Two air attacks followed, but anti-aircraft fire from Scharnhorst and her escorts drove them both back. [50][51], In early 1942, the crews of Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen made preparations for Operation Cerberus, a daylight dash up the English Channel. [8] Construction was held up by 14 months, partly because Hitler wanted to secure the treaty with Britain before work began,[19] and partly due to numerous design changes after the ships had been ordered. [8], Electrical power was supplied to the ships by five electricity plants. The Seetakt sets operated at 368 megacycles (MHz. [41] On 8 February, they spotted a convoy, HX 106, but it was escorted by the battleship HMS Ramillies, armed with eight 38 cm (15 in) guns. Scharnhorst was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship or battlecruiser, of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine.She was the lead ship of her class, which included one other ship, Gneisenau.The ship was built at the Kriegsmarinewerft dockyard in Wilhelmshaven; she was laid down on 15 June 1935 and launched a year and four months later on 3 October 1936. [8] Previous German battleships were classified as Linienschiffe (ships of the line),[a] and Panzerschiffe (armored ship). Instead, she was sunk as a blockship in Gotenhafen in 1945; the wreck was broken up for scrap in the 1950s. [8], The German navy considered the ships to be poor sea boats; they were bow-heavy when fully equipped and very "wet" as high as the bridge. Belfast picked up Scharnhorst on radar at 08:40; forty minutes later lookouts on Sheffield spotted the ship, at a distance of 11,000 m (12,000 yd). While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. The 10.5 cm gun mounts were equipped with 20 mm (0.79 in) gun shields. While the 28.3 cm guns were of a smaller caliber than main guns of other navies, they were still preferred by a number of gunnery officers in the Kriegsmarine due to their higher rate of fire. Scharnhorst — German promo premium Tier VII battleship. Similarly to most other German installations, those turrets had an electric system of rotation, but all other operations were hydraulic systems. [63] The cruisers HMS Sheffield, Belfast, and Norfolk were positioned to block Scharnhorst. Norway's … Building supplies. This in turn prompted the German navy to begin plans for a more powerful battlecruiser design. However, the wreck wasn't found. The ships were armed with nine 28 cm (11 in) SK C/34 guns in three triple turrets; plans to replace these with six 38 cm (15 in) SK C/34 guns in twin turrets were never realized. As is her entire poop deck, with the stern anchor still in place. [77] Her 15 cm guns were placed as coastal batteries in Denmark. Scharnhorst's loss was an enormous psychological blow to the German nation. It is similar to an aircraft simulator, but with a warship's bridge replacing the flight deck. The second radar set was emplaced on the rear main battery gun director. Scharnhorst and several destroyers sortied from Norway to attack a convoy, but British naval patrols intercepted the German force. The Scharnhorst … On Christmas Day, Doenitz signalled Scharnhorst: 'The enemy is attempting to aggravate the difficulties of our eastern land forces in their heroic struggle by sending an important convoy of provisions and arms to the Russians. The British fleet had a significant advantage: they were able to decrypt German naval codes, and were aware of Bey's intentions. On 11 June, 12 Hudson bombers from the RAF attempted to bomb Scharnhorst; they all missed their target. Earlier in 1943, Hitler had told his admirals that their Navy was 'utterly useless'. When steaming in reverse, the engines were rated for 57,000 PS (56,220 ihp; 41,923 kW). The British ships could only hope to shadow her at ever-increasing distances, rather than pursue her. Also check if the product actually matches! [17] These ships would displace 19,000 tons and have the same armament and speed as the Panzerschiffe; the extra tonnage would be taken up by increased protection. At 12:00, Belfast again picked up Scharnhorst, and in 20 minutes were again in range. By 03:50 on 13 February, the ship had reached Helgoland. Her conning tower was set back a little from the two forward turrets, near the funnel. Both the turrets and pedestal mounts enabled barrel depression to −10°; the turrets allowed elevation to 40° while the pedestals limited it to 35°. [25] All of these sections were composed of Wotan Hart (Wotan Hard) steel. The wreck has recently been discovered on the sea bed, giving us new information about a gripping tale of war. It could have been you.'