Am done with the 1/700 Tamiya Scharnhorst. A fine kit for its age (I have some build photos earlier in this thread) and any mistakes are mine. Anyone interested can check the build log I just posted in the Ships forum.
Instead, I’d like to make a few comments about another event of significance that took place during 1943 - the final annihilation of the German surface fleet. In the late 30s Hitler had shown great interest in rebuilding the Kriegsmarine battle fleet despite having signed a naval treaty with the UK in 1935. On paper existed Plan Z which would have given the Germans a very large fleet based on big BBs by the late 1940s. (The lack of interest in carriers was remarkable considering how much treasure was being spent on them in the interwar period by the USN, the RN and the IJN.) When war broke out, Admiral Raeder claimed he had been betrayed and told Hitler that all the fleet could do was to die valiantly. (Because of the existence of ASDIC the KM had also underestimated the importance of submarines. The KM’s high command were not the brightest bulbs in the Wehrmacht, but at least they were the most overtly Nazi which Hitler liked.) Lacking a coherent doctrine to match the fleet that existed in 1939 Raeder and company - often at Hitler’s urging - promptly went out and fulfilled the prophesy made.
Considering the paltry damage done to British commerce done by German surface ships one must conclude that the KM’s capital ships existed primarily to boost British morale. The Graf Spee’s end in 1939 was the only thing that went right for the Chamberlain war cabinet at any time until May 1940 and boosted Churchill’s standing greatly. The David vs Goliath image created was a huge boost for British morale. The only real bright spot for the KM surface fleet was the dandy operation, despite extreme haste in planning, that led to the occupation of Norway. Yet even here the damage had been serious enough to leave the KM with even slighter resources for the astounding possibility of invading Britain in July-September 1940. The Bismarck folly in my view was a greater British victory because of the Hood’s loss. The Brits love dead heroes as long as things come out all right. Indeed, the only thing done right was the audacious “Channel Dash” in 1942 which was, when looked at closely, a well handled retreat.
The Germans had decent ships but it’s hard to single out any actually built as being innovative. Even Bismarck and Tirpitz were improved Bayern Class dreadnoughts. Gneisenau and Scharnhorst proved my Star Wars theory of World War II weaponry - the bad guys had all the neat looking weapons. And handsome vessels they were. But let’s not forget that these were 30,000 ton warships carrying 11" guns. (During an Atlantic sortie Scharnhorst refused two attacks on convoys because they were escorted by RN slow battleships mounting 15" guns. The sinking of Glorious is oddly rarely mentioned - probably because it was something of a low point in RN tactical finesse.) Here’s Scharnhorst in the summer of 1943 wearing its complex last camo scheme:
Arguably there was a good alternative to the slow but steady death march for the KM in WWII but it would have required the assumption of a long war - something Hitler refused to believe in knowing it would mean defeat. Hitler thought little to admire in Admiral Tirpitz and there was little reason to do so. However, Tirpitz, while the Kaiser was building the High Seas Fleet, has advocated Mahan’s idea of the “fleet in being.” Having an inferior fleet, so went the argument, would tie down more enemy vessels in the dominant fleet during a blockade. Had the KM decided to abandon the foolish commerce raiding policy they could have husbanded a formidible surface fleet even compensating for the losses in Norway. A fleet with Bismarck, Tirpitz, the “pocket battleships”, Scharnhorst & Gneisenau in addition to Germany’s fine crusiers and DDs would have required a very large British fleet to have maintained a successful blockade. Some serious defenses would have been needed to protect against air attack, and enough duties found in the Baltic to keep the crews sharp. But had this been done, the Germans might have seriously hampered the deployment of RN warships that proved so invaluable in the Med and crucial at Normandy. We’ll never know because by Normandy the KM didn’t exist as a fleet.
Having failed to destroy British commerce in the Atlantic, Raeder and Hitler decided to fail to destroy British commerce inbound to Murmansk. In December 1943 Scharnhorst was the last man standing. Hitler wanted to dismantle the ship and use its guns on the Atlantic Wall - a very good idea in retrospect. Doenitz, now running the whole KM, convinced Hitler for one last chance at dealing the Brits a nasty blow. By this time Scharnhorst had been moved to Alta Fjord (or Altenfjord) which is the farthest north town on the planet and not far from Murmansk. The elaborate camo given Scharnhorst in summer presupposed a surface action during a 23 hour of sunlight day. The battle came in a 23 hour of darkness day and was meaningless. When Scharnhorst sortied on December 26 1943, the British code breakers were ready and two RN task forces were between Alta and two British convoys. There was a serious gale and blizzard, bad enough that RN cruisers could not make top speed and giving Scharnhorst its lone advantage. The advantage didn’t help with Duke of York which was also present. In the first engagement RN cruisers knocked out Scharnhorst’s radar. A sane admiral would have headed for home. KM Admiral Bey, however, knew the existence of the German surface fleet was at stake and, after out running the first cruiser task force, turned back to the North, just as Adm Fraser on Duke of York thought would happen. Although it was torpedoes from cruisers that finished the deal, it was fitting that it was gunfire from Duke of York that destroyed two of Scharnhorst’s turrets and wrecked a boiler slowing the vessel to 10 knots. The last act took place under British flares during a gale at night - it was actually fortunate that 36 of the Scharnhorst’s crew were rescued. Some 1900 men perished. A miserable end for the KM. But it certainly built British morale. Maps and a couple of pics below.
Eric
