Their hulls contained 21 watertight compartments and had a double bottom for 79% of their length. [56], Survivors from Scharnhorst debarking in Scapa Flow, By 10:00, Scharnhorst, using her 4–6 knot speed advantage, broke off the engagement and resumed searching for the convoy. A severe storm off Bergen forced the destroyers to seek shelter but Scharnhorst was able to continue on at the reduced speed of 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph). [24] After approximately an hour of shooting, the German battleships sent Glorious to the bottom. At 30 knots, the torpedoes had a range of 14,000 m (15,300 yd); at 40 knots, the range fell considerably, to 8,000 m (8,750 m). In this educational video I cover the Scharnhorst class battlecruisers. 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 torpedoes were 7.186 m (23 ft 7 in) long and carried a 300 kg (661 lb) Hexanite warhead. [20], Because the maximum calibre of naval gun allowed under the Anglo-German Naval Agreement was 40.6 cm (16 inch), Hitler soon had second thoughts about the guns to be used for the new ships and ordered that they be armed with 38 cm (15 inch) weapons. Graf Zeppelin Class Carrier. The main reason was that the required total output for the desired speed was three times that of the Panzerschiffe. Scharnhorst Survivors Land. 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. Unbeknownst to the Germans, HMS Duke of York was also on a course for intercept. 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. It was extremely strong amidships, but weakened on either end of the citadel. In this educational video I cover the, Scharnhorst class , battlecruisers. [45] Another attempt to reach Norway was canceled under similar circumstances. [44] The shock damaged the rotating parts of all of the ship's gun turrets, and three of the 15 cm turrets were seriously jammed. On June 11, 12 Hudson bombers from the RAF attempted to bomb Scharnhorst; they all missed their target. [52], On 20 December 1943, Scharnhorst was ordered to intercept the next convoy to the Soviet Union, Convoy JW 55B. Many of these hits had badly damaged the ship's secondary armament, which left her open to destroyer attacks, which Fraser ordered. The class comprised two vessels: the lead ship Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. Limit Break Ranks Skills First Main Gun Mount +1 / Main Gun Efficiency +5% Sniper CN: 狙击手 JP: 狙撃手: Every 35 (15) seconds, fires a barrage at a random enemy with 100% critical hit chance (Damage depends on skill level, shell type changes from Normal to AP shells after reaching skill level 6). The four diesel generators were divided into pairs: two provided 150 kilowatts each and two supplied 300 kW each. [50] On 8 March, Scharnhorst and four destroyers departed Gotenhafen; she arrived off Narvik on 14 March. [28], Following the completion of repairs, Scharnhorst underwent trials in the Baltic before returning to Kiel in December 1940. A repair ship completed work on the vessel in two weeks. Gneisenau was still being repaired following torpedo damage on 6 April and bomb damage on 9–10 April. German aircraft arrived later to jam British radar with chaff. The first went through each deck and exited the ship through the double bottom, while the other was deflected by the torpedo bulkhead and penetrated the hull beneath the side belt armor. Scharnhorst was hit at least four times by torpedoes fired by HMS Scorpion and HNoMS Stord. A third shell hit the deck next to turret Caesar and caused some flooding; shell splinters caused significant casualties. [31] Scharnhorst stopped to pick up survivors, but the arrival of the cruiser HMS Newcastle prompted the German ships to withdraw. [68] A Polish salvage firm raised the wreck on 12 September 1951 and subsequently broke the ship up for scrap metal. [33][36] Scharnhorst's gunnery radar suffered technical problems, which prevented her from effectively engaging Renown. 35 Squadron RAF and No. [15] Scharnhorst was repaired in Wilhelmshaven, and while in dock, her boilers were overhauled. 06-09 March 1943: Operation Paderborn.In favourable weather Scharnhorst succeeds in breaking out and is finally trasferred from Germany to Narvik where she is to join the battleship Tirpitz and the heavy cruiser Lützow (ex-Deutschland).. 09-23 March 1943: Anchored at Bogen Bay near Narvik. [27], The underwater side protection had numerous faults, however. Vice Admiral Otto Ciliax, Scharnhorst's first commander, was given command of the operation. In the case of triple-screw ships, this would have meant more than twice the shaft 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. In the meantime, repair work on Gneisenau had begun, and the ship was in the process of being rearmed. [46] The ships left Brest late on 11 February, and remained undetected for the majority of the operation. SMS Scharnhorst was the flagship of German Vice-Admiral Maximilian Graf von Spee's East Asia Squadron. As Acasta sank, one of the 4 torpedoes she had fired hit Scharnhorst at 19:39. [30] He instead turned toward the mid-Atlantic, where Scharnhorst sank the Greek cargo ship Marathon. These guns were not identical to the 28.3 cm SK C/28 mounted on the Deutschland-class Panzerschiffe as their barrel was reinforced and much longer. Scharnhorst was launched first, and so she is considered to be the lead ship by some sources; however, they are also referred to as the Gneisenau class in some other sources, as Gneisenau was the first to be laid down and commissioned. Scharnhorst's commander, KzS Hoffmann, however, closed to 23,000 m (25,000 yd) in an attempt to lure Ramillies away from the convoy so that Gneisenau could attack the convoy. [22], Both Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were equipped with two sets of Seetakt radar. Similarly to most other German installations, those turrets had an electric system of rotation, but all other operations were hydraulic systems. These guns fired 45.3 kg (99.87 lb) shells at a rate of 6–8 per minute. At 09:21, Belfast's lookouts spotted Scharnhorst at a range of 11,000 m (12,000 yd). 