The Battle of the North Cape: The Death Ride of the Scharnhorst, 1943

187 Pages·2011·3.7 MB·English

by  Konstam

First published in Great Britain in 2009
Pen & Sword Maritime
an imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street
Barnsley
South Yorkshire S70 2AS
Copyright © Angus Konstam 2009
ISBN 978-1-84884-557-2
ePub ISBN : 9781844688029
PRC ISBN : 9781844688036
The right of Angus Konstam to be identified as Author of this Work has
been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
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available from the British Library.
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Contents
Maps and Illustrations
Background
Introduction
The Rivals
Order of Battle
Ship Specifications
Campaign Chronicle
Day 1: Monday, 20 December 1943
Day 2: Tuesday, 21 December 1943
Day 3: Wednesday, 22 December 1943
Day 4: Thursday, 23 December 1943
Day 5: Christmas Eve – Friday, 24 December 1943
Day 6: Christmas Day – Saturday 25 December 1943
Day 7: Sunday 26 December 1943
The Middle and Morning Watches
(00:00–07:59 hours)
The Forenoon Watch (08:00–11:59 hours)
The Afternoon Watch (12:00–15:59 hours)
The Dog Watches (16:00–19:59 hours)
Aftermath
The Survivors
Conclusion
Index
Maps and Illustrations
Maps
1 The Battle Arena
2 The Forenoon Watch and Beyond
3 The First Dog Watch
4 The Last Dog Watch
Illustrations
All images are copyright of the Stratford Archive, unless noted otherwise.
Scharnhorst ever onward!
The Scharnhorst, showing her disruptive paint scheme
The foredeck of the Scharnhorst
HMS Duke of York
The forward main turrets of HMS Duke of York
HMS Duke of York
The British destroyer HMS Onslow
The Enigma code machine
The depth-charging of a German U-boat during the Atlantic Campaign
The crew of a U-boat in Arctic waters
A bridge watch on a U-boat during a patrol in rough seas
A signalman on the upper bridge of the Scharnhorst
German engine room artificers
Loading 11-inch shells on board the German battlecruiser
The Scharnhorst, pictured from the deck of her sister ship the Gneisenau
The Tirpitz, anchored in the Altenfjord
Survivors of the Scharnhorst (1)
Generaladmiral Otto Schniewind
Survivors of the Scharnhorst (2)
The German yacht Grille (‘Cricket’)
A convoy gathered in Loch Ewe
German ‘Narvik’ class destroyer Z-33
The quarterdeck of the Scharnhorst
The Scharnhorst in heavy seas
Rear Admiral Robert Burnett
Admiral Bruce Fraser
Commander Ralph Fisher
Konter-Admiral Erich Bey
Kapitän-zur-See Fritz Hintze
Grossadmiral Karl Dönitz
The Tirpitz, the Admiral Scheer and the Admiral Hipper on exercise in
Norwegian waters
HMS Belfast, the flagship of Rear Admiral Burnett
HMS Sheffield
HMS Jamaica
The heavy cruiser HMS Norfolk
Two small ‘Flower’ class corvettes
‘Tribal’ class destroyers such as HMS Ashanti were powerful, fast and well-
armed
HMS Duke of York, photographed during her triumphant return to Scapa Flow
on New Year’s Day, 1944
A German sailor, calling out to be rescued from the sea
Admiral Fraser and his captains, photographed on the deck of HMS Duke of
York in Scapa Flow in early 1944
Maps