Scharnhorst Class Battleship - Service History - Gneisenau's Reconstruction

Gneisenau's Reconstruction

Gneisenau was also scheduled to deploy to Norway, but she suffered heavy damage during a bombing raid on the night of 26–27 February 1942. A 454 kg bomb penetrated the armoured deck just ahead of the forward turret; shell splinters detonated the ammunition magazine, which did tremendous damage to the bow of the ship and burnt out "A" turret; 112 men were killed and another 21 were injured. It was estimated that it would take two years to make the ship ready for service. Since this was such a long period, it was determined that it would be more efficient if during the repair work, the ship was reconstructed to mount six 38 cm (15 in) guns in place of her 28.3 cm weapons. To accomplish this, the hull would need to be lengthened by 10 m (33 ft) to provide additional buoyancy and the electrical system would have to be overhauled. Turrets "B" and "C" were to be removed and transferred to Norway to serve as coastal defence guns.

On 4 April, Gneisenau, along with the icebreaker Castor and the old pre-dreadnought Schlesien departed Kiel for Gotenhafen. Once there, conversion work began: the wrecked bow was removed and her "B" and "C" turrets were removed and disassembled for transport. Krupp would build the new 38 cm turrets, which required strengthening of the barbette structures to support their weight. By early 1943, repair work was largely completed and the ship was ready to receive the improved bow and 38 cm turrets, but this was not to be. The failure of surface units to intercept and destroy a convoy in the Arctic on 31 December 1942 prompted Hitler to order all major surface units to be scrapped. Work on Gneisenau ceased, and materials that had been allocated for her repair were diverted to other projects.

The ship was then disarmed and all but abandoned in the harbor. Her 15 cm guns were placed as coastal batteries in Denmark. When the Soviet army approached in early 1945, the ship was towed out into the outer harbor and sunk as a block ship, on 23 March 1945. A Polish salvage firm raised the wreck on 12 September 1951 and subsequently broke the ship up for scrap metal. "C" Turret remains in Trondheim, Norway; the Norwegian government offered without success to return the turret to Germany for display in a museum. The 15 cm guns in Denmark were taken over by the Danish military; two of the turrets were moved to Stevnsfort in 1952. The guns were put into reserve in 1984, though they continued to be fired during annual training. They fired their last shot in 2000, after which the fortress was turned into a museum.