German battleship Gneisenau
Gneisenau
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| History | |
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 Nazi Germany
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| Name: | Gneisenau |
| Namesake: | August Neidhardt von Gneisenau |
| Builder: | Deutsche Werke |
| Laid down: | 6 May 1935 |
| Launched: | 8 December 1936 |
| Commissioned: | 21 May 1938 |
| Decommissioned: | 1 July 1942 |
| Fate: | Sunk as a blockship 23 March 1945 and scrapped after the war. |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Scharnhorst-class battleship |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | 234.9 m (771 ft) |
| Beam: | 30 m (98 ft) |
| Draft: | 9.9 m (32 ft) |
| Installed power: | 165,930 PS (163,660 shp; 122,040 kW) |
| Propulsion: | 3 Germania geared steam turbines |
| Speed: | 31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph) |
| Range: | 6,200 nmi (11,500 km; 7,100 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) |
| Complement: |
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| Armament: |
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| Armor: |
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| Aircraft carried: | 3 Arado Ar 196A |
| Aviation facilities: | 1 catapult |
Gneisenau was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. She was the second vessel of her class, which included one other ship, Scharnhorst. The ship was built at the Deutsche Werke dockyard in Kiel; she was laid down on 6 May 1935 and launched on 8 December 1936. Completed in May 1938, the ship was armed with a main battery of nine 28 cm (11 in) C/34 guns in three triple turrets, though there were plans to replace these weapons with six 38 cm (15 in) SK C/34 guns in twin turrets.
Gneisenau and Scharnhorst operated together for much of the early portion of World War II, including sorties into the Atlantic to raid British merchant shipping. During their first operation, the two ships sank the British auxiliary cruiser HMS Rawalpindi in a short battle. Gneisenau and Scharnhorst participated in Operation Weserübung, the German invasion of Norway. During operations off Norway, the two ships engaged the battlecruiser HMS Renown and sank the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious. Gneisenau was damaged in the action with Renown and later torpedoed by a British submarine, HMS Clyde, off Norway. After a successful raid in the Atlantic in 1941, Gneisenau and her sister put in at Brest, France. The two battleships were the subject of repeated bombing raids by the RAF; Gneisenau was hit several times during the raids, though she was ultimately repaired.
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