Battleship Scharnhorst

By Gerhard Koop &
Klaus-Peter Schmoke

The Military Book Club,
Doublday Direct,
1540 Broadway,
New York, NY 10036

ISBN 0-85177-77-772-4

Reviewed by Bob Pearson

Surely one of the handsomest ships ever, Scharnhorst (and her sister Gneisenau) are the subject of this English translation of "Vom Originale zum Modell: Schatschiff Scharnhorst". This is an interesting collection of photos and drawings of the actual ships as well as an amazing 1/100 scale model built by Mr. W Fraider.

The career of Scharnhorst can be briefly summarised as follows: Launched 3 October 1936, commissioned 7 January 1939. At the start of WW2 she and Gneisenau carried out several joint operations which resulted in the sinking of the AMC Rawalpindi and aircraft carrier HMS Glorious. During the battle in which Glorious was sunk, Scharnhorst was hit by a torpedo and had to return to harbour. Following another sortie she returned to Brest, where she was to depart on the infamous 'Channel Dash" with Gneisenau, Prinz Eugen and many smaller escorts in February 1942. After repairs in Germany, she then went to Norway where she was a continual threat to arctic convoys. On Boxing Day 1943, while attempting to engage one of these convoys, Scharnhorst was sunk during the Battle of North Cape by superior British forces including the battleship HMS Duke of York, and the cruisers HMS Sheffield, Belfast, Jamaica and Norfolk.

Although classified as a battlecruiser by the Allies, the Kriegsmarine always refered to her as a battleship despite the low armour protection and 11" guns which would be considered as standard for a battlecruiser.

The book starts with a description of Scharnhorst's construction, crew training, engine room combat readiness, technical data and armour layout. Next is a comparison between Scharnhorst and Gneisenau with scale drawings of each - including Gneisenau's original bow. A summary of Scharnhorst's career follows, after which is a section containing 49 photos of both ships. Drawings of the camouflage patterns carried by both are then offered. 19 photos of the model are then presented and finally 13 plates of scale drawings. A most interesting book and a nice addition to any library. I would welcome any information on others in this series. My copy came from the Military Book Club as a welcome back gift, so I'm afraid I don't know the price.