Is it a wreck and more importantly, is it the wreck of Scharnhorst? [b], Their adversary, the Royal Navy, rated them as battlecruisers[9][10] but after the war reclassified them as battleships. So he decided to withdraw to Norway, and use to the full her speed advantage of five knots. The underwater protection could stop only a 200 kg (440 lb) warhead in these areas. Also check if the product actually matches! [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. On its first operation in November 1939, it engaged the British cruiser Rawalpindiin a short skirmish which ended up in the sinking of the Rawalpindi and the death of it’s captain, Edward Coverly Kennedy. [67] Shortly before 17:00, the British ships closed it: Belfast again illuminated the ship with star shells, while Duke of York fired salvos from her main battery. That morning of the 26th, Scharnhorst was only an hour from the Murmansk-bound convoy. The latter escaped unscathed, but the former was struck four times; 72 men were killed and another 90 were wounded. Steam was provided to the turbines by 12 Wagner ultra-high-pressure oil-fired boilers, which produced pressures up to 58 standard atmospheres (5,900 kPa) and temperatures up to 450 °C (842 °F). In the sea north of Tromsø in Norway, the great German battleship Scharnhorst was on a mission to sink an Allied supply convoy bound for Russia. It could have been you.'. The two ships participated in Operation Weserübung, the German invasion of Norway. The sinking of the Scharnhorst was an enormous psychological blow for the German nation, at the height of World War Two. One of the 227 kg bombs penetrated the upper deck just forward of the rear gun turret, and exploded on the main armored deck. The Scharnhorst class was a class of German battleships (or battlecruisers) built immediately prior to World War II. Gneisenau was put into dry dock for repairs, which were prolonged by further British air raids. Repairs were effected over the following six months. The intent of the operation was to draw out British units and ease the pressure on the heavy cruiser ("pocket battleship") Admiral Graf Spee, which was being pursued in the South Atlantic. On 11 June, 12 Hudson bombers from the RAF attempted to bomb Scharnhorst; they all missed their target. BBC © 2014 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. She often operated with her sister Gneisenau early in World War II, including on raids against Atlantic merchant shipping. [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. [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). [60] On 25 December, the location of the convoy was ascertained, and at 19:00 the ship left port, under the command of Rear-Admiral Erich Bey. The Scharnhorst … She was the lead ship of her class, which included one other ship, Gneisenau. Last updated 2011-02-17. 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. We must help'. Having detected a large object on the seabed, she is now the sonar platform for a joint expedition by the BBC, Norwegian Television (NRK) and the Royal Norwegian Navy. [65], By 10:00, Scharnhorst, using her 4–6 knot speed advantage, broke off the engagement and resumed searching for the convoy. FEATURES: 1600+ Parts [38], The two ships withdrew to Trondheim, though Scharnhorst was limited to a speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)—they arrived in the afternoon of 9 June. Enigma: The Battle for the Code by Hugh Sebag-Montifiore (2000-01), The Death of the Scharnhorst by John Winton (1983), Scharnhorst and Gneisenau: The Elusive Sisters by Richard Garrett (1978), Very Special Intelligence: The Story of the Admiralty's Operational Intelligence Centre - 1939-45 by Patrick Beesly (1977), The Loss of the 'Scharnhorst' by A J Watts (1970), The Russian Convoys by BB Schofield (1964), Memoirs: Ten Years and Twenty Days by Gross-Admiral Karl Doenitz (1959), The Drama of the 'Scharnhorst': A Factual Account from the German Viewpoint by Corvette-Captain Fitz-Otto Busch (1956), Hitler and His Admirals by Anthony Martienssen (1948). After operations in the North Sea that resulted in the sinking of several British transports, Admiral Hipper and the destroyers were detached to refuel in occupied Norway. The central portion of the belt was backed by 170 mm (6.7 in) thick shields. German Scharnhorst Battleship Unassembled plastic model kit with photo-etch parts. Commissioned in 1939, the ship mounted a main armament of nine 11-inch guns and was capable of 31 knots. We shall fight to the last shell'. However, it