How Germany's feared Scharnhorst ship was sunk in WWII

BBC ^ | December 25, 2011 | Claire Bowes

[decimon]

On 26 December 1943 one of the great sea battles of World War II took place.

Germany's most famous battleship - the Scharnhorst - was sunk by Allied forces during the Battle of the North Cape.

Norman Scarth was an 18-year-old on board the British naval destroyer HMS Matchless, which was protecting a convoy taking vital supplies to the Russian ports of the Arctic Circle.

In a BBC World Service interview he described how he witnessed the sinking of the Scharnhorst:

>

We could still hear voices calling from the black of that Arctic winter night, calling for help, and we were leaving those men to certain death within minutes.

It seemed a terrible thing to do and it was. But it was the right thing to do.

If we had stayed a moment too long we could have joined those unfortunate men.

I can hear those voices and I grieve for those men every day of my life.

>

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

“Gentlemen, the battle against the Scharnhorst has ended in victory for us. I hope that any of you who are ever called upon to lead a ship into action against an opponent many times superior, will command your ship as gallantly as the Scharnhorst was commanded today.”

Admiral Bruce Fraser

[central_va]

I hunted submarines from the surface on a Frigate for 4 years in the North Atlantic during the 80’s. It is amazing how it is NEVER nice in the North Atlantic. Bad weather is the only consistent thing about the North Atlantic. Other oceans are not like the North Atlantic, it is “special”.

[PzLdr]

Didn’t Fraser drop a wreath on the site of the sinking within the next couple of days?

[OregonRancher]

“One of the better novels set in WWII North Atlantic. IMO, MacLean’s best.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Ulysses_%28novel%29";

No, the Best novel set in the North Atlantic!! Reprinted and
on the shelves at Barnes and Noble.

[abb]

I cannot disagree. I was always sad about how the quality of MacLean’s writing deteriorated in his later works.

[Tallguy]

"Pocket Battleship" was a term invented by the Brits to describe the German "Panzerschiff" (roughly translated as armored ship). Under the Treaty of Versailles that ended WW1, the Germans were limited to a maximum ship displacement of 10,000 tons. The British wanted to convey the idea that the Germans had cheated on the treaty provisions by constructing forbidden "Battleships". The "Deutschland-class" were actually 12,000 tons, but the close enough that the Germans could claim that they were 'legal' under the treaty.

They packed the biggest naval gun that could be shipped on a vessel that size -- the 11" naval gun.

The "Scharnhorst" and "Gneisenau" were constructed after the Germans openly abrogated the treaty, so they were much larger. But the 15" naval gun was not ready so they too were constructed with the same 11" gun, but with a turret design that would allow the retrofit of the 15" gun when it became available. It never happened.

[SunkenCiv]

GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach	join list or digest view topics view or post blog bookmark post a topic subscribe
Thanks decimon. Just adding to the catalog, not sending a general distribution. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.

[Reily]

that's what I get for relying on my ever growing more faulty memory...that's for the correction !

Well got 2 out of 3!

It's been a long time since I built WWII ship models!

[Reily]

yes usually USN heavy cruisers (CAs) were named after cities as were USN light cruisers (CLs). USN battlercruisers (BCs) were named after territories hence Guam, etc. Not sure if the BCs ever got built.

[Reily]

and my current inability to type correctly!
..thanks for the correction!

[Eaker]

Great correction!

Thanks,

[Tallguy]

The USN only conceived of two battlecruisers — USS Saratoga & USS Lexington. Both were converted to aircraft carriers during construction because the Washington Naval Treaties permitted it, while strictly limiting capital ship tonnage (Battleships & Battlecruisers). So I’d guess you’d have to say that USN battlecruisers were named after famous battles.

The USS Guam & USS Alaska, constructed during WW2 after the Washinton Naval Treaty, were considered “Large Cruisers” or “Cruiser Killers” by the USN. While they were built “Battleship-style”, mounted large caliber naval guns, and were relatively lightly armored, the Navy refused to classify them as “battlecruisers” and officially discouraged the practice.