Renown Vs Scharnhorst and Gneisenau

During the German invasion of Norway, the battlecruisers Gneisenau and Scharnhorst put to sea to patrol the area off Narvik, to cover the flank of the 10 destroyers sent to capture that Norwegian port. On April 9, 1940, the two were sailing in heavy weather near the Lofoten Islands. Gneisenau picked up a contact on her radar at 0430, and both ships went to battle stations. Around 0500 the navigator aboard Scharnhorst was attempting to take a navigational fix, when he reported that he had seen the flash of heavy gunfire in the mirror of his sextant. A minute later the scream of heavy incoming shells was heard on board Gneisenau: the radar contact was the battlecruiser HMS Renown and her nine escorting destroyers, also on patrol in the area. With her superior radar, she had taken the Gneisenau under fire from 11,800 yards, outside visual range in the low clouds and rainsqualls.

The German twins returned fire three minutes later, and Renown shifted her fire to Scharnhorst at 0513. The three ships exchanged gunfire to no effect, exchanging salvoes sporadically until 0600, when the firing stopped. The weather was to rough for the destroyers to be effective. The German ships were under orders to avoid British warships, so they changed course frequently in an effort to disengage to the North.

At 0620, firing began again, with Renown once again targeting Gneisenau. Scharnhorst's radar malfunctioned, so her fire was completely ineffective, but within 5 minutes Gneisenau had scored two hits on Renown. One 11.1-inch shell passed through the main leg of Renown's foremast without exploding, while the second struck aft of 'Y' turret. This shell hit the starboard side hull plating between the upper and main decks, and passed through the ship above the steering gear and out the other side, also without exploding.

Renown answered almost immediately with two hits of her own. One of her 15-inch shells passed clean through Gneisenau's director tower without exploding, severing electrical and communication cables as it went. The debris caused by the passing shell killed one officer and five ratings, and destroyed the optical rangefinder for the forward 150mm turrets. Main battery fire control had to be shifted aft due to the loss of electrical power to the director tower. Renown's second shell struck Gneisenau's aft turret, knocking it out of action.

The Germans had had enough. Scharnhorst was blind, and Gneisenau had lost one third of her firepower. They ceased fire shortly after these hits, and the German twins raced northward at their best speed. It was feared that any further hits would slow one of the battlecruisers, leaving it open to torpedo attack from the British destroyers.

As the German ships raced north, they began to outpace the British battlecruiser. But the heavy seas took their toll: green water over the bows damaged both German ships. Water entered the forward turrets of both ships, rendering them useless due to short circuits. Scharnhorst suffered a powerplant problem, and the starboard shaft had to be shut down. The two dropped down to 25 knots, but by then they were out of radar range and Renown was unable to locate them. The German ships turned west, and after spending several days in the Arctic Ocean to throw off any British attempts to intercept them, the battlecruisers returned to Wilhelmshaven for repairs and overhaul.