwerke, Arado starting in 1936. The next year it was selected as the winner of a design contest a ...
float planes to search for more Allied vessels. ''Admiral Hipper'' and the destroyers were sent to destroy ''Orama'', a passenger ship, while ''Atlantis'', a
hospital ship
A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones. ...
, was allowed to proceed unmolested. Admiral Marschall detached ''Admiral Hipper'' and the four destroyers to refuel in Trondheim, while he would steam to the
Harstad
( se, Hárstták) is the second-most populated municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is mostly located on the large island of Hinnøya. The municipal center is the Harstad (town), town of Harstad, the most populous town in Centra ...
area.
At 17:45, the German battleships spotted the British
aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
and two escorting destroyers, and , at a range of some . At 18:32 ''Scharnhorst'' (as the closer ship) opened fire with her main armament on ''Glorious'', at a range of . Six minutes after opening fire, ''Scharnhorst'' scored a hit at a range of . The shell struck the carrier's upper hangar and started a large fire. Less than ten minutes later, a shell from ''Gneisenau'' struck the bridge and killed ''Glorious''s captain. The two destroyers attempted to cover ''Glorious'' with smoke screens, but the German battleships could track the carrier with their radar. By 18:26 the range had fallen to , and ''Scharnhorst'' and ''Gneisenau'' were firing full salvos at the carrier. After approximately an hour of shooting, the German battleships sent ''Glorious'' to the bottom. They also sank the two destroyers. As ''Acasta'' sank, one of the 4 torpedoes she had fired hit ''Scharnhorst'' at 19:39. ''Acasta'' also hit ''Scharnhorst''s forward superfiring turret with her 4.7" QF guns, which did negligible damage. The torpedo hit caused serious damage; it tore a hole and allowed of water into the ship. The rear turret was disabled and 48 men were killed. The flooding caused a 5 degree list, increased the stern draft by almost a meter, and forced ''Scharnhorst'' to reduce speed to . The ship's machinery was also significantly damaged by the flooding, and the starboard propeller shaft was destroyed.
The damage was severe enough to force ''Scharnhorst'' to put into Trondheim for temporary repairs. She reached port on the afternoon of 9 June, where the repair ship ''Huaskaran'' was waiting. The following day a reconnaissance plane from
RAF Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...
spotted the ship, and a raid by twelve
Hudson bombers took place on 11 June. The Hudsons dropped thirty-six armor-piercing bombs, which all missed. The
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 ...
joined in the attacks on the ship by sending the battleship ''Rodney'' and the aircraft carrier . On 13 June, ''Ark Royal'' launched fifteen
Skua dive bombers; German fighters intercepted the attackers and shot eight of them down. The other seven made it past the air defenses and attacked ''Scharnhorst'', but only scored one hit, and the bomb failed to detonate. Preliminary repairs were completed by 20 June, which permitted the ship to return to Germany. While ''Scharnhorst'' was en route under heavy escort on 21 June, the British launched two air attacks, six
Swordfish torpedo bombers in the first and nine
Beaufort bombers in the second. Both were driven off by anti-aircraft fire and fighters. The Germans intercepted British radio traffic that indicated the Royal Navy was at sea, which prompted ''Scharnhorst'' to make for
Stavanger
Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...
. British warships were within of ''Scharnhorst''s position when she turned to Stavanger. The next day, ''Scharnhorst'' left Stavanger for Kiel, where repairs were carried out, lasting some six months.
Operation Berlin
Following the completion of repairs, ''Scharnhorst'' underwent trials in the Baltic before returning to Kiel in December 1940. There she joined ''Gneisenau'', in preparation for
Operation Berlin, a planned raid into the Atlantic Ocean designed to wreak havoc on the Allied shipping lanes. Severe storms caused damage to ''Gneisenau'' but ''Scharnhorst'' was undamaged. The two ships were forced to put into port during the storm: ''Scharnhorst'' went to
Gotenhafen
Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in th ...
while ''Gneisenau'' went to Kiel for repairs. Repairs were quickly completed, and on 22 January 1941, the two ships, under the command of Admiral
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 ...
