German cruiser Admiral Scheer

Admiral Scheer was a Deutschland-class heavy cruiser (often termed a pocket battleship) which served with the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany during World War II. The vessel was named after Admiral Reinhard Scheer, German commander in the Battle of Jutland. She was laid down at the  Reichsmarinewerft  shipyard in Wilhelmshaven in June 1931 and completed by November 1934. Originally classified as an armored ship (Panzerschiff) by the Reichsmarine, in February 1940 the Germans reclassified the remaining two ships of this class as heavy cruisers.[a]

The ship was nominally under the 10,000 long tons (10,000 t) limitation on warship size imposed by the Treaty of Versailles, though with a full load displacement of 15,180 long tons (15,420 t), she significantly exceeded it. Armed with six 28 cm (11 in) guns in two triple gun turrets, Admiral Scheer and her sisters were designed to outgun any cruiser fast enough to catch them. Their top speed of 28 kn (52 km/h; 32 mph) left only a handful of ships in the Anglo-French navies able to catch them and powerful enough to sink them.[1]

Admiral Scheer saw heavy service with the German Navy, including a deployment to Spain during the Spanish Civil War, where she bombarded the port of Almería. Her first operation during World War II was a commerce raiding operation into the southern Atlantic Ocean; she also made a brief foray into the Indian Ocean. During the operation, she sank 113,223 gross register tons (GRT) of shipping, making her the most successful capital ship surface raider of the war. Following her return to Germany, she was deployed to northern Norway to interdict shipping to the Soviet Union. She was part of the abortive attack on Convoy PQ-17 and conducted Operation Wunderland, a sortie into the Kara Sea. After returning to Germany at the end of 1942, the ship served as a training ship until the end of 1944, when she was used to support ground operations against the Soviet Army. She was sunk by British bombers on 9 April 1945 and partially scrapped; the remainder of the wreck lies buried beneath a quay. {| class="toc" id="toc"

Contents
[hide] *1 Construction
 * 2 Service history
 * 2.1 Spanish Civil War
 * 2.2 World War II
 * 2.2.1 Atlantic sortie
 * 2.2.2 Deployment to Norway
 * 2.2.3 Return to the Baltic
 * 3 Footnotes
 * 4 References
 * 5 External links
 * }

Construction
Main article: Deutschland class cruiserRecognition drawing of Admiral ScheerAdmiral Scheer was ordered by the Reichsmarine from the  Reichsmarinewerft  shipyard in Wilhelmshaven.[2] Naval rearmament was not popular with the Social Democrats and the Communists in the German Reichstag, so it was not until 1931 that a bill was passed to build a second Panzerschiff. The money for Panzerschiff B, which was ordered as Ersatz Lothringen, was secured after the Social Democrats abstained to prevent a political crisis.[3] Her keel was laid on 25 June 1931,[4] under construction number 123.[2] The ship was launched on 1 April 1933; at her launching, she was christened by Marianne Besserer, the daughter of Admiral Reinhard Scheer, the ship's namesake.[5] She was completed slightly over a year and a half later on 12 November 1934, the day she was commissioned into the German fleet.[6] The old battleship  Hessen  was removed from service and her crew transferred to the newly commissioned panzerschiff.[5] '''

Admiral Scheer was 186 meters (610 ft) long overall and had a beam of 21.34 m (70.0 ft) and a maximum draft of 7.25 m (23.8 ft). The ship had a design displacement of 13,660 t (13,440 long tons; 15,060 short tons) and a full load displacement of 15,180 long tons (15,420 t),[2] though the ship was officially stated to be within the 10,000 long tons (10,000 t) limit of the Treaty of Versailles.[7] Admiral Scheer was powered by four sets of MAN 9-cylinder double-acting two-stroke diesel engines. The ship's top speed was 28.3 knots (52.4 km/h; 32.6 mph), at 52,050 shaft horsepower (38,810 kW). At a cruising speed of 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph), the ship could steam for 9,100 nautical miles (16,900 km; 10,500 mi). As designed, her standard complement consisted of 33 officers and 586 enlisted men, though after 1935 this was significantly increased to 30 officers and 921–1,040 sailors.[2]

