A highly detailed study of the World War II German battleship that
sparred with the British Royal Navy from 1939-43.
The Kriegsmarine's Scharnhorst was a German capital ship, described
either as a battleship or battlecruiser, and the lead ship of her class,
which included one other ship, Gneisenau. She was launched on 3
October 1936 and completed in January 1939, armed with nine 28cm C/34
guns in three triple turrets. She operated with Gneisenau for much of
the early portion of World War II, including sorties into the Atlantic
to raid British merchant shipping. They took part in Operation
Weserübung (April-June 1940), the German invasion of Norway during
which they sank the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious and her escort
destroyers Acasta and Ardent. Scharnhorst also sank HMS
Rawalpindi in November 1939. In early 1943, Scharnhorst joined the
Tirpitz in Norway to intercept Allied convoys to the Soviet Union. On
a sortie from Norway to attack a convoy, the German force was
intercepted by British ships and during the Battle of the North Cape (26
December 1943), HMS Duke of York and her escorts sank Scharnhorst
and most of her crew was lost.
This is the most comprehensive examination of Scharnhorst ever
published, drawing on new research and technology to tell the full story
of the ship. It includes a complete set of detailed line drawings with
fully descriptive keys and full-color artwork, supported by technical
details, photographs, and text on the building of the ship, as well as a
record of her service history.