, left port for the North Atlantic. They were detected in the
Skagerrak
The Skagerrak (, , ) is a strait running between the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, the southeast coast of Norway and the west coast of Sweden, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea area through the Danish Straits to the Baltic Sea.
The ...
and the heavy units of the British
Home Fleet
The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet.
Before the First ...
deployed to cover the passage between Iceland and the Faroes. The Germans' radar detected the British at long range, which allowed Lütjens to avoid the British patrols, with the aid of a
squall
A squall is a sudden, sharp increase in wind speed lasting minutes, as opposed to a wind gust, which lasts for only seconds. They are usually associated with active weather, such as rain showers, thunderstorms, or heavy snow. Squalls refer to the ...
. By 3 February, the two battleships had evaded the last British cruiser patrol, and had broken into the open Atlantic.
On 6 February, the two ships refueled from the tanker ''Schlettstadt'' south of
Cape Farewell. Shortly after 08:30 on 8 February, lookouts spotted
convoy HX 106
Convoy HX 106 was the 106th of the numbered series of Allied HX convoys of merchant ships from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Liverpool, England. Forty-one ships departed Halifax, Nova Scotia on 30 January 1941, eastbound to Liverpool, England. The u ...
, escorted by the battleship . Lütjens' orders prohibited him from engaging Allied capital ships, and so the attack was called off. ''Scharnhorst''s commander, ''KzS'' Hoffmann, however, closed to in an attempt to lure ''Ramillies'' away from the convoy so that ''Gneisenau'' could attack the convoy. Lütjens ordered Hoffmann to rejoin the flagship immediately. The two battleships steamed off to the northwest to search for more shipping. On 22 February, the pair spotted an empty convoy sailing west, which dispersed at the appearance of the battleships. ''Scharnhorst'' managed to sink only one ship during the encounter, the 6000 ton tanker ''Lustrous''.
Lütjens then decided to move to a new area, as the surviving members of the dispersed convoy had sent distress signals. He chose the Cape Town-Gibraltar convoy route, and positioned himself to the northwest of
Cape Verde
, national_anthem = ()
, official_languages = Portuguese
, national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole
, capital = Praia
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, demonym ...
. The two ships encountered
convoy SL 67
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 ...
, escorted by the battleship , on 8 March. Lütjens again forbade an attack, but he shadowed the convoy and directed
U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
s to attack. A pair of U-boats sank a total of 28,488
ton
Ton is the name of any one of several units of measure. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses.
Mainly it describes units of weight. Confusion can arise because ''ton'' can mean
* the long ton, which is 2,240 pounds
...
s of shipping on the night of 8–9 March. ''Malaya'' turned on the two battleships and closed to , well within the range of the Germans' guns, but Lütjens refused to be drawn into an engagement. He instead turned toward the mid-Atlantic, where ''Scharnhorst'' sank the Greek cargo ship ''Marathon''. The two ships then refueled from the tankers ''Uckermark'' and ''Ermland'' on 12 March.
On 15 March, the two battleships, with the two tankers in company, encountered a dispersed convoy in the mid-Atlantic. ''Scharnhorst'' sank two ships. Several days later, the main body of the convoy was located, and ''Scharnhorst'' sank another seven ships totaling 27,277 tons. One of the surviving ships radioed the location of the German battleships, which summoned the powerful British battleships ''Rodney'' and . ''Scharnhorst'' and ''Gneisenau'' used their high speed to escape in a squall, and the intervention by the British battleships convinced Lütjens that the chances of further success were small. He therefore decided to head for
Brest
Brest may refer to:
Places
*Brest, Belarus
**Brest Region
**Brest Airport
**Brest Fortress
* Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria
* Břest, Czech Republic
*Brest, France
** Arrondissement of Brest
**Brest Bretagne Airport
** Château de Brest
*Br ...
in occupied France, which the ships reached on 22 March. Throughout the operation, ''Scharnhorst'' had difficulties with the superheater tubes in her boilers. Repair work lasted until July, which caused the ship to be unavailable during
Operation Rheinübung
Operation Rheinübung ("Exercise Rhine") was the sortie into the Atlantic by the new German battleship and heavy cruiser on 18–27 May 1941, during World War II. This operation to block Allies of World War II, Allied shipping to the United ...
