Admiral Scheer

D.K.M. Admiral Scheer

(Neptun 1034)

Class: Deutschland - 3 armored ships of 1928-32
Displacement: 12,100 tons
Dimensions: 593 (wl) 609 (oa) x 70 x 21.5 ft
Machinery: 2-shaft diesels, 56,000 BHP = 26 knots
Armor: Side 4in, turrets 2-5.5in, deck 1.5-3in, CT 2-5in
Armament: 6-11in (2x3), 8-5.9in (8x1), 6-3.5in AA (3x2), 8-37mm (4x2), 10-20mm (2x4+2x1) AA guns; 8-21in (2x4) TT; 2 aircraft
Complement: 1,150

Actions: Named for Admiral Reinhard Scheer, commander-in-chief of the German Navy during World War I. Sevice in Nonintervention Patrol during Spanish Civil War, 1936-37. Operated in the Baltic and North Seas during first year of World War II, but was under refit during the Norwegian invasion. Embarked on a five-month rading voyage in Oct 1940, during which she sank seventeen Allied merchant ships in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Most famous was the action against convoy HX-84 on 5 Nov 1940. During this action she sank the armed merchant cruiser Jervis Bay, the armed freighter Beaverford and four other ships. Moved to Norway in 1941. Participated in several abortive sorties, including against convoy PQ-17. Sank three Soviet tankers in the Kara Sea in Aug 1942. Confined to the Baltic from 1943, she supported German ground forces during the retreat on the Eastern Front in the winter of 1944-45. Hit five times by RAF bombers on 9 April 1945 at Kiel and capsized. Wreck partially scrapped, remainder buried when dock filled in postwar.