Scharnhorst class armored cruiser
SMS Scharnhorst
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| Class overview | |
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| Name: | Scharnhorst-class cruiser |
| Operators: |
 Kaiserliche Marine
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| Preceded by: | Roon class |
| Succeeded by: | SMS Blücher |
| Built: | 1905–1908 |
| In service: | 1907–1914 |
| Completed: | Two ordered and commissioned |
| Lost: | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Armored cruiser |
| Displacement: | 12,985 t (12,780 long tons) full load |
| Length: | 144.60 m (474 ft 5 in) |
| Beam: | 21.60 m (70 ft 10 in) |
| Draft: | 8.37 m (27 ft 6 in) |
| Installed power: |
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| Propulsion: | 3 shaft triple expansion engines |
| Speed: | 22.7 knots (42 km/h) |
| Crew: |
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| Armament: |
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| Armor: |
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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. The ships were the first German cruiser to reach equality with their British counterparts. The ships were named after 19th century Prussian army reformers, Gerhard von Scharnhorst and August von Gneisenau.
Built for overseas service, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were assigned to the East Asia Squadron in 1909 and 1910, respectively. Scharnhorst relieved the old armored cruiser Fürst Bismarck as the squadron flagship, which had been on station since 1900. Both ships had short careers; shortly before the outbreak of World War I, the ships departed the German colony at Tsingtao. On 1 November 1914, the ships destroyed a British force at the Battle of Coronel and inflicted upon the Royal Navy its first defeat since the Battle of Plattsburgh in 1814. The East Asia Squadron, including both Scharnhorst-class ships, was subsequently annihilated at the Battle of the Falkland Islands on 8 December.
The ships of the class were 144.60 meters (474 ft 5 in) long overall, and 143.80 m (471 ft 9 in) long at the waterline. They had a beam of 21.60 m (70 ft 10 in), a draft of 8.37 m (27 ft 6 in), and displaced 11,616 tonnes (11,433 long tons) standard, and 12,985 t (12,780 long tons) at full load. The ships' hulls were constructed of transverse and longitudinal steel frames, over which the outer hull plating was riveted. The vessels had 15 watertight compartments and a double bottom that ran for 50% of the length of the hull.
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