, the sortie by the new battleship in May 1941.
Air raid on 24 July 1941
After repairs were completed in July, ''Scharnhorst'' went to
La Pallice
La Pallice (also known as ''grand port maritime de La Rochelle'') is the commercial deep-water port of La Rochelle, France.
During the Fall of France, on 19 June 1940, approximately 6,000 Polish soldiers in exile under the command of Stanisław ...
for trials on the 21st, where she easily steamed at . She did not return to Brest to avoid an undesirable concentration of heavy units in one port (the
''Prinz Eugen'' had arrived there on 21 July) but moored alongside at La Pallice on 23 July. The RAF had planned a large, complicated raid on the capital ships in Brest for the night of 24 July, but an aerial reconnaissance photograp
of ''Scharnhorst'' in her berth at La Pallice caused a last minute alteration to the operation. The
Handley Page Halifax, Halifax heavy bombers of
No. 35 Squadron RAF and
No. 76 Squadron RAF
Number 76 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was formed during World War I as a home defence fighter squadron and in its second incarnation during World War II flew as a bomber squadron, first as an operational training unit and ...
flew the extra to reach ''Scharnhorst'' and the rest of the raid on Brest went ahead as planned, with ''Prinz Eugen'' and ''Gneisenau'' as their principal targets. The 15 Halifaxes attacked ''Scharnhorst'' at her moorings.
They scored five hits in an almost straight line on the starboard side, parallel to the centerline. Three of the bombs were armor-piercing bombs, and the other two were high-explosive bombs. One of the 227 kg bombs hit the deck just forward of the starboard 15 cm twin turret next to the conning tower. It passed through the upper and middle decks before exploding on the main armored deck, which contained the blast. The joints with the
torpedo bulkhead
A torpedo bulkhead is a type of naval armour 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 is struck underneath the belt ar ...
were weakened enough to cause leaking. The second 227 kg bomb fell forward of the rear main battery turret and penetrated the first two decks. It also exploded on the armored deck and tore a small hole in it. The explosion caused splinter damage and disabled the ammunition hoists for the 37 mm anti-aircraft guns.
Two of the 454 kg bombs hit amidships between the 15 cm and 10.5 cm gun turrets; both failed to explode and instead penetrated the ship completely. The first went through each deck and exited the ship through the
double bottom
A double hull is a ship Hull (watercraft), hull design and construction method where the bottom and sides of the ship have two complete layers of watertight hull surface: one outer layer forming the normal hull of the ship, and a second inner hull ...
, while the other was deflected by the torpedo bulkhead and penetrated the hull beneath the side belt armor. The third 454 kg bomb hit aft of the rear 28 cm turret, about from the side of the ship. It too failed to detonate, and passed through the side of the hull, which was not protected by the main armor belt. These three hits caused significant flooding and an 8 degree list to starboard. The forward and rear gun turrets were temporarily disabled, along with half of her anti-aircraft battery. Two men were killed and fifteen were injured in the attack. Damage-control teams managed to correct the list with counter-flooding, and although draft increased by , ''Scharnhorst'' was able to leave for Brest at 19:30. On the morning of 25 July, one of the escorting destroyers shot down a British patrol plane. The ship reached Brest later that day and went into dry dock for repairs, which took 4 months. While the damage was being repaired, a new radar system was installed aft, the power output for the forward radar was increased to 100 kW, and the 53.3 cm torpedo tubes were installed.
The strategic position following the damage to ''Scharnhorst'' was serious. ''Gneisenau'' was still being repaired following torpedo damage on 6 April and bomb damage on 9–10 April. The ''Prinz Eugen'' had been seriously damaged by a bomb on 1 July. ''Bismarck'' had been sunk on 27 May. All German capital ships deployed to the Atlantic were therefore out of action. In addition, ''Tirpitz'' was still working up and not ready for service;
''Lützow'' had been seriously damaged by a torpedo on 13 June 1941;
''Admiral Scheer'' and
''Admiral Hipper'' were in dockyards for maintenance.