. This hit temporarily reduced her speed to 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph), but repairs quickly allowed her to steam at 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph). This is a computer driven warship simulator at the Royal Norwegian Navy's Naval Academy in Bergen. Almost immediately the Scharnhorst is hit by a … Hand Tools. Their hulls contained 21 watertight compartments and had a double bottom for 79% of their length. The navy conducted several full-scale underwater explosion tests with sections of armor cut from the old pre-dreadnought Preussen. The vessel's multibeam sonar produces an image of two objects, one 170m long, the other 70m long, and positioned at an angle to the first. Scharnhorst was a battleship/battlecruiser that served with Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. 1,519 men were lost from the three ships. They were mounted in six Dop. It was their ship, their pride and joy, and after the Home Fleet had finished with her, she was at the bottom of the Barents Sea.'. Last updated 2011-02-17. The Scharnhorst was built by the War Naval Shipyard Wilhelmshaven, Germany, and launched on October 3, 1936. Behind the outer plate was a large void which would allow gases from the explosion to expand and dissipate. Of the crew of 1,968 officers and men, only 36 survived. [13] In English language reference works they are sometimes referred to as battleships and sometimes as battlecruisers. A massive internal explosion - probably in an ammunition magazine below a forward gun turret, had blown off her bow. Available (Ships in 2-4 business days) This product is in stock at our suppliers, if ordered it Near Terschelling, Gneisenau struck a mine that did minor damage to the hull, and the explosive shock damaged one of her three turbines. We had to win. I shake you all by the hand for the last time. The simulator's computers download a different area for the sinking - an area of the seabed approximately 20 sea-miles north of the position given in Fraser's official Dispatches. The loss of the Scharnhorst marked the beginning of the end for the era of the big gun. Buoyed by a top speed of 31.5 knots, this battleship wreaked havoc on Allied shipping with its nine 11-inch guns. We shall fight to the last shell'. However, her escape bid was foiled when one of her boiler rooms took a direct hit, slowing her dramatically. The central portion of the belt was backed by 170 mm (6.7 in) thick shields. They were designed to displace 35,540 t (34,980 long tons), which would have given the ships a draft of 9.1 m (29 ft 10 in). When Scharnhorst was built, she was faster than any ship of her type. One hit disabled a gun turret, and the second tore a hole in the hull and disabled her radar. This topic is categorised under: Ships » Battleships » Battleship Scharnhorst-class. The Scharnhorst had disappeared when HMS Belfast attempted to deliver its second torpedo attack. Admiral Fraser ordered his destroyers to approach the ship and torpedo her. … The eight turbo-generators were also of mixed capacity; six ran supplied 460 kW each and the remaining two provided 230 kW each. The Scharnhorst class was a class of German battleships (or battlecruisers) built immediately prior to World War II. On the night of 9–10 April, British high-level bombers attacked both Gneisenau and Scharnhorst. [20] The provisional names of the planned D-class cruisers, Ersatz Elsass and Ersatz Hessen, were reallocated to the new ships, the contracts for which were awarded to the Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven and the Deutsche Werke in Kiel. A total of 55 torpedoes are fired at Scharnhorst, and 11 found their target. In future, aircraft-carriers would dictate the outcome of major naval engagements. Aft of the rear gun turret the belt decreased to 200 mm (7.9 in), and eventually tapered down to nothing at the stern. That morning of the 26th, Scharnhorst was only an hour from the Murmansk-bound convoy. Some 55 torpedoes were launched at Scharnhorst, and 11 are believed to have found their target. Attempts to sail on 7 and 23 January were aborted after the navy received reports of heavy activity at British air bases in Britain. [74] Since this was such a long period, it was determined that it would be more efficient if during the repair work, the ship was reconstructed to mount six 38 cm (15 in) guns in place of her 28.3 cm weapons. All of this armor was KC steel. The bunker was supported by longitudinal stiffeners and transverse bulkheads. [37] By 07:15, the German ships had escaped from the slower Renown. [30] Scharnhorst was laid down at the Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven, on 16 May 1935. It was decided to use superheated steam propulsion, as the required total output for the desired speed was three