Scharnhorst
A German capital ship that operated with Gneisenau to sink the HMS Glorious and achieved one of history's longest-range naval gunfire hits before being sunk by HMS Duke of York.
Scharnhorst was a German capital ship of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine, described as either a battleship or battlecruiser. She served as the lead ship of her class, which included her sister ship Gneisenau. Built at the Kriegsmarinewerft dockyard in Wilhelmshaven, she was laid down on 15 June 1935 and launched on 3 October 1936. Completed in January 1939, she carried a main battery of nine 28 cm C/34 guns in three triple turrets.
- Class
- Battleship or Battlecruiser
- Sister Ship
- Gneisenau
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
Scharnhorst and her sister Gneisenau operated together during the early portion of World War II, including sorties into the Atlantic to raid British merchant shipping. In November 1939, Scharnhorst sank the armed merchant cruiser HMS Rawalpindi. During Operation Weserübung in April 1940, the pair engaged the battlecruiser HMS Renown and sank the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious along with her escort destroyers Acasta and Ardent. In early 1942, after British bombing raids, both ships executed the Channel Dash from occupied France to Germany. By early 1943, Scharnhorst was stationed in Norway with the battleship Tirpitz to interdict Allied convoys to the Soviet Union.
In Their Own Story
On 26 December 1943, during the Battle of the North Cape, Scharnhorst sortied from Norway to attack a convoy but was intercepted by British naval patrols. The Royal Navy battleship HMS Duke of York and her escorts engaged and sank the ship. Only 36 men survived out of a crew of 1,968.
Reader's Guide
Scharnhorst displaced 32,100 long tons at standard displacement and 38,100 long tons at full load. She measured 234.9 m in length with a beam of 30 m and reached a maximum speed of 31.5 knots. Her armor belt was 320 mm thick in the central portion, and her main battery turrets featured 360 mm of face armor. Originally laid down on 15 June 1935 (contract name 'D'), she underwent extensive bow modifications after sea trials revealed a tendency to ship water in heavy seas, replacing the straight stem with a raised Atlantic bow by November 1939.
Did You Know?
- Plans to replace Scharnhorst's nine 28 cm guns with six 38 cm guns were never carried out.
- In the engagement that sank HMS Glorious, Scharnhorst achieved one of the longest-range naval gunfire hits in history.
- Two triple 53.3 cm torpedo tubes, taken from the light cruiser Nürnberg, were installed on Scharnhorst in 1941.
- Scharnhorst was launched on 3 October 1936 in the presence of Adolf Hitler and Minister of War Werner von Blomberg.
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