could be a geological feature on the seabed. The layout of the surviving weaponry, like torpedo launchers and gun-turrets, leaves no doubt. Shadowing the westbound convoy, and forming the anvil for the attack, was Force One - the cruisers, Belfast, Norfolk and Sheffield. [6] They marked the beginning of German naval rearmament after the Treaty of Versailles. It was estimated that it would take two years to make the ship ready for service. [52][53][54], The ships left Brest late on 11 February, and remained undetected for the majority of the operation. [50] The last bomb fell on the starboard side and also detonated on the main armor deck. During that refit, a large hangar for the ship's aircraft was added amidships. Admiral Bey, on board the Scharnhorst, had orders from Doenitz to withdraw 'if heavy forces encountered'. On the night of 9–10 April, British high-level bombers attacked both Gneisenau and Scharnhorst. During trials, the ships heeled as much as 13° at hard rudder. In the meantime, repair work on Gneisenau had begun, and the ship was in the process of being rearmed. The rear conning tower was less well armored, with sides and a roof that were only 100 mm (3.9 in) and 50 mm thick, respectively. A series of raids started on 30 March. Don't forget building supplies! [21] He therefore acquiesced to the ships' being armed with 28.3 cm guns, with the provision that they be upgunned to 38 cm at the earliest opportunity. A week later, on 26 December, the Scharnhorst lay at the bottom of the Barents Sea, sunk off Norway in the Battle of North Cape. At 12:41, Scharnhorst again increased speed and broke off the engagement. Available (Ships in 2-4 business days) This product is in stock at our suppliers, if ordered it Scharnhorst and several destroyers sortied from Norway to attack a convoy; the Germans were instead intercepted by British naval patrols. [2], Their anti-aircraft battery consisted of fourteen 10.5 cm C/33 L/65 guns, sixteen 3.7 cm L/83 guns, and between ten and twenty 2 cm guns. The wreck has recently been discovered on the sea bed, giving us new information about a gripping tale of war. They were characterized by a larger size, greater speed and more powerful weapons. One was mounted on the forward gun director, which was located on top of the bridge. [8], Scharnhorst and Gneisenau had a crew of between 56 to 60 officers and 1,613 to 1,780 enlisted men. "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. The destroyers laid a smoke screen in an attempt to hide the carrier, but the Germans quickly closed the distance. [75], On 4 April, Gneisenau, along with the icebreaker Castor and the old pre-dreadnought Schlesien departed Kiel for Gotenhafen. $20.00 + shipping. When steaming in reverse, the engines were rated for 57,000 PS (56,220 ihp; 41,923 kW). From now till the sinking of Scharnhorst, the simulator will reproduce every movement of HMS Duke of York. They were expected to fire 1,100 rounds before barrel wear made repair or replacement necessary. [76], The ship was then disarmed and all but abandoned in the harbor. [31] Scharnhorst and Gneisenau rendezvoused with the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper before proceeding to Wilhelmshaven. The Battleship Scharnhorst-class-page contains all related products, articles, books, walkarounds and plastic scale modeling projects dedicated to this ship. Scharnhorst was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of Nazi Germany 's Kriegsmarine. At 15:31, Scharnhorst detonated a magnetic mine, which damaged the ship's circuit breakers enough to shut down the entire electrical system. They were created in response to the expansion of the French naval fleet. Forward of the "A" turret the belt was reduced to 150 mm (5.9 in), which tapered down to zero at the bow of the ship. ), initially at 14 kW. Turrets "B" and "C" were to be removed and transferred to Norway to serve as coastal defense guns. All the heavy ships of the German Navy should be reduced to scrap, their guns removed and used for coastal defences. However, an attack by British midget submarines badly damaged the Tirpitz, leaving the Scharnhorst to operate alone. [14] The first design, completed in 1928, called for a 17,500 long tons (19,600 short tons) battlecruiser armed with eight 30.5 cm (12 in) guns in four twin gun turrets,[15] based on the design for the Ersatz Yorck-class battlecruisers that had not been completed during the war. Note: Prices and availability are indications only. It's the ships you're after - not the men. As is her entire