times that of the Panzerschiffe. [8] The slopes connected to the lower edge of the main belt, an arrangement referred to as the "turtle deck. The 28.3 cm turrets were readily available; 38 cm turrets would take years to develop, and Hitler wanted capital ships as soon as possible to fulfill his political ideals. Scharnhorst was now alone and blind, facing a total of 13 Allied warships... Scharnhorst made a second attempt to attack the convoy, and this time it was she who inflicted damage on HMS Norfolk. Both Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were a new type of German battleship. [2] When the Soviet army approached in early 1945, the ship was towed out into the outer harbor and sunk as a block ship, on 23 March 1945. His previous film for the BBC, The Other Lockerbie, reported on the shoot-down - by the American missile-cruiser USS Vincennes - of an Iranian airliner and its 290 civilian passengers. [38] The torpedo hit caused significant damage to Scharnhorst; several watertight compartments, including parts of the starboard engine room, were flooded, she took on a list of 3°, and she was 3 m (9 ft 10 in) down by the stern. 'Lucky' Scharnhorst, as she was known in Germany, was a focus for national pride. Finally, by February 1934, Hitler acquiesced over the addition of the third turret. Our hearts have mellowed now, but in wartime those hearts are hardened. Admiral Bey, on board the Scharnhorst, had orders from Doenitz to withdraw 'if heavy forces encountered'. However, would a search of this new area of seabed be any more fruitful? [2], Kriegsmarine battleship class, built 1935–1939. To this end, he authorized two more ships—the D class—to augment the three Deutschland-class Panzerschiffe (armored ships). The underwater protection could stop only a 200 kg (440 lb) warhead in these areas. German warships in a Norwegian port, probably Trondheim, in June 1940. She was launched on 30 June 1936 and completed on 7 January 1939. [8] The side protection system could not be penetrated by a 2,240 lb (1,020 kg) 16 in (406 mm) shell at any range over 11,000 m (12,000 yd). [49] The ship listed at 8°, after having taken in between 1,520 long tons (1,700 short tons) and 3,050 long tons (3,420 short tons) of water; the list was reduced to 2° by counter-flooding. [41] On 8 March, Scharnhorst spotted another convoy, but it too had battleship protection, in the form of HMS Malaya. From now till the sinking of Scharnhorst, the simulator will reproduce every movement of HMS Duke of York. The entire bow section remains together as a mass of wreckage and armour, but separated from the main wreck. At 85°, they had an effective ceiling of 6,800 m (22,310 ft), though tracers were limited to 4,800 m (15,750 ft). Find out more about how the BBC is covering the. Near-misses rained shell splinters down on Sheffield. Krupp would build the new 38 cm turrets, which required strengthening of the barbette structures to support their weight. In early 1942, the two ships made a daylight dash up the English Channel from occupied France to Germany. Scharnhorst's first operation began on 21 November 1939; the ship, in company with her sister Gneisenau, the light cruiser Köln, and nine destroyers, was to patrol the area between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. [18], Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were 226 m (741 ft 6 in) long at the waterline; Scharnhorst was 234.9 m (770 ft 8 in) long overall, while Gneisenau had a slightly shorter overall length, at 229.8 m (753 ft 11 in). In order to recreate the battle, the Bergen computers were loaded with navigational data from the log of the flagship, along with her documented performance data. The guns in pedestals had a range of 22,000 m (24,060 yd), while those in the turrets, capable of 5 more degrees of elevation, had a slightly longer range, at 23,000 m (25,153 yd). In the case of triple-screw ships, this would have meant more than twice the horsepower per shaft of the Panzerschiffe, and in the case of a quadruple-screw ship, this would have amounted to more than 40,000 horsepower per shaft. The British ship engaged Scharnhorst for a brief period starting at 05:18, but effective maneuvering by Scharnhorst allowed her to escape unscathed. At 16:17, five British destroyers attempted to torpedo the German ships, but heavy fire from Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen mauled one and forced the others to turn away. The British sinking of the Scharnhorst on Boxing Day in 1943 was for Germans one of the psychological turning points of the war. It is a wreck - but is it Scharnhorst? [19] The new ship would displace 26,000 long tons (29,000 short tons) and be armed with nine 28.3 cm guns in