Operation Cerberus
On 12 January 1942, the German Naval Command, in a conference with Hitler, made the decision to return ''Scharnhorst'', ''Gneisenau'', and the heavy cruiser ''Prinz Eugen'' to Germany. The intention was to deploy the vessels to Norway to interdict Allied convoys to the Soviet Union. The so-called "
Channel Dash
The Channel Dash (german: Unternehmen Zerberus, Operation Cerberus) was a German naval operation during the Second World War. ( Cerberus), a three-headed dog of Greek mythology who guards the gate to Hades. A (German Navy) squadron comprisin ...
", codenamed Operation Cerberus, would avoid the increasingly effective Allied radar and patrol aircraft in the Atlantic. Vice Admiral Otto Ciliax, ''Scharnhorst''s first commander, was given command of the operation. In early February,
minesweepers
A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping.
History
The earliest known usage of ...
swept a route through the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
undetected by the British.
At 23:00 on 11 February, ''Scharnhorst'', ''Gneisenau'', and ''Prinz Eugen'' left Brest. They entered the Channel an hour later; the three ships sped at , hugging the French coast along the voyage. The British failed to detect their departure, as the submarine that had been tasked with observing the port had withdrawn to recharge its batteries. By 06:30, they had passed
Cherbourg
Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...
, at which point they were joined by a flotilla of torpedo boats. The torpedo boats were led by ''Kapitän''
Erich Bey
Konteradmiral Erich Bey (23 March 1898 – 26 December 1943) was a German admiral during World War II. He served as commander of the Kriegsmarine's destroyer forces and commanded the battleship ''Scharnhorst'' in the Battle of the North Cape ...
, aboard the destroyer . ''
General der Jagdflieger
Inspector of Fighters (German language: ''Inspekteur der Jagdflieger'' redesignated to ''General der Jagdflieger'' (General of Fighters)) was not a rank but a leading position within the High Command of the German Luftwaffe in Nazi Germany
...
'' (General of Fighter Force)
Adolf Galland
Adolf Josef Ferdinand Galland (19 March 1912 – 9 February 1996) was a German Luftwaffe general and flying ace who served throughout the Second World War in Europe. He flew 705 combat missions, and fought on the Western Front and in the Defen ...
directed Luftwaffe fighter and bomber forces (
Operation Donnerkeil
Unternehmen Donnerkeil (Operation Thunderbolt) was the codename for a German military operation of the Second World War. ''Donnerkeil'' was an air superiority operation to support the '' Kriegsmarine'' (German Navy) Operation Cerberus, also know ...
) during ''Cerberus''. The fighters flew at masthead-height to avoid detection by the British radar network. Liaison officers were present on all three ships. German aircraft arrived later to jam British radar with
chaff
Chaff (; ) is the dry, scaly protective casing of the seeds of cereal grains or similar fine, dry, scaly plant material (such as scaly parts of flowers or finely chopped straw). Chaff is indigestible by humans, but livestock can eat it. In agri ...
. By 13:00, the ships had cleared the
Strait of Dover
The Strait of Dover or Dover Strait (french: Pas de Calais - ''Strait of Calais''), is the strait at the narrowest part of the English Channel, marking the boundary between the Channel and the North Sea, separating Great Britain from continent ...
; half an hour later, a flight of six Swordfish torpedo bombers, with
Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Griff ...
escort, attacked the Germans. The British failed to penetrate the Luftwaffe fighter shield, and all six Swordfish were destroyed.
''Scharnhorst'' did not make the voyage unscathed, however; at 15:31 she struck an air-dropped magnetic mine in the mouth of the Scheldt, abreast of the forward superfiring turret. The blast damaged the ship's circuit breakers and knocked out her electrical system for 20 minutes. The explosive shock caused serious damage; turret Bruno was jammed, as were the twin and single 15 cm mounts on the port side. The blast also damaged the fuel oil pumps and the bearings in the turbo-generators, which brought the ship to a halt. The power outage disabled the emergency shut-off switches to the boilers and turbines, which could not be turned off until power was restored. The explosion tore a large gash in the side of the hull and allowed of water into the ship, flooding 30 watertight spaces within five main
watertight compartments
Floodability is the susceptibility of a ship's construction to flooding. It also refers to the ability to intentionally flood certain areas of the hull for damage control purposes, or to increase stability, which is particularly important in comb ...
