D.K.M. Gneisenau
1941
(Neptun 1004T)
- Class: Scharnhorst - 2 battlecruisers of 1935
- Displacement: 32,000 tons
- Dimensions: 741.5 x 98.5 x 24.5 ft.
- Machinery: 3-shaft geared turbines, S.H.P. 160,000 = 31.5 knots
- Armor: Main belt 12-13 in., turrets 12 in., decks 6 in.
- Armament: 9-11 in. (3x3), 12-5.9 in (4x2+4x1), 14-4.1 in. A.A. (7x2),
16-37 mm. A.A. (8x2), 10-20mm. A.A. guns; 6-21 in. (2x3) T.T.; 4 aircraft
- Complement: 1,800
- Builder: Deutsche Werke, Kiel
- Laid Down: 6 May 1935
- Launched: 8 Dec 1936
- Completed: 21 May 1938
- Actions: 1939-40 Operations in Atlantic in company with Scharnhorst, 23 Nov 1939 sank AMC Rawalpindi, SE of Iceland; 1940 Norwegian Campaign; 8 Jun 1940 sank aircraft carrier HMS
Glorious, and destroyers Ardent and Acasta off Norway; 1941 Raiding in Atlantic in company with Scharnhorst - 22 ships destroyed, 115,622 tons; Feb 1941 to Brest, bombed at intervals by RAF; 12 Feb 1942 Broke out from Brest in company of Scharnhorst and Prinz Eugen (Operation Cerberus) mined and damaged en route; damaged 26-27 Feb 1942 by RAF bombing raid at Kiel; moved to Gdynia and decommissioned 1 Jul 1942; 11in turrets removed for coastal defence (2 in Norway, 1 at Hook of Holland) with plans to replace them with twin 15in guns, but project abandoned due to labor and material shortages; hulk sunk as blockship at Gdynia; to Russia, broken up 1947-51.
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