FightingSteel1
Feb-10-2016, 05:56
Another ship related post this time...covering one of Germany's battlecruisers and some famous engagements/operations she participated in. This is a little long though:
DKM Gneisenau
http://i397.photobucket.com/albums/pp55/vipe155/CondensedHistory/new.jpg
Gneisenau upon completion - Credit Bundesarchiv.
Battlecruiser Gneisenau(pronounced something like nei-senau, silent g) began life as the planned second ship of the Scharnhorst class. Her construction was awarded to Deutsche Werke, and construction began in 1935. She and her sister would become the German Navies (Kriegsmarine) first major capitol ships and a large part of German fleet buildup prior to the start of World War II. Finished in 1938, Gneisenau displaced 32,000 tons, was 770 ft (234.9m) long, and had a top speed in trials of 31 knots.
Gneisenau was armed with a “upper-middleweight” armament consisting of nine 28cm (11.1 in) main guns in two forward and one rear triple turret, and featured twelve 15cm (5.9in) secondary guns and various large caliber and small caliber AA weapons. Of note was the choice of 28cm guns for the classes main battery. At the time, due to use in other Kriegsmarine vessels and common barrel design/ammunition availability, to complete the vessels on time 28cm guns were decided to be the best option. It was planned to upgrade the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau with six (two per turret) 38cm (15”) guns in the future after the completion of the larger battleships, but due to the start of the war and limited resources, this was never fully completed. In the case of the Gneisenau, those larger guns will be a small part of her story later in life.
Start of War
The beginning of the war placed Gneisenau in port, enduring a Wellington bomber raid (with no damage) in the first few days of hostilities. Gneisenau finally left for war in November 1939 in company with her sister Scharnhorst, the light cruiser Koln and a complement of destroyers. The operation centered between Iceland and the Faroe Islands was meant to draw out Royal Navy ships to divert attention away from Admiral Graf Spee being hunted in the Atlantic.
Gneisenau first action would occur November 23rd, when the British armed merchant cruiser Rawalpindi was, in an unfortunate situation, tasked with investigating an enemy sighting in the area. The ship would find the “ugly sisters” Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. Defiant Captain Edward Kennedy refused a call to surrender and decided to fight with little hope of victory. The Rawalpindi was sunk in a fairly short battle after scoring one hit on Scharnhorst. The ship did manage to broadcast the German fleets position, and Royal Navy titans Hood, Rodney, Nelson and French battleship Dunkerque began pursuit. Even so, the British vessels failed to make contact and chase was called off with the German ships returning to Kiel in late November.
After some uneventful patrols for enemy convoys and time in port, Gneisenau's next major action would occur in Operation Weserburug, the invasion of Norway. Starting in April of 1940, she would sail from Germany as the flagship for Vice-Admiral Gunther Lutjens along with Scharnhorst, tasked with covering the invasion of Narvik. The pair detached from heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper and escorting destroyers providing long cover of their operations in Norway. At 4:30 on April 9th Gneisenau discovered on her radar the approaching British battlecruiser Renown, a 15” gun heavily upgraded WWI veteran. Heavy seas and poor visibility hampered the battle, in which the ships traded fire for several minutes. Gneisenau scored two hits aboard Renown, with the shells failing to explode and cause any real damage. The German flagship than was hit in turn with the heavier shells damaging her forward fire directors and aft turret. The poor conditions continued to hamper the battle, with only sporadic bouts of firing before the Germans increased speed disengaged from the battle. While hardly a decisive battle, the action had diverted the Royal Navies attention and therefore allowed the German invasion around Narvik and Trondheim to continue without interference. Gneisenau and Scharnhorst would join up with Admiral Hipper and return to port afterwards.
Gneisenau would hit a mine in May, forcing her into drydock for repairs. In June she would sail for her next operation, and a wholly unique engagement around Norway.
See next post for part 2.
DKM Gneisenau
http://i397.photobucket.com/albums/pp55/vipe155/CondensedHistory/new.jpg
Gneisenau upon completion - Credit Bundesarchiv.
Battlecruiser Gneisenau(pronounced something like nei-senau, silent g) began life as the planned second ship of the Scharnhorst class. Her construction was awarded to Deutsche Werke, and construction began in 1935. She and her sister would become the German Navies (Kriegsmarine) first major capitol ships and a large part of German fleet buildup prior to the start of World War II. Finished in 1938, Gneisenau displaced 32,000 tons, was 770 ft (234.9m) long, and had a top speed in trials of 31 knots.
Gneisenau was armed with a “upper-middleweight” armament consisting of nine 28cm (11.1 in) main guns in two forward and one rear triple turret, and featured twelve 15cm (5.9in) secondary guns and various large caliber and small caliber AA weapons. Of note was the choice of 28cm guns for the classes main battery. At the time, due to use in other Kriegsmarine vessels and common barrel design/ammunition availability, to complete the vessels on time 28cm guns were decided to be the best option. It was planned to upgrade the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau with six (two per turret) 38cm (15”) guns in the future after the completion of the larger battleships, but due to the start of the war and limited resources, this was never fully completed. In the case of the Gneisenau, those larger guns will be a small part of her story later in life.
Start of War
The beginning of the war placed Gneisenau in port, enduring a Wellington bomber raid (with no damage) in the first few days of hostilities. Gneisenau finally left for war in November 1939 in company with her sister Scharnhorst, the light cruiser Koln and a complement of destroyers. The operation centered between Iceland and the Faroe Islands was meant to draw out Royal Navy ships to divert attention away from Admiral Graf Spee being hunted in the Atlantic.
Gneisenau first action would occur November 23rd, when the British armed merchant cruiser Rawalpindi was, in an unfortunate situation, tasked with investigating an enemy sighting in the area. The ship would find the “ugly sisters” Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. Defiant Captain Edward Kennedy refused a call to surrender and decided to fight with little hope of victory. The Rawalpindi was sunk in a fairly short battle after scoring one hit on Scharnhorst. The ship did manage to broadcast the German fleets position, and Royal Navy titans Hood, Rodney, Nelson and French battleship Dunkerque began pursuit. Even so, the British vessels failed to make contact and chase was called off with the German ships returning to Kiel in late November.
After some uneventful patrols for enemy convoys and time in port, Gneisenau's next major action would occur in Operation Weserburug, the invasion of Norway. Starting in April of 1940, she would sail from Germany as the flagship for Vice-Admiral Gunther Lutjens along with Scharnhorst, tasked with covering the invasion of Narvik. The pair detached from heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper and escorting destroyers providing long cover of their operations in Norway. At 4:30 on April 9th Gneisenau discovered on her radar the approaching British battlecruiser Renown, a 15” gun heavily upgraded WWI veteran. Heavy seas and poor visibility hampered the battle, in which the ships traded fire for several minutes. Gneisenau scored two hits aboard Renown, with the shells failing to explode and cause any real damage. The German flagship than was hit in turn with the heavier shells damaging her forward fire directors and aft turret. The poor conditions continued to hamper the battle, with only sporadic bouts of firing before the Germans increased speed disengaged from the battle. While hardly a decisive battle, the action had diverted the Royal Navies attention and therefore allowed the German invasion around Narvik and Trondheim to continue without interference. Gneisenau and Scharnhorst would join up with Admiral Hipper and return to port afterwards.
Gneisenau would hit a mine in May, forcing her into drydock for repairs. In June she would sail for her next operation, and a wholly unique engagement around Norway.
See next post for part 2.