Battlecruiser Scharnhorst Specs and History

German Battlecruiser Scharnhorst

The German Battlecruiser Scharnhorst and her sister ship Gneisenau were called Battlecruisers by some but classified by others as Battleships. These ships were Germany's next step up from the Pocket Battleships and were launched in the late 1930s. These ships had a main armament of nine 11 inch guns in three triple turrets and had twelve 5.9 inch secondary guns. She carried a crew of between 1600 and 1900 men. Her two most successful ventures were in the company of Gneisenau and were their June 1940 sinking of the British carrier Glorious and her two escorting destroyers and their March 1941 Atlantic commerce raiding cruise. They are also both known for their February 1942 "Channel Dash" with the Heavy Cruiser Prinz Eugen and air/surface escorts. This breakout was from Brest to German Waters through the English channel in broad daylight and was a complete embarrassment for the British. The Scharnhorst was sunk off the North Cape by British surface forces (including the Battleship Duke of York) on December 26, 1943, with only 30 survivors. A good book on the "death of the Scharnhorst" is the book SCHARNHORST by Alf. R. Jacobsen (Sutton Publishing).