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Battle of the North Cape

Battle of the North Cape
Part of World War II
Members of HMS Duke of York's gun crews at Scapa Flow after the Battle of North Cape.
Members of HMS Duke of York's gun crews at Scapa Flow after the Battle of North Cape. The personnel are wearing anti-flash gear.
Date 26 December 1943
Location Off North Cape, Norway
Result Allied victory
Belligerents
 Germany  United Kingdom
 Norway
Commanders and leaders
Nazi Germany Erich Bey  United Kingdom Bruce Fraser
Strength
1 battleship 1 battleship
1 heavy cruiser
3 light cruisers
9 destroyers
Casualties and losses
1 battleship sunk
1,932 killed
36 captured
1 battleship slightly damaged
1 heavy cruiser damaged
1 destroyer damaged
11 killed
11 wounded

The Battle of the North Cape was a Second World War naval battle which occurred on 26 December 1943, as part of the Arctic Campaign. The German battleship Scharnhorst, on an operation to attack Arctic Convoys of war matériel from the Western Allies to the USSR, was brought to battle and sunk by Royal Navy (RN) forces—the battleship HMS Duke of York plus several cruisers and destroyers—off Norway's North Cape.

The battle was the last between big-gun capital ships in the war between Britain and Germany. The British victory confirmed the massive strategic advantage held by the British, at least in surface units. It was also the second-to-last engagement between battleships, the last being the Battle of Surigao Strait in October 1944.

Operation Ostfront was an attempt by the German Kriegsmarine to intercept the expected Arctic convoys. In late December 1943, these would be the Russia-bound convoy JW 55B and the Home-bound convoy RA 55A.

On 22 December 1943, a Luftwaffe aircraft sighted JW 55B and commenced shadowing. Three days later, on 25 December, Scharnhorst (Captain Fritz Hintze) with the Narvik-class destroyers Z29, Z30, Z33, Z34 and Z38 left Norway's Altafjord under the overall command of Konteradmiral Erich Bey.


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