Admiral Scheer ' s primary armament was six 28 cm (11.0 in) SK C/28 guns mounted in two triple gun turrets, one forward and one aft of the superstructure. The ship carried a secondary battery of eight 15 cm (5.9 in) SK C/28 guns in single turrets grouped amidships. Her anti-aircraft battery originally consisted of three 8.8 cm (3.5 in) L/45 guns, though in 1935 these were replaced with six 8.8 cm L/78 guns. By 1940, the ship's anti-aircraft battery was significantly increased, consisting of six 10.5 cm (4.1 in) C/33 guns, four twin-mounted 3.7 cm (1.5 in) C/30 guns and up to twenty-eight 2 cm (0.79 in) Flak 30 guns. By 1945, the anti-aircraft battery had again been reorganized and comprised six 4 cm guns, eight 3.7 cm guns, and thirty-three 2 cm guns.[2]

The ship also carried a pair of quadruple 53.3 cm (21.0 in) deck-mounted torpedo launchers placed on her stern. The ship was equipped with two Arado Ar 196 seaplanes and one catapult. Admiral Scheer ' s armored belt was 60 to 80 mm (2.4 to 3.1 in) thick; her upper deck was 17 mm (0.67 in) thick while the main armored deck was 17 to 45 mm (0.67 to 1.8 in) thick. The main battery turrets had 140 mm (5.5 in) thick faces and 80 mm thick sides.[2] Radar initially consisted of a FMG 39 G(gO) set, though in 1941 this was replaced with an FMG 40 G(gO) set and a FuMO 26 system.[8] [b]

Service history
At her commissioning in November 1934, Admiral Scheer was placed under the command of Kapitän zur See (KzS) Wilhelm Marschall.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWilliamson22_10-0">[9] The ship spent the remainder of 1934 conducting sea trials and training her crew.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWhitley69_11-0">[10] In 1935, she had a new catapult and landing sail system to operate her Arado seaplanes on heavy seas installed.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEGr.C3.B6ner61_8-1">[8] By October 1935, the ship was ready for her first major cruise, when on 25–28 October she visited Madeira, returning to Kiel on 8 November. The following summer, she cruised out through the Skagerrak and the English Channel into the Irish Sea, before visiting Stockholm on the return voyage.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWhitley69_11-1">[10]

Spanish Civil War
Admiral Scheer ' s first overseas deployment began in July 1936 when she was sent to Spain to evacuate German civilians caught in the midst of the Spanish Civil War. From 8 August 1936 she served together with her sister ship  Deutschland  on non-intervention patrols off the Republican-held coast of Spain.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWilliamson24_5-2">[5] She served four tours of duty with the non-intervention patrol through June 1937. Her official objective was to control the influx of war materiel into Spain, though she also recorded Soviet ships carrying supplies to the Republicans and protected ships delivering German weapons to Nationalist forces.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTECiupa20_12-0">[11] During the deployment to Spain, Ernst Lindemann served as the ship's first gunnery officer.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEGr.C3.BCtzner91.E2.80.93100_13-0">[12] After Deutschland was attacked on 29 May 1937 by Spanish Republican Air Force aircraft off Ibiza, Admiral Scheer was ordered to bombard the Republican-held port of Almería in reprisal.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTECiupa20_12-1">[11] On 31 May 1937, the anniversary of the Battle of Jutland, Admiral Scheer, flying the Imperial War Flag, arrived off Almería at 07:29 and opened fire on shore batteries, naval installations and ships in the harbor. On 26 June 1937, she was relieved by her sister  Admiral Graf Spee , allowing her to return to Wilhelmshaven on 1 July. She returned to the Mediterranean between August and October, however.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWilliamson24_5-3">[5] In September 1936, KzS Otto Ciliax replaced Marschall as the ship's commanding officer.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWilliamson22_10-1">[9]

World War II
At the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, Admiral Scheer remained at anchor in the Schillig roadstead outside Wilhelmshaven, along with the heavy cruiser  Admiral Hipper . On 4 September, two groups of five Bristol Blenheim bombers attacked the ships. The first group surprised the anti-aircraft gunners aboard Admiral Scheer, who nevertheless managed to shoot down one of the five Blenheims. One bomb struck the ship's deck and failed to explode, and two detonated in the water near the ship. The remaining bombs also failed to explode.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWatson71_14-0">[13] The second group of five Blenheims were confronted by the alerted German defenses, which shot down four of the five bombers. Admiral Scheer emerged from the attack undamaged.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWatson71.E2.80.9372_15-0">[14] In November 1939, KzS Theodor Krancke became the ship's commanding officer.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWatson72_16-0">[15]

