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Gneisenau (German pronunciation: [ˈɡnaɪ̯zənaʊ̯]) was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, in Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. She was the second vessel of her class , which included her sister ship, Scharnhorst .
SMS Gneisenau [a] was an armored cruiser of the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy), part of the two-ship Scharnhorst class.Named for the earlier screw corvette of the same name, the ship was laid down in June 1904 at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen, launched in June 1906, and commissioned in March 1908.
The Scharnhorst class was a class of German battleships (or battlecruisers) built immediately prior to World War II.The first capital ships of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine, it comprised two vessels: Scharnhorst and Gneisenau.
Renown began the action by opening fire on Gneisenau with her 15-inch guns. The German warships replied at 04:11 with Gneisenau obtaining two hits on Renown with her 11-inch shells. Both shells failed to explode, with the first hitting the British battlecruiser's foremast and the second passing through the ship near the steering gear room.
In late 1942, Gneisenau was heavily damaged in an Allied air raid against Kiel. In early 1943, Scharnhorst joined the Bismarck-class battleship Tirpitz in Norway to interdict Allied convoys to the Soviet Union. Scharnhorst and several destroyers sortied from Norway to attack a convoy; the Germans were instead intercepted by British naval patrols.
[67] [74] [73] The German battleships searched for the convoy on 8 March, Gneisenau made contact at 1:30 pm. Lütjens attempted to attack at 5:30 pm, but broke off at high speed when Malaya was identified. The British tried to shadow Gneisenau but were unable to pursue the faster German ship. [76]
At approximately 13:20, the battlecruisers opened fire at a range of 14 kilometers (8.7 mi). After a two-hour-long battle, Scharnhorst was dead in the water and listing heavily. The ship was sunk shortly thereafter. Gneisenau had been hit more than 50 times at close range; the crew gave three cheers for the Kaiser before the vessel sank.
The O-class battlecruisers were designed in 1937 to supplement the P-class cruisers then planned for the new German fleet. The three ships were armed with six 38 cm guns in three twin turrets, similar to the arrangement of the main battery of the Scharnhorst -class battleships.