poop deck, with the stern anchor still in place. The German Navy battleship Scharnhorst joins the 1/200 Warship Series of model kits from Trumpeter! At 19:45, the ship capsized to starboard and sank, with her propellers still spinning. The entire bow section remains together as a mass of wreckage and armour, but separated from the main wreck. At maximum fuel load, the ships were expected to steam for 8,100 nautical miles (15,000 km; 9,300 mi) at a cruising speed of 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph); Scharnhorst reached only 7,100 nmi (13,100 km; 8,200 mi) at 19 knots, while Gneisenau managed only 6,200 nmi (11,500 km; 7,100 mi) at that speed. The Scharnhorst set sail, unaware that she was being lured into a carefully constructed Royal Navy trap with two convoys providing the bait. Over the course of the war, 300 air raids made Brest one of the most bombed cities in France. The ships' vitals were well armored against any caliber shell fired by battleships at the time at ranges where the shell would have to penetrate both the main belt and the sloping deck. L. C/31 twin mounts amidships, and one such mount superfiring over "C" turret, which allowed depression to −8° and elevation to 80°. Scharnhorst propellors Fraser then signalled Home Fleet Headquarters 'Scharnhorst sunk'. Both Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were a new type of German battleship. 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. [62] The ship was to operate only with five destroyers; Tirpitz had been damaged in a British raid in September, and Lützow was away for periodic repairs. Shortly thereafter, Belfast fired star shells to illuminate the target, and Norfolk opened fire with her 20.3 cm (8 in) guns; in the span of 20 minutes, she hit Scharnhorst twice. Well done.' Near Terschelling, Gneisenau struck a mine that did minor damage to the hull, and the explosive shock damaged one of her three turbines. [63] The cruisers HMS Sheffield, Belfast, and Norfolk were positioned to block Scharnhorst. None of the logs of the other ships taking part in the battle give any positions for the sinking, but there is a unique method to check the accuracy of the log position. The Seetakt sets operated at 368 megacycles (MHz. When Scharnhorst was sunk, work on her sister was abandoned. 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. Before she sank, Acasta launched four torpedoes at Scharnhorst; the ship evaded three, but the fourth struck the starboard side near the rear gun turret. It was extremely strong amidships, but weakened on either end of the citadel. At 1617, the battleship Duke of York of Force II (Admiral Fraser) obtains radar contact with Scharnhorst from 42,500 meters (46,480 yards), and after closing the range to 10,900 meters (11,920 yards) opens fire at 1648. https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Scharnhorst-class_battleship All of this armor was KC steel. Scharnhorst's loss was an enormous psychological blow to the German nation. [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. He was primarily concerned with the possibility of a limited war with France, which would require the protection of German sea lanes. 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. [6] The 15 cm guns in Denmark were taken over by the Danish military; two of the turrets were moved to Stevnsfort in 1952. The rotating mass of the turret was 750 tons (internal barbette diameter 10.2 m), and traversing speed was 7.2 deg/sec. Technically, the Scharnhorst pair not always have been called “fast battleships”. In the engagement with Glorious, Scharnhorst achieved one of the longest-range naval gunfire hits in history. The following day Scharnhorst arrived in Brest for repairs, which lasted for four months. If they could not be evacuated, Hitler ordered that they were to be decommissioned in Brest. At 14:45, the ships were attacked by five Whirlwind fighter-bombers—German fighters beat them back. After 1942, six 53.3 cm deck-mounted torpedo tubes were taken from the light cruisers Leipzig and Nürnberg and installed on the ships, with storage for 18 G7a torpedoes. [17] Since 1933, Erich Raeder, the head of the German Navy, had argued to increase the defensive qualities of the Panzerschiffe, and to increase the offensive power of the main battery with the addition of a third triple turret. 'Lucky' Scharnhorst, as she was known in Germany, was a focus for national pride. The German ships therefore broke off the attack. 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