Admiral Scheer underwent a refit while her sister ships set out on commerce raiding operations in the Atlantic.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWilliamson33_17-0">[16] Admiral Scheer was modified during the early months of 1940, including the installation of a new, raked clipper bow.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWatson72_16-1">[15] The heavy command tower was replaced with a lighter structure, and she was reclassified as a heavy cruiser.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTECiupa20_12-2">[11] Additional anti-aircraft guns were also installed, along with updated radar equipment.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWatson72_16-2">[15] On 19–20 July, RAF bombers attacked Admiral Scheer and the battleship  Tirpitz , though they failed to score any hits.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTERohwer33_18-0">[17] On 27 July, the ship was pronounced ready for service.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWatson72_16-3">[15]

Atlantic sortie
Admiral ScheerAdmiral Scheer sailed in October 1940 on her first combat sortie. On the night of 31 October, she slipped through the Denmark Strait and broke into the open Atlantic.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEShowell66_19-0">[18] Her B-Dienst radio intercept equipment identified the convoy HX-84, sailing from Halifax Nova Scotia. Admiral Scheer ' s Arado seaplanes located the convoy on 5 November 1940,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWilliamson33_17-1">[16] The armed merchant cruiser HMS Jervis Bay, the sole escort for the convoy, issued a report of the German raider and attempted to prevent her from attacking the convoy. The convoy was ordered to scatter under cover of a smoke screen.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEShowell66_19-1">[18] Admiral Scheer ' s first salvo scored hits on Jervis Bay, disabling her wireless equipment and steering gear. Shells from her second salvo struck the bridge and killed her commander, Edward Fegen.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdwards90_20-0">[19] Admiral Scheer quickly sank Jervis Bay, but the delay allowed the majority of the convoy to escape. The Germans sank only five of the convoy's 37 ships.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTERohwer48_21-0">[20] '''

On 18 December, Admiral Scheer encountered and sank the refrigerator ship Duquesa, of some 8,651 long tons (8,790 t) displacement. The ship sent off a distress signal, which the German raider deliberately allowed, to draw British naval forces to the area.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTERohwer52_22-0">[21] Krancke wanted to lure British warships to the area to draw attention away from Admiral Hipper, which had just exited the Denmark Strait.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdwards99_23-0">[22] The aircraft carriers HMS Formidable and  Hermes , the cruisers  Dorsetshire ,  Neptune , and  Dragon , and the armed merchant cruiser  Pretoria Castle  converged to hunt down the German raider, but she eluded the British.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTERohwer52_22-1">[21]

Between 26 December and 7 January, Admiral Scheer rendezvoused with the supply ships Nordmark and Eurofeld, the auxiliary cruiser  Thor , and the prizes Dugnesa and Storstad. The raiders transferred some 600 prisoners to Storstad while they refueled from Nordmark and Eurofeld.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTERohwer53_24-0">[23] Admiral Scheer captured three British merchant ships totaling 18,738 gross register tons (GRT) between 18 and 20 January.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTERohwer56_25-0">[24] She spent Christmas 1940 at sea in the mid-Atlantic, several hundred miles from Tristan da Cunha, before making a foray into the Indian Ocean in February 1941.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWilliamson34_26-0">[25]

On 14 February, Admiral Scheer rendezvoused with the armed merchant raider  Atlantis  and the supply ship Tannenfels about 1,000 nmi (1,900 km; 1,200 mi) east of Madagascar. The raiders resupplied from Tannenfels and exchanged information on Allied merchant traffic in the area, parting company on 17 February. Admiral Scheer then steamed to the Seychelles north of Madagascar, where she located two merchant vessels with her Arado floatplanes. She took the 6,994-long-ton (7,106 t) transport British Advocate as a prize and sank the 2,456-long-ton (2,495 t) Greek-flagged Grigorios. A third ship, the 7,178-long-ton (7,293 t) Canadian Cruiser, managed to send a distress signal before Admiral Scheer sank her on 21 February. The raider encountered and sank a fourth ship the following day, the 2,542-long-ton (2,583 t) Dutch steamer Rantaupandjang, though she too was able to send a distress signal before she sank.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTERohwer59_27-0">[26]

