Scharnhorst class armored cruiser

: "For the WWII German capital ship class, sometimes referred to as the Scharnhorst class, see Scharnhorst class warship."

The "Scharnhorst" class was the last traditional class of armored cruisers built by the Kaiserliche Marine. The class was comprised of two ships, "Scharnhorst" and "Gneisenau". They were increased in size from the "Roon" class that preceded them, with the extra size being used primarily to increase the main armament of 21cm (8.2") guns from four to eight.

Design

ize and machinery

The ships of the class were 144.6 meters (474.7 ft) overall, and 143.8 meters (472 ft) at the waterline. They had a beam of 21.6 meters (71 ft), a draught of 8.4 meters (27 feet, 6 inches), and displaced 11,616 tons standard, and 12,985 tons at full load. The ships were powered by 3 shaft triple expansion engines, which provided 26,000 iph, and a top speed of convert|22.5|kn|km/h, although in trials, both ships attained a maximum speed of approximately one knot faster.

Armor

The ships of the "Scharnhorst" class were protected by an armor belt ranging in thickness from three inches (76 mm) in less important areas, to six in the citadel. The barbettes were armored with convert|7|in|mm of armor, as were the turret faces. The deck was covered with 1.5-2.5 inches of armor plate.

Armament

The primary armament consisted of eight 21 cm guns, two in twin turrets, one fore and one aft, the rest in single wing turrets. Secondary armament included six 15 cm guns in casemates, eighteen 8.8 cm casemated guns, and four 450 mm torpedo tubes.

ervice History

Both ships of the class were assigned to the German East Asia Squadron at the start of World War I, with Scharnhorst serving as Admiral Graf Spee's flagship. They fought the Battle of Coronel, where two British armored cruisers were sunk. Shortly thereafter, they were attacked by much superior British forces in the Battle of the Falkland Islands, where almost the entire East Asia Squadron was sunk.

External links

* [http://www.worldwar1.co.uk/armoured-cruiser/sms-scharnhorst.html World War 1 Naval Combat]