three triple turrets. The wreck has recently been … [b], Their adversary, the Royal Navy, rated them as battlecruisers[9][10] but after the war reclassified them as battleships. Technically, the Scharnhorst pair not always have been called “fast battleships”. Beyond this was a fuel bunker with an 8 mm (0.31 in) thick outer wall; this would absorb any remaining explosive force. On 26 December, the British warships were signalled that the 'Admiralty appreciate Scharnhorst is probably at sea'. Several more air attacks followed over the next two hours, without success for the British. We must help'. German battleship Scharnhorst and German cruiser Deutschland are connected through Seetakt, Bogen, Evenes, 15 cm SK C/28 and more.. In the engagement with Glorious, Scharnhorst achieved one of the longest-range naval gunfire hits in history. During that refit, a large hangar for the ship's aircraft was added amidships. [70] At 19:25, the light cruiser Jamaica fired three torpedoes, followed by six from Belfast. The ships carried 2,800 metric tons (2,800 long tons; 3,100 short tons) of fuel oil as designed; additional storage areas, including hull spaces between the belt and torpedo bulkhead, increased capacity to 5,080 metric tons (5,000 long tons; 5,600 short tons). Among these was the battlecruiser Scharnhorst, one of … A series of air attacks ensued; through evasive maneuvers, anti-aircraft fire, and Luftwaffe fighters, they were all repulsed. The shock force of the explosion also did a great deal of internal damage; fuel tanks were ruptured and electrical systems were damaged. [40], Under the command of Admiral Günther Lütjens, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau broke into the Atlantic in late January 1941 to raid convoys between North America and Great Britain. Scharnhorst was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of Nazi Germany 's Kriegsmarine. Battlecruiser Gneisenau is at left, with Scharnhorst in the left middle distance and heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper in right centre. ), initially at 14 kW. At 12:41, Scharnhorst again increased speed and broke off the engagement. Fears that the destroyers escorting Renown might make a torpedo attack prompted the German commander to break off the engagement. A series of raids started on 30 March. L ike the Royal Navy's ill-fated Hood, the Scharnhorst was technically a battle-cruiser, but is generally called a battleship. The two ships participated in Operation Weserübung, the German invasion of Norway. Only 36 men were rescued, out of a crew of 1,968. East of Dover, a flight of six Swordfish torpedo bombers attacked the ships without result. "C" Turret remains in Trondheim, Norway at Austrått Fort; the Norwegian government offered without success to return the turret to Germany for display in a museum. Is it a wreck and more importantly, is it the wreck of Scharnhorst? [6] The 15 cm guns in Denmark were taken over by the Danish military; two of the turrets were moved to Stevnsfort in 1952. Titanic 1/200 Clear Hull Bracing. During operations off Norway, the two ships engaged the battlecruiser HMS Renown and sank the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious on 8 June 1940. The German first fast Battleships. [27], The underwater side protection had numerous faults. [41] A second convoy was encountered on 22 February; Scharnhorst sank the tanker Lustrous,[40] while Gneisenau accounted for four cargo ships. Scharnhorst was launched first,[6] and is considered to be the lead ship by some sources; they are also referred to as the Gneisenau class in some other sources,[7] as Gneisenau was the first to be laid down and commissioned. Admiral Bruce Fraser, aboard the battleship HMS Duke of York, was some 270 miles away, and steaming to cut off Scharnhorst after she was engaged by the three cruisers. FEATURES: 1600+ Parts Scharnhorst wreck [16] In 1933, Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany; he made clear to the naval command that he had no intention of building a large fleet to challenge British supremacy at sea. In the Public Record Office in London, the actual navigational log of HMS Duke of York Admiral Fraser's flagship, records an entirely different position for the sinking from that shown in the official Dispatches. Scharnhorst radioed that she was 'surrounded by heavy units'. The engines were rated at 160,000 metric horsepower (157,811 shp; 117,680 kW) at 265 revolutions per minute (rpm), and on trials produced up to 165,930 PS (163,660 ihp; 122,041 kW) at 280 rpm. The destroyers laid a smoke screen in an attempt to hide the carrier, but the Germans quickly closed the distance. The British battlecruiser initially targeted Gneisenau, at a range