. ''Scharnhorst'' took on a list of one degree and was down by the bows by a meter.
![Scharnhorst-22](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Scharnhorst-22.jpg)
While the ship was immobilized, Admiral Ciliax transferred to ''Z29''. The engine room crews managed to restart the first turbine at 15:49, nearly twenty minutes after the mine explosion. The second and third turbines were restarted at 15:55 and 16:01, respectively, which permitted a speed of . At around the time the last turbine was restarted, a single bomber dropped several bombs approximately off ''Scharnhorst''s port side, which caused no damage. Once the ship was back under way, twelve Beauforts launched a 10-minute attack that was beaten off by anti-aircraft fire and the escorting Luftwaffe fighters. The British carried out a series of attacks that were all unsuccessful; ''Scharnhorst''s anti-aircraft guns were red-hot by the end of the action, and one 20 mm gun had burst from the strain.
The ship struck another mine off Terschelling on the starboard side at 22:34. The mine briefly knocked out the power system and temporarily disabled the rudders. Two of the three turbines were jammed, and the third had to be turned off. Another tons of water flooded ten watertight spaces in four main compartments. Only the centerline shaft was operational, which permitted a speed of only . Partial power was eventually restored to the starboard turbine, which allowed speed to be increased to . The shock damaged the rotating parts of all of the ship's gun turrets, and three of the 15 cm turrets were seriously jammed. By 08:00, ''Scharnhorst'' had reached the
Jade Bight
The Jade Bight (or ''Jade Bay''; german: Jadebusen) is a bight or bay on the North Sea coast of Germany. It was formerly known simply as ''Jade'' or ''Jahde''. Because of the very low input of freshwater, it is classified as a bay rather than an ...
but ice prevented the ship from entering Wilhelmshaven. While waiting outside the port, Admiral Ciliax returned to the ship. The ice had been cleared by noon, permitting ''Scharnhorst''s entrance to Wilhelmshaven. Two days later, ''Scharnhorst'' went to Kiel for permanent repairs. Work was conducted in a floating dry dock and lasted until July 1942. Afterward, another round of trials were conducted in the Baltic, which revealed the necessity of replacing several of the boiler tubes.
Deployment to Norway
In early August 1942, ''Scharnhorst'' conducted exercises in cooperation with several U-boats. During the maneuvers, she collided with the , which caused damage that necessitated dry-docking for repairs. Work was completed by September, and the ship conducted further training in the Baltic. ''Scharnhorst'' steamed to Gotenhafen in late October for a new rudder, the design of which was based on the lessons learned from the torpedoing of ''Prinz Eugen'' and
''Lützow'' earlier in the year. Boiler and turbine troubles kept the ship in Germany for the remainder of 1942. By December, only two of the three shafts were operational and a complete overhaul of the propulsion system was required. In early January 1943, the ship was back in service, and after trials, left Germany on 7 January in company with ''Prinz Eugen'' and five destroyers. Reports of heavy activity in British airfields near the coast prompted the force to return to port, however. Another attempt to reach Norway was canceled under similar circumstances. On 8 March, however, poor weather grounded the British bombers, and so ''Scharnhorst'' and four destroyers were able to make the journey to Norway. A severe storm off
Bergen
Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...
forced the destroyers to seek shelter but ''Scharnhorst'' was able to continue on at the reduced speed of . At 16:00 on 14 March, ''Scharnhorst'' dropped anchor in
Bogen Bay outside Narvik. There she met ''Lützow'' and the battleship .
