Kreigsmarine in the Atlantic Capitol Ships

[Saxondog]

Many remember the Saga of the Bismarck and the Hood, the epic battle,the chase and the rudder damage that doomed the pride of the German Navy.

Some may recall prior to this Atlantic cruise Admiral Lutjens who died on the Bismarck had taken the Scharnhorst and Gneisnau on an Atlantic raid sinking 22 ships.

But the most successful Cruise was the Admiral Scheer,a Deutschland class battle-cruiser.Same class as the Graf Spee. Overlooked in many respects as her cruise was a total success.

The Scheer sailed into the Atlantic,Indian ocean and the pacific,the only German capitol ship to do so and return home. And that is the difference she returned home and is literally buried their to this day under a parking lot.

The Admiral Scheer had some notable differences to her two sister ships besides the cruise as well her Clipper bow made her a very stable ship in all weather,but her top speed of 25kts was not up to the later cruisers of other navies. One other notable feature was the power plant,these ships were diesel powered giving great economy.

One other notable piece of History Scheer was the first German Capitol ship to be bombed in port,hit three times in one of the earliest raids all three bombs failed to explode. Certainly her end would have come that day if not for this bit of luck.

Check out the link for some interesting History of a unique ship.
The cruise is interesting reading and available in several on line articles.
http://www.deutschland-class.dk/admiral ... _menu.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?16245" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



http://www.scharnhorst-class.dk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[NickDonitz]

I love your posts . Where do you get the time