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. They fired their last shot in 2000, after which the fortress was turned into a museum. Also, the beam of 30 m meant that the protection system had to be weaker around the main battery turrets, as a significant amount of the hull space was taken up by the magazines and barbettes. [50] 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. However, the torpedo bulkhead, composed of Wotan Weich (Wotan, soft) steel, placed behind the armoured belt was riveted; this was done because plate joints that had been incorrectly welded would not sufficiently withstand explosive shocks. The two ships were forced to put into port during the storm: Scharnhorst went to Gotenhafen while Gneisenau went to Kiel for repairs. 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. Scharnhorst … Less than ten minutes later, a shell from Gneisenau struck the bridge and killed Glorious's captain. The second and third turbines were restarted at 15:55 and 16:01, respectively, which permitted a speed of 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph). [33][34] One of the two 4.5" hits disabled Gneisenau's A turret,[lower-alpha 5][35] The 15" hit destroyed the main armament fire control station, and knocked out her Seetakt radar. The Germans reached Wilhelmshaven on 27 November, and on the trip both battleships incurred significant damage from heavy seas and winds. When Scharnhorst was built, she was faster than any ship of her type. The sinking of the Scharnhorst was an enormous psychological blow for the German nation, at the height of World War Two. At 19:00, the ship capsized and sank. The ship was immobilized briefly—between 15:49 and 16:01, all three turbines were restarted and the ship resumed a speed of 27 kn (50 km/h; 31 mph). [59], Twenty-eight cm shells from Scharnhorst struck Duke of York's mast and disabled her surface radars. Beyond this was a fuel bunker with an 8 mm (0.31 in) thick outer wall; this would absorb any remaining explosive force. Battleships of the Scharnhorst Class : the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau : the backbone of the German surface forces at the outbreak of war by Gerhard Koop ( Book ) The Tirpitz; the story, including the destruction of the Scharnhorst, of the campaigns against the German battleship by David Woodward ( Book ) The Scharnhorst class were the first capital ships, alternatively referred to as battlecruisers or battleships, built for the German Navy (Kriegsmarine) after World War I. The ships had a designed speed of 31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph), though on trials both vessels beat their designed speeds—Scharnhorst hit 31.5 knots (58.3 km/h; 36.2 mph) and Gneisenau made 31.3 kn (58.0 km/h; 36.0 mph). Repairs were effected over the following six months. After several more torpedo hits, Scharnhorst settled further into the water and began to list to starboard. [45], In early August 1942, Scharnhorst conducted exercises in cooperation with several U-boats. He was primarily concerned with the possibility of a limited war with France, which would require the protection of German sea lanes. Battleship Scharnhorst-class Wehrmacht Kriegsmarine (German Navy 1935-1945) Scharnhorst A 1000 lb bomb penetrated the armoured deck just ahead of the forward turret; shell splinters detonated the ammunition magazine, which did tremendous damage to the bow of the ship and burnt out "A" turret; 112 men were killed and another 21 were injured. [4], After 1942, six 53.3 cm deck-mounted torpedo tubes were taken from the light cruisers Leipzig and Nürnberg and installed on the ships. The ships both had a beam of 30 m (98 ft). The turrets allowed depression of the guns to −8° and elevation to 40° for "A" and "C" turrets, while "B" turret was capable of depressing to −9°. Advancing the science and practice of nutrition implementation worldwide 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 Â°C (842 Â°F). They were known as the "Twin Sisters" partly because of the fact that they did almost everything together … When used to engage surface targets, the guns had a maximum range of 17,700 m (19,357 yd) at an elevation of 45°. [52], 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. Hitler wanted to follow this course so he would not be seen as overtly flaunting the Treaty of Versailles. Another significant weakness in the design was the arrangement of the torpedo bulkhead. Scharnhorst Battleship blueprints and scale representation. Discover (and save!) (1985). We use 3D printed game pieces regularly to enhance the realism of our fleet and also to use as equipment upgrade paths during the game. Jane's Fighting Ships 1940 lists both the Scharnhorst and Bismarck classes as "Battleships (Schlachtschiffe)" Another adversary, the United … Advancing the science and practice of nutrition implementation worldwide Scharnhorst struck Glorious at a range of approximately 24,200 m (26,500 yd), one of the longest recorded hits in the history of naval gunfire. By 08:00, Scharnhorst had reached the Jade Bight but ice prevented the ship from entering Wilhelmshaven. Both ships had a Krupp armor belt, 150 mm (5.9 in) thick (center), decreasing to 80 mm (3.1 in) on both end of the citadel, down to nothing on ends, and backed with teak planking. [6] Scharnhorst was commissioned into the fleet on 9 January for sea trials,[7] which revealed a dangerous tendency to ship considerable amounts of water in heavy seas. [23] They also sank the two destroyers. The Germans then launched their Arado 196 float planes to search for more Allied vessels. [67] Fraser then ordered Jamaica and Belfast to move into range and finish the crippled ship off with torpedoes. The Scharnhorst class was the last traditional class of armored cruisers built by the Kaiserliche Marine.The class comprised two ships, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau.They were larger than the Roon-class cruisers that preceded them; the extra size was used primarily to increase the main armament of 21 cm (8.2 inch) guns from four to eight. On 8 March, however, poor weather grounded the British bombers, and so Scharnhorst and four destroyers were able to make the journey to Norway. 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