On 22 March, ''Scharnhorst'', ''Tirpitz'', and ''Lützow'' steamed to
Altafjord
Altafjord ( en, Alta Fjord;Koop, Gerhard, & Klaus-Peter Schmolke. 2000. ''Heavy Cruisers of the Admiral Hipper Class: Warships of the Kriegsmarine''. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing, p. 55. no, Altafjorden; fkv, Alattionvuono) is a fjord in A ...
for repairs to damage incurred in heavy storms. In early April, ''Scharnhorst'', ''Tirpitz'', and nine destroyers conducted a training mission to
Bear Island in the Arctic Ocean. On the 8th, a serious internal explosion occurred in the aft auxiliary machinery space above the armor deck. The explosion killed or injured 34 men and prompted the crew to flood the magazines for turret Caesar as a precaution against a magazine explosion. A repair ship completed work on the vessel in two weeks. Fuel shortages prevented major operations for the next six months, during which ''Scharnhorst'' was able to conduct only short training maneuvers.
''Scharnhorst'', ''Tirpitz'', and nine destroyers embarked from Altafjord on an offensive on 6 September known as
Operation Zitronella
Operation Zitronella (Operation Lemon Flavour), also known as (Operation Sicily), was an eight-hour German raid on Spitzbergen, in the Svalbard Archipelago, on 8 September 1943. The battleships (in its only offensive action) and , plus nine de ...
; the ships were tasked with bombarding the island of
Spitzbergen
Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range ...
. During the operation, ''Scharnhorst'' destroyed a battery of two guns and shelled fuel tanks, coal mines, harbor facilities, and military installations. Of particular importance was the weather station that was transmitting weather information to the Allies, which was used to schedule convoys to the Soviet Union. The destroyers landed some 1,000 troops, which pushed the Norwegian garrison into the mountains, completing the mission without major loss. On 22 September, a pair of British
X-craft
The X class was a World War II midget submarine class built for the Royal Navy during 1943–44. It was substantially larger than the original Chariot manned torpedo.
Known individually as X-Craft, the vessels were designed to be towed to thei ...
mini-submarines attacked and seriously damaged ''Tirpitz'', which reduced the Arctic Task Force to ''Scharnhorst'' and her five escorting destroyers.
On 25 November 1943 ''Scharnhorst'' carried out a two-hour full-power trial achieving and it was noted that her draught had increased by over from her 1940 trials where she had attained .
Battle of the North Cape
With the rapidly deteriorating military situation for the German Army on the
Eastern Front, it became increasingly important to interrupt the flow of supplies from the Western Allies to the Soviet Union. By December 1943, the German Army was forced into continuous retreat. The Luftwaffe had been seriously weakened by four long years of war, and increasing Allied anti-submarine capabilities were steadily degrading the effectiveness of the U-boats. The only effective weapon at the disposal of the Germans in Norway was ''Scharnhorst''—''Tirpitz'' was badly damaged, and the four remaining heavy cruisers were committed to the Baltic. During a conference with Hitler on 19–20 December, ''
Großadmiral
Grand admiral is a historic naval rank, the highest rank in the several European navies that used it. It is best known for its use in Germany as . A comparable rank in modern navies is that of admiral of the fleet.
Grand admirals in individual n ...
''
Karl Dönitz
Karl Dönitz (sometimes spelled Doenitz; ; 16 September 1891 24 December 1980) was a German admiral who briefly succeeded Adolf Hitler as head of state in May 1945, holding the position until the dissolution of the Flensburg Government follo ...
decided to employ ''Scharnhorst'' against the next Allied convoy that presented itself. Erich Bey, by now promoted to ''Konteradmiral'', was given command of the task force.
On 22 December Dönitz ordered Bey to be ready to go to sea on a three-hour notice. Later that day, reconnaissance aircraft located a convoy of some 20 transports escorted by cruisers and destroyers approximately west of
Tromsø
Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø.
Tromsø lies ...
. The convoy was spotted again two days later, and it was determined that the course was definitively toward the Soviet Union. A U-boat reported the convoy's location at 09:00 on 25 December, and Dönitz ordered ''Scharnhorst'' into action. In his instructions to Bey, Dönitz advised him to break off the engagement if presented with superior forces, but to remain aggressive. Bey planned to attack the convoy at 10:00 on 26 December if the conditions were favorable for the attack. At this time of year, there was only 45 minutes of full daylight and six hours of twilight, which significantly limited Bey's operational freedom. The Germans were concerned with developments in Allied radar-directed fire control, which allowed British battleships to fire with great accuracy in the darkness; German radar capabilities lagged behind those of their opponents.
![HMS Duke of York during an Arctic convoy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/HMS_Duke_of_York_during_an_Arctic_convoy.jpg)
''Scharnhorst'' and her five destroyers left port at around 19:00 and were in the open sea four hours later. At 03:19, Bey received instructions from the Fleet Command that ''Scharnhorst'' was to conduct the attack alone if heavy seas interfered with the destroyers' ability to fight. Unbeknown to the Germans, the British were able to read the ciphered
Enigma
Enigma may refer to:
*Riddle, someone or something that is mysterious or puzzling
Biology
*ENIGMA, a class of gene in the LIM domain
Computing and technology
* Enigma (company), a New York-based data-technology startup
* Enigma machine, a family ...
radio transmissions between ''Scharnhorst'' and the Fleet Command; Admirals
Robert Burnett
Admiral Sir Robert Lindsay Burnett, (22 July 1887 – 2 July 1959) was an officer in the Royal Navy.
Naval career
Educated at Eastman's Royal Naval Academy and Bedford School, Burnett joined the Royal Navy in 1902. He served on the China St ...
and
Bruce Fraser were aware of Bey's plan for the attack on the convoy and could position their forces accordingly. At 07:03, ''Scharnhorst'' was some southwest of
Bear Island when she made a turn that would put her in position to attack the convoy at 10:00. Admiral Burnett, commanding the three cruisers , , and escorting
Convoy JW 55B
Convoy JW 55B was an Arctic convoy sent from Great Britain by the Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during World War II. It sailed in late December 1943, reaching the Soviet northern ports at the end of the month. All ships arrived safely.
...
, placed his ships between the convoy and ''Scharnhorst''s expected direction of attack. Fraser in the powerful battleship , along with the cruiser and four destroyers, moved to a position southwest of ''Scharnhorst'' to block a possible escape attempt.
An hour after making the turn, Bey deployed his destroyers in a line screening ''Scharnhorst'', which remained behind. Half an hour later, ''Scharnhorst''s loudspeakers called the crew to battle stations in preparation for the attack. At 08:40, ''Belfast'' picked up ''Scharnhorst'' on her radar. Unaware that they had been detected, the Germans had turned off their radar to prevent the British from picking up on the signals. At 09:21, ''Belfast''s lookouts spotted ''Scharnhorst'' at a range of . The cruiser opened fire three minutes later, followed by ''Norfolk'' two minutes after. ''Scharnhorst'' fired a salvo from turret Caesar before turning and increasing speed to disengage from the cruisers. The battleship was hit twice by 20.3 cm (8 in) shells; the first failed to explode and caused negligible damage, but the second struck the forward rangefinders and destroyed the radar antenna. The aft radar, which possessed only a limited forward arc, was the ship's only remaining radar capability.
''Scharnhorst'' turned south and attempted to work around the cruisers, but the superior British radar prevented Bey from successfully carrying out the maneuver. By 12:00, ''Scharnhorst'' was to the northeast of the convoy, but ''Belfast'' had reestablished radar contact; it took the cruisers twenty minutes to close the range and begin firing. ''Scharnhorst'' detected the cruisers with her aft radar and opened fire with her main battery guns before turning away to disengage a second time. Shortly before 12:25, ''Scharnhorst'' hit ''Norfolk'' twice with 28 cm shells. The first shell hit the forward superstructure and disabled ''Norfolk''s gunnery radar. The second 28 cm round struck the ship's "X" barbette and disabled the turret. ''Scharnhorst'' then turned again and increased speed, in the hopes of escaping the cruisers and finding the convoy. Burnett chose to keep his distance and shadow ''Scharnhorst'' with radar while Fraser made his way to the scene in ''Duke of York''. Meanwhile, the five German destroyers continued searching for the convoy without success. At 13:15, Bey decided to return to base, and at 13:43, he dismissed the destroyers and instructed them to return to port.
![Scharnhorst survivors A 021202](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Scharnhorst_survivors_A_021202.jpg)
At 16:17, ''Duke of York'' made radar contact with ''Scharnhorst''; thirty minutes later, ''Belfast'' illuminated the German battleship with
star shell
A shell, in a military context, is a projectile whose payload contains an explosive, incendiary, or other chemical filling. Originally it was called a bombshell, but "shell" has come to be unambiguous in a military context. Modern usage so ...
s. At 16:50, ''Duke of York'' opened fire at a range of ; ''Scharnhorst'' quickly returned the fire. Five minutes after opening fire, one of ''Duke of York''s 14 in (35.6 cm) shells struck ''Scharnhorst'' abreast of her forward gun turret. The shell hit jammed the turret's training gears, putting it out of action. Shell splinters started a fire in the ammunition magazine, which forced the Germans to flood both forward magazines to prevent an explosion. The water was quickly drained from turret Bruno's magazine. The ship was now fighting with only two-thirds of her main battery. Shortly thereafter, another 14 in shell struck the ventilation trunk attached to Bruno, which caused the turret to be flooded with noxious propellant gases every time the breeches were opened. A third shell hit the deck next to turret Caesar and caused some flooding; shell splinters caused significant casualties. At 17:30, shells struck the forward 15 cm gun turrets and destroyed them both.
At around 18:00, another 14 in shell struck the ship on the starboard side, passed through the thin upper belt armor, and exploded in the number 1 boiler room. It caused significant damage to the ship's propulsion system and slowed the ship to . Temporary repairs allowed ''Scharnhorst'' to return to . She managed to add to the distance between her and ''Duke of York'', while straddling the ship with several salvos. Shell splinters rained on ''Duke of York'' and disabled the fire-control radar.
At 18:42, ''Duke of York'' ceased fire, having fired 52 salvos and having scored at least 13 hits, but ''Scharnhorst'' was pulling away. Many of these hits had badly damaged the ship's
secondary armament
Secondary armament is a term used to refer to smaller, faster-firing weapons that were typically effective at a shorter range than the main (heavy) weapons on military systems, including battleship- and cruiser-type warships, tanks/armored ...
, which left her open to destroyer attacks, which Fraser ordered. The destroyers and launched a total of eight torpedoes at 18:50, four of which hit. One torpedo exploded abreast of turret Bruno, which caused it to jam. The second torpedo hit the ship on the port side and caused some minor flooding, and the third struck toward the rear of the ship and damaged the port propeller shaft. The fourth hit the ship in the bow. The torpedoes slowed ''Scharnhorst'' to , which allowed ''Duke of York'' to close to . With only turret Caesar operational, all available men were sent to retrieve ammunition from the forward turrets to keep the last heavy guns supplied. Fraser then ordered ''Jamaica'' and ''Belfast'' to move into range and finish the crippled ship off with torpedoes. After several more torpedo hits, ''Scharnhorst'' settled further into the water and began to list to starboard. At 19:45, the ship went down by the bow, with her propellers still slowly turning. British ships began searching for survivors, but were soon ordered away after just a few were pulled out of the water even though voices could still be heard calling for help from the darkness. Of the crew of 1,968 officers and enlisted men, only 36 men survived.
Wreck discovery
![Scharnhorst-WHV-April-2011](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Scharnhorst-WHV-April-2011.jpg)
In September 2000, a joint expedition to find the sunken battleship conducted by the
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began. The underwater survey vessel ''Sverdrup II'', operated by the
, was used to scan the sea floor. After locating a large submerged object, the research team then used the Royal Norwegian Navy's underwater recovery vessel to examine the object visually. The wreck was positively identified by an
on 10 September, which located armament consistent with that of ''Scharnhorst''. The ship sank in approximately of water. The hull lies upside down on the seabed, with debris, including the main mast and rangefinders, scattered around the wreck. Extensive damage from shellfire and torpedoes is evident; the bow was blown off, presumably from a magazine explosion in the forward turrets, and lies in a tangled mass of steel some distance from the rest of the hull.