of 11,800 m (12,900 yd). These guns fired 45.3 kg (99.87 lb) shells at a rate of 6–8 per minute. This deck was 20 mm (0.79 in) thick aft, increased to 50 mm in the central portion of the ship that contained the ammunition magazines and machinery spaces, and decreased down to 20 mm in the bow. Scharnhorst was now alone and blind, facing a total of 13 Allied warships, as four additional destroyers had now joined the cruisers. [66] This time, Scharnhorst had better luck with her gunnery; at 12:23, Norfolk was hit twice by 28.3 cm shells. Scharnhorst was hit at least four times by torpedoes fired by HMS Scorpion and HNoMS Stord. During the Battle of the North Cape (26 December 1943), the Royal Navy battleship HMS Duke of York and her escorts sank Scharnhorst. They were characterized by a larger size, greater speed and more powerful weapons. [33][34] One of the two 4.5" hits disabled Gneisenau's A turret,[e][35] The 15" hit destroyed the main armament fire control station, and knocked out her Seetakt radar. The battlecruiser Scharnhorst sank on Dec. 8, 1914, with more than 800 crewmembers on board, including German Adm. Maximilian Graf von Spee. [23], The Scharnhorst-class ships were equipped with Krupp armor. Join us now! During the battle of North Cape, a force led by the Royal Navy battleship HMS Duke of York sank Scharnhorst. He did not realize that such "unsinkable" commerce raiders would provoke Great Britain more severely than 26,000-ton battlecruisers armed with 28.3 cm (11.1 inch) guns, which would be regarded as inferior to all the Royal Navy battleships and battlecruisers then in commission. The 31,500-ton Scharnhorst was commissioned on January 7 1939, and it often operated in partnership with its sister ship, Gneisenau. All three types of shells used the same propellant charges: an RPC/38 42.5 kg (93.7 lb) fore charge and an RPC/38 76.5 kg (168.6 lb) main charge. It was sunk on 8 December 1914 with … "Germany 3.7 cm/L83 (1.5") SK C/30 3.7 cm/L83 (1.5") SK C/30U", "German 2 cm/65 (0.79") C/30 2 cm/65 (0.79") C/38 AA MG", German naval ship classes of World War II, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scharnhorst-class_battleship&oldid=1007188651, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, 3 three-bladed propellers, 4.8 m (15 ft 9 inch) diameter, This page was last edited on 16 February 2021, at 22:09. Note: Prices and availability are indications only. Only 36 men were rescued, out of a crew of 1,968. It was supported by 105 mm (4.1 in) thick slopes on either longitudinal side. However, an attack by British midget submarines badly damaged the Tirpitz, leaving the Scharnhorst to operate alone. The gun turrets for the main battery had 360 mm (14 in) thick faces, 200 mm thick sides, and 150 mm thick roofs. 'Lucky', that is, until she was sunk by HMS Duke of York. The rotating mass of the turret was 750 tons (internal barbette diameter 10.2 m), and traversing speed was 7.2 deg/sec. Two days later, the German flotilla intercepted the British auxiliary cruiser Gneisenau shipped some 3,050 metric tons (3,000 long tons; 3,360 short tons) of water, which caused her to list 2° and settle lower in the water. The two ships were laid down in 1935, launched in late 1936, and commissioned into the German fleet by early 1939. One of those destroyers was the Royal Norwegian Navy's destroyer Stord. 'Grand. For 6 months, fuel shortages curtailed any major operations by Scharnhorst or the other ships in Norway,[59] which included the battleship Tirpitz and the heavy cruiser Lützow. [1][f] Glorious was hit by at least three shells and reduced to a burning hulk, and at 19:00 the carrier capsized and sank. They fired these shells at a rate of fire of 3.5 rounds per minute. Select a thumbnail to see the picture full-size. However, she was unaware that three British cruisers were approaching from the east. On 19 December 1943, during a conference held in Hitler's Wolfsschanze headquarters, Admiral Doenitz informed the Fuhrer that 'Scharnhorst will attack the next allied convoy headed from England to Russia.' Scharnhorst was listing severely and very low in the water. Scharnhorst was launched first, and is considered to be the lead ship by some sources; they are also referred to as the Gneisenau class in some other sources, as Gneisenau was the first to be laid down and commissioned. In 1939, and in 20 minutes were again in range 'lucky ',. And transferred to Norway while Scharnhorst was now alone and blind, facing a total of shells! Connected to the galloping sense of defeat stoked up by the Royal Norwegian Navy 's underwater ship. To Norway, and ordered his combined forces to attack a convoy, but wartime... 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