The British cruiser HMS Glasgow, which was patrolling in the area, received both messages from Admiral Scheer ' s victims. Glasgow launched reconnaissance aircraft that spotted Admiral Scheer on 22 February. Vice Admiral Ralph Leatham, the commander of the East Indies Station, deployed the carrier Hermes and cruisers  Capetown ,  Emerald ,  Hawkins ,  Shropshire , and the Australian HMAS Canberra to join the hunt. Krancke turned to the south-east to evade his pursuers, reaching the South Atlantic by 3 March. The British, meanwhile, had abandoned the hunt on 25 February when it became clear that Admiral Scheer had withdrawn from the area.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTERohwer59_27-1">[26]

Admiral Scheer then sailed northwards, breaking through the Denmark Strait on 26–27 March and evading the cruisers  Fiji  and  Nigeria . She reached Bergen, Norway on 30 March, where she spent a day in the Grimstadfjord. A destroyer escort joined the ship for the voyage to Kiel, which they reached on 1 April.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTERohwer65_28-0">[27] In the course of her raiding operation, she had steamed over 46,000 nautical miles (85,000 km) and sank seventeen merchant ships for a total of 113,223 GRT.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWilliamson33_17-2">[16] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTERohwer65_28-1">[27] She was by far the most successful German capital ship commerce raider of the entire war.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEH.C3.BCmmelchen101_29-0">[28] After returning to Germany, Krancke left the ship and was replaced by KzS Wilhelm Meendsen-Bohlken in June 1941.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWilliamson22_10-2">[9] The loss of the battleship  Bismarck  in May 1941, and more importantly, the Royal Navy's destruction of the German supply ship network in the aftermath of the Bismarck operation forced a planned Atlantic raiding operation for Admiral Scheer and her sister Lützow at the end of 1941.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEO.27Hara_et_al.71_30-0">[29] On 4–8 September, Admiral Scheer was briefly moved to Oslo. There, on 5 and 8 September, No. 90 Squadron RAF, equipped with B-17 bombers, mounted a pair of unsuccessful attacks on the ship. On 8 September, the ship left Oslo and returned to Swinemünde.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTERohwer98_31-0">[30]

Deployment to Norway
On 21 February 1942, Admiral Scheer, the heavy cruiser  Prinz Eugen , and the destroyers  Richard Beitzen ,  Paul Jakobi ,  Z25 ,  Hermann Schoemann , and  Friedrich Ihn  steamed to Norway. After stopping briefly in Grimstadfjord, the ships proceeded on to Trondheim. On 23 February, the British submarine  Trident  torpedoed Prinz Eugen, causing serious damage.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTERohwer146_32-0">[31] The first operation in Norway in which Admiral Scheer took part was Operation Rösselsprung, in July 1942. On 2 July, the ship sortied as part of the attempt to intercept Arctic convoy PQ-17.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWilliamson35_33-0">[32] Admiral Scheer and Lützow formed one group while Tirpitz and Admiral Hipper composed another. While en route to the rendezvous point, Lützow and three destroyers ran aground, forcing the entire group to abandon the operation. Admiral Scheer was detached to join Tirpitz and Admiral Hipper in Altafjord.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEdwards194_34-0">[33] The British detected the German departure and ordered the convoy to scatter. Aware that surprise had been lost, the Germans broke off the surface attack and turned the destruction of PQ-17 over to the U-boats and Luftwaffe. Twenty-four of the convoy's thirty-five transports were sunk.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTERohwer175.E2.80.93176_35-0">[34] Map showing the route taken by Admiral Scheer during Operation WunderlandIn August 1942, she conducted Operation Wunderland, a sortie into the Kara Sea to interdict Soviet shipping and attack targets of opportunity. The length of the mission and the distances involved precluded a destroyer escort for the operation; three destroyers would escort Admiral Scheer until they reached Novaya Zemlya, at which point they would return to Norway. Two U-boats— U-251  and  U-456 —patrolled the Kara Gate and the Jugor Strait. The Germans originally intended to send Admiral Scheer with her sister ship Lützow, but since the latter had run aground the previous month, she was unavailable for the operation.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEZetterling_.26_Tamelander150_36-0">[35]

The operational plan called for strict radio silence to ensure surprise could be maintained. This required Meendsen-Bohlken to have total tactical and operational control of his ship; shore-based commands would be unable to direct the mission.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEZetterling_.26_Tamelander150_36-1">[35] On 16 August, Admiral Scheer and her destroyer escort left Narvik on a course to pass to the north of Novaya Zemlya. Upon entering the Kara Sea, she encountered heavy ice; in addition to searching for merchant shipping, the Arado floatplane was used to scout paths through the ice fields.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEZetterling_.26_Tamelander151_37-0">[36] On 25 August, she encountered the Soviet icebreaker  Sibiryakov . Admiral Scheer sank the icebreaker, but not before the she sent a distress signal.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEZetterling_.26_Tamelander151.E2.80.93152_38-0">[37] The German ship then turned south, and two days later, arrived off the port of Dikson. Admiral Scheer damaged two ships in the port and shelled harbor facilities. Meendsen-Bohlken considered sending a landing party ashore, but firing from Soviet shore batteries convinced him to abandon the plan. After breaking off the bombardment, Meendsen-Bohlken decided to return to Narvik. She reached port on 30 August without having achieved any significant successes.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEZetterling_.26_Tamelander152_39-0">[38]

On 23 October, Admiral Scheer, Tirpitz, and the destroyers  Richard Beitzen ,  Friedrich Eckoldt ,  Z23 ,  Z28 , and  Z29  left Bogen Bay and proceeded to Trondheim. There, Tirpitz stopped for repairs, while Admiral Scheer and Z28 continue on to Germany.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTERohwer206_40-0">[39] Fregattenkapitän Ernst Gruber served as the ship's acting commander at the end of November.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWilliamson22_10-3">[9] In December 1942, Admiral Scheer returned to Wilhelmshaven for major overhaul, where she was attacked and slightly damaged by RAF bombers. Consequently, Admiral Scheer moved to the less exposed port of Swinemünde.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWilliamson35_33-1">[32] In February 1943, KzS Richard Rothe-Roth took command of the ship.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWilliamson22_10-4">[9] Until the end of 1944 Admiral Scheer was part of the Fleet Training Group.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWilliamson36_41-0">[40]

Return to the Baltic
KzS Ernst-Ludwig Thienemann, the ship's final commander, took command of Admiral Scheer in April 1944.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWilliamson22_10-5">[9] On 22 November 1944, Admiral Scheer, the destroyers  Z25  and  Z35 , and the 2nd Torpedo Boat Flotilla relieved the cruiser Prinz Eugen and several destroyers supporting German forces fighting the Soviets on the island of Ösel in the Baltic.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTERohwer373.E2.80.93374_42-0">[41] The Soviet Air Force launched several air attacks on the German forces, all of which were successfully repelled by heavy anti-aircraft fire.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTERohwer374_43-0">[42] The ship's Arado floatplane was shot down, however.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWilliamson36_41-1">[40] On the night of 23–24 November, the German naval forces completed the evacuation of the island. In all, 4,694 troops were evacuated from the island.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTERohwer374_43-1">[42] Admiral Scheer capsized in KielIn early February 1945, Admiral Scheer stood off Samland with several torpedo boats in support of German forces fighting Soviet advances. On 9 February, the ships began shelling Soviet positions. Between 18 and 24 February, German forces launched a local counterattack; Admiral Scheer and the torpedo boats provided artillery support, targeting Soviet positions near Peyse and Gross-Heydekrug. The German attack temporarily restored the land connection to Königsberg.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTERohwer387_44-0">[43] The ship's guns were badly worn out by March and in need of repair. On 8 March, Admiral Scheer departed the eastern Baltic to have her guns relined in Kiel; she carried 800 civilian refugees and 200 wounded soldiers. An uncleared minefield prevented her from reaching Kiel, and so she unloaded her passengers in Swinemünde. Despite her worn-out gun barrels, the ship then shelled Soviet forces outside Kolberg until she used up her remaining ammunition.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWilliamson36_41-2">[40]

The ship then loaded refugees and left Swinemünde; she successfully navigated the minefields on the way to Kiel, arriving on 18 March. Her stern turret had its guns replaced at the Deutsche Werke shipyard by early April. During the repair process, most of the ship's crew went ashore. On the night of 9 April 1945, a general RAF bombing raid by over 300 aircraft struck the harbor in Kiel.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWilliamson36_41-3">[40] Admiral Scheer was hit by five Tallboy bombs and capsized. She was partially broken up for scrap after the end of the war, though part of the hull was left in place and buried with rubble from the attack in the construction of a new quay. The number of casualties from her loss are unknown.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEGr.C3.B6ner62_6-1">[6] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEGardiner_.26_Chesneau228_45-0">[44]