| 07.01.1939: |
Commissioned, first trials in the Jade estuary. |
| - July 1939: |
Trials and training in the Baltic Sea. |
| July - August 1939: |
Final construction in Wilhelmshaven, bow is modified. |
| - November 1939: |
Battle training in the Baltic Sea. |
| 21.11.1939: |
Together with Scharnhorst
, the Gneisenau
is sent south of Iceland to attack the Northern Patrol. |
| 23.11.1939: |
The two battlecruisers sink the British auxiliary cruiser Rawalpindi
. |
| 27.11.1939: |
Returns to Kiel. |
| 18-20.02.1940: |
Operation "Nordmark":
Scharnhorst
, Gneisenau
, CA Admiral Hipper
and the destroyers Wolfgang Zenker
, Wilhlem Heidkamp
and Karl Galster
are sent to intercept British convoys between Bergen and England, but no ships are sighted. |
| 07-12.04.1940: |
Operation "Weserübung":
Scharnhorst
and Gneisenau
cover the invasion of Narvik. West of the Lofoten, they engage the British BC Renown
and the cruiser Birmingham
in bad weather. |
| 04.06.1940: |
Operation "Juno":
Flagship in the Polar Sea operations together with Gneisenau
, Admiral Hipper
and the destroyers Karl Galster
, Hans Lody
, Erich Steinbrink
and Hermann Schoemann
. |
| 08.06.1940: |
Battle with British CV Glorious
and the DDs Ardent
and Acasta
. All British ships are sunk, the Scharnhorst
was hit by a torpedo of the DD Acasta
, damaging middle and starboard engine and Turret Cäsar. |
| 10.06.1940: |
Return to Drontheim. |
| June 1940: |
After emergency repairs in Drontheim, the Scharnhorst
is sent back to Kiel. Unsuccessful air attacks by the RAF. |
| 28.12.1940: |
First unsuccessful attempt to break out in the North Atlantic together with the Gneisenau
. Operation is aborted after the Gneisenau
is damaged by heavy seas. |
| 22.01.1941: |
Operation "Berlin":
Start of successful Atlantic operation |
| 03.02.1941: |
Scharnhorst
and Gneisenau
break through the Denmark Street. |
| 08.02.1941: |
Convoy HX-108 is sighted but the attack is stopped after the BB Ramiles
is detected covering this convoy. Scharnhorst
unsuccessfully tries to pull the British BB away of the convoy to enable the Gneisenau
to attack the unprotected merchants. |
| 07-09.03.1941: |
Disengage from Convoy SL-67 after the sighting of the British BB Malaya
. |
| 15-16.03.1941: |
Scharnhorst
and Gneisenau
attack a convoy south-east of Newfoundland. |
| 22.03.1941: |
Both ships enter Brest. They sank 22 ships with 115600 t during their North Atlantic Operations.
Scharnhorst
sinks 8 of them with 49300t. |
| Mar 1941 - Feb 1942: |
Stationed in Brest, target of many British air attacks. Scharnhorst
is hit by 5 bombs while temporarily anchored in La Pallice which cause severe damage. |
| 11-12.02.1942: |
Operation "Ceberus":
Flagship during the escape the English Channel: Scharnhorst
, Gneisenau
and CA Prinz Eugen
, eescorted by 6 destroyers (Paul Jakobi
, Richard Beitzen
, Friedrich Ihn
, Hermann Schoemann
, Z25
, Z29
) and 14 torpedo boats (e.g. Kondor
, Jaguar
, T12
, T13
), return to Germany. |
| March 1943: |
In the third attempt, the Scharnhorst
sails to northern Norway and is stationed in the West Fjord/Alta Fjord. |
| 06-07.09.1943: |
Operation "Sizilien":
A squadron consisting of Tirpitz
, Scharnhorst
and 9 destroyers (Erich Steinbrink
, Karl Galster
, Hans Lody
, Theodor Riedel
, Z27
, Z29
, Z30
, Z31
, Z33
) attack the enemy base on Spitzbergen. |
| Sep - Dec 1943: |
Scharnhorst
is first stationed in the Kaa Fjord, then in the Lang Fjord. |
| 25.12.1943: |
Under the command of Conter-Admiral Bey, the Scharnhorst
and destroyers Z29
, Z30
, Z33
, Z34
and
Z38
tries to find and attack the convoy JW-55B on its way to Murmansk. The Scharnhorst
is detected by British Cruisers after she left her escorts. After several attempts, the British battleship Duke of York
locates the Scharnhorst
. |
| 26.12.1943: |
After several hours, the Scharnhorst
is sunk at 7:45 pm. Only 36 crew members survive. |
