X-Nico

6 unusual facts about German battleship Scharnhorst


History of Svalbard

The battleships Tirpitz, the Scharnhorst were along with nine destroyers sent to Isfjorden where they leveled Barentsburg, Grumant and Longyearbyen.

James Stanley Hey

His task was to work on radar anti-jamming methods; for a year German jamming of Allied radar had been a problem and the escape of two German warships (Scharnhorst and Gneisenau) through the English Channel, aided by enemy radar jamming from the French Coast, had highlighted the problem.

Johnny Checketts

On 12 February 1942 the unit took part in operations over the English Channel during the German Operation Cerberus, when the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau made a high–speed dash from Brest to reach safety in German ports.

Max Ibel

In February 1942 Ibel acted as liaison officer with the Kriegsmarine during the famous "Channel Dash" when the Luftwaffe provided effective air cover over the battle cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau passage through the Channel.

No. 4 Group RAF

On 24 July 1941, 4 Group dropped 2,000 lb bombs on the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and helped to keep these battle-cruisers locked in Brest until 12 February 1942.

South Foreland

Their best-known action came a few months later, on 12 February 1942, when the light battleships Gneisenau, Scharnhorst and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen attempted the Channel Dash from Brest back to Germany.


Cross-Channel guns in the Second World War

The British guns fired on the German battleships Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen during their 1942 Channel Dash, but were unable to stop them.

Erich Bey

Promoted to Rear Admiral, on Christmas Day, 25 December 1943, Bey led a task force consisting of the battleship Scharnhorst and the Z29, Z30, Z33, Z34 and Z38 out of Alta Fjord in Operation Ostfront.

No. 118 Squadron RAF

On 12 February it took part in the unsuccessful attempts to intercept the German battleships Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen when they sailed through the Channel, escorting bombers searching for the German squadron.


see also