SCHARNHORST KMS battle cruiser 1939

[aukepalmhof]

Built as a battle-cruiser under yard No 125 by Kriegsmarine Werft, Wilhemshaven for the German Navy.
15 June 1935 laid down.
03 October 1936 launched as the KMS SCHARNHORST, one sister the GNEISENAU.
Displacement 32.000 ton standard, 38.900 ton full load., dim. 234.9 x 30.0 x 9.9m. (draught), length waterline 226.0m.
Powered by three Brown-Boveri steam turbines, 161.764 shp., three shafts, speed 31.65 knots.
Range by a speed of 15 knots, 9.020 knots.
Armament 9 – 280mm, 12 – 150mm, 14- 105mm and 16 – 37mm AA guns. 6 – 533m torpedo tubes.
Crew 1968.
01 July 1939 commissioned under command of Kzs Otto Cilax.

After commissioned first trials in the Jade River estuary.
From July 1939 trials and training in the Baltic.
July till August 1939 at the yard in Wilhelmshaven for the final construction work, the bow is modified.
November battle training in the Baltic.

21 November 1939 she received orders to proceed together with her sister the GNEISENAU to the south of Iceland to attack the British Northern Patrol.
31 November 1939 they sink the British auxiliary cruiser RAWALPINDI between Iceland and the Faroes in a battle of around 40 minutes, the RAWALPINDI got on fire and after about 4.5 hours she exploded taken with her 39 officers and 226 men, only 37 survived.
27 November 1939 she returned in Kiel.

From 18 till 20 February 1940 took part in “Operation Nordmark” in which she her sister the ADMIRAL HIPPER and three destroyers were sent to intercept British convoys between Bergen and the U.K., not a single enemy ship was seen and the ships returned to port.

07 till 12 April 1940 took part in “Operation Weserübung” when she with her sister covered the invasion of Narvik in North Norway; they engaged HMS battle-cruiser RENOWN and the cruiser HMS BIRMINGHAM in bad weather.

04 June 1940, “Operation June” she was flagship in the Arctic Sea when she operated together with the GNEISENAU and ADMIRAL HIPPER and four destroyers.
08 June 1940 the squadron got in battle with the aircraft carrier HMS GLORIOUS and two destroyers the HMS ARDENT and ACASTA, the three British ships were sunk, with heavy loss of live.
The SCHARNORST was hit by a torpedo fired by the ACASTA, which damaged her middle and starboard turbines and one of her turrets.

10 June 1940 returned at Trondheim.
June 1940 after emergency repairs she got order to return to Kiel for repair, during the voyage was she unsuccessful attacked by the RAF.

28 December 1940 the first attempt to break out in the North Atlantic together with her sister are aborted when the GNEISENAU is damaged during bad weather and heavy seas.

22 January 1941”Operation Berlin” sailed out with her sister for a successful operation in the North Atlantic.
03 February 1941 both ships break trough the Denmark Strait.
Convoy HX-108 is seen but the attack is stopped after the battleship HMS RAMILES is sighted, which covered the convoy.
08 February 1941 the SCHARNHORST unsuccessfully tries to lure the RAMILES away from the convoy to enable the GNEISENAU to attack the convoy.
07 till 09 March 1941 the two ships left convoy SL-67 unmolested after the battleship HMS MALAYA
15/16 March 1941 she and her sister attack a convoy south east of Newfoundland.
22 March 1941 both ships arrived at Brest, during this operation the SCHARNHORST sank eight ships with a tonnage of 49.300 ton.
March 1941 till February 1942 stationed at Brest where she became a regular target of British airplanes.
During this time at anchor at La Pallice she was hit by 5 bombs which caused severe damage.

When Hitler thought the two ships were too venerable to air attacks by the Allies, he ordered the two ships to return to Germany.
The operation was called “Operation Ceberus” the daylight dash trough the English Channel and Dover Strait on 11 and 12 February 1942.
SCHARNHORST was the flagship and with her sister the GNEISENAU and PRINZ EUGEN escorted by six destroyers and 14 torpedo boats she sailed from France, surprising British air and navy when she slipped through without much damage, only the SCHARNHORST was slightly damaged when he hit a magnetic mine.

March 1943 she sailed to North Norway and is stationed in the Alta Fjord.

06 till 07 September 1943 in “Operation Sizilien” a squadron consisting of the SCHARNHORST, TRIPITZ and nine destroyers carry out an attack on the Allied base at Spitzbergen.

From September till December 1943 first stationed in the Kaa Fjord then in the Lang Fjord both in Norway.

25December 1943 under command of Vice Admiral Bey, the SCHARNHORST and five destroyers sailed from Norway and tried to find and destroy JW-55B a convoy of 19 merchant ships bound for Murmansk.
The convoy was discovered by German aircraft on 22 December.

The convoy position was reported to the German ships by U 601 on 09.00 a.m. and the German ships received orders to destroy the convoy.
Early 26 December the German ships were seen by HMS SHEFFIELD and around 09.30 the first shots were fired, after the SCHARNHORST turned away after she was hit by the NORFOLK.
At noon the SCHARNHORST was again found, and a brisk action ensued of 20 minutes in which the
NORFOLK was hit hard and SHEFFIELD damaged.
SCHARNHORST withdraws again in the direction of the approaching DUKE OF YORK.
At 16.17 DUKE OF YORK got a radar contact and at 16.50 opened fire on the SCHARNHORST. After a long chase and a torpedo attack of the DUKE OF YORK the SCHARNHORST was slowed down and at least the SCHARNHORST lost power.
The end of the SCHARNHORST was not seen in the darkness but most probably she sank at 19.45 with the loss of most of her crew, only 36 crew members survive.

Alderney 2009 51p sg?, scott?
Marshall Island 1992 29c sg477, scott477
Sierra Leone 2018 Le 9800 sg?, scott?

Source: http://www.german-navy.de Convoys to Russia by Rueggs and Hague. The Encyclopedia of Warships. Wikipedia

[D. v. Nieuwenhuijzen]

(Burundi 2012, 7500 Fr. StG.?)