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00:00:00farewell to sea to cloud wind and star farewell to countries and lands from afar farewell to
00:00:16harbors to masts and domain farewell to seafaring a moment of pain farewell to men and to flags
00:00:25flying high to comrades whose memory never will die farewell to joy to the ship in the yard
00:00:35farewell to the sea for some seaman so hard
00:00:55the ice of the storm the fog and the night the splendor of ocean the bright northern light
00:01:02are our constant companions where waters are rough we men of the sharnhorst defiant and tough
00:01:09the crew of the battleship we defy death sail into the dawn without drawing breath
00:01:16our eyes full of laughter triumphant we greet the foe onwards sharnhorst never retreat
00:01:23the lines sound like an epic song of olden days they recall the great voyages of the battleship
00:01:40sharnhorst known to everyone as the happy ship so slip into your element proud ship
00:01:46and show yourself ever worthy of the name you bear
00:01:49it was named after the prussian general gerhard johan von sharnhorst
00:02:06this farmer's son from hanover was one of the great military and social reformers of german history
00:02:13although he was never in a position of command over troops he was a master of strategy
00:02:19who knew how to remove the shackles of obsolete thinking in the teeth of widespread opposition from within the army
00:02:26one of his great successes was to undermine the paris treaty of 1808 by means of a cleverly devised system
00:02:36and to prepare the ground for the liberation of prussia from the napoleonic yoke
00:02:41the end to the recruitment of foreign soldiers and the reduction in the privileges of the aristocracy in the army
00:02:52were expressions of his spirit of reform
00:02:55tradition and progress were not contradictory ideas for him
00:03:05but were as the following quotations will show
00:03:08important aspects of his new military doctrine
00:03:11which have lost nothing of their validity even today
00:03:14it has to be tradition for the army to march in front of progress
00:03:25to educate thinking officers is the aim of any training in the officer corps
00:03:32it is the intellectual pillars alone which can provide the foundations for the construction of a modern army
00:03:40sharnhorst's legacy was not only his statesman-like achievement
00:03:46but also an extraordinary mental strength
00:03:49while seriously wounded and on his deathbed
00:03:52he negotiated with schwarzenberg and radetzky
00:03:55the entry of austria into the prussian-russian alliance against napoleon
00:03:59after his death in prague in june 1813
00:04:03his friend and former student gneisenau completed sharnhorst's great work
00:04:08the german armed forces honored them by naming the new battleships sharnhorst and gneisenau
00:04:14the story of the sharnhorst class began back in 1928
00:04:19at that time a preparatory design for the construction of a battlecruiser
00:04:24was drawn up with the knowledge and agreement of the german government
00:04:27the strict conditions laid down by the treaty of versailles
00:04:31set firm restrictions on shipbuilding in germany
00:04:34the maximum tonnage for large battleships was only 10 000 tons
00:04:39and the caliber for heavy artillery was limited to 28 centimeters
00:04:43whilst the development and construction of new guns
00:04:47as well as the construction of submarines and aeroplanes was prohibited
00:04:51although the imperial navy had succeeded in building three armored ships of the deutschland class
00:04:57the strict conditions laid down by the treaty of versailles
00:05:00made it impossible to build a truly homogenous and competitive fleet
00:05:05so the initial design was unbalanced
00:05:08overdeveloped in terms of speed
00:05:10and poor in terms of stability
00:05:12in addition to this there was a great discrepancy between the number of guns and their caliber