German battleship Scharnhorst
Scharnhorst
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| History | |
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 Nazi Germany
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| Name: | Scharnhorst |
| Namesake: | Gerhard Johann von Scharnhorst (1755–1813) |
| Builder: | Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven |
| Laid down: | 15 June 1935 |
| Launched: | 3 October 1936 |
| Commissioned: | 7 January 1939 |
| Motto: | Scharnhorst immer voran (Scharnhorst ever onward) |
| Fate: | Sunk at 72°16′N 28°41′E / 72.267°N 28.683°E the Battle of North Cape on 26 December 1943 |
| 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: | 159,551 shp; 118,977 kW |
| Propulsion: | 3 Brown, Boveri & Co geared steam turbines |
| Speed: | 31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph) |
| Range: | 7,100 nmi (13,100 km; 8,200 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 |
Scharnhorst was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. She was the lead ship of her class, which included one other ship, Gneisenau. The ship was built at the Kriegsmarinewerft dockyard in Wilhelmshaven; she was laid down on 15 June 1935 and launched a year and four months later on 3 October 1936. Completed in January 1939, the ship was armed with a main battery of nine 28 cm (11 in) C/34 guns in three triple turrets. Plans to replace these weapons with six 38 cm (15 in) SK C/34 guns in twin turrets were never carried out.
Scharnhorst and Gneisenau operated together for much of the early portion of World War II, including sorties into the Atlantic to raid British merchant shipping. During her first operation, Scharnhorst sank the auxiliary cruiser HMS Rawalpindi in a short engagement (November 1939). Scharnhorst and Gneisenau participated in Operation Weserübung (April–June 1940), the German invasion of Norway. During operations off Norway, the two ships engaged the battlecruiser HMS Renown and sank the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious as well as her escort destroyers Acasta and Ardent. In that engagement Scharnhorst achieved one of the longest-range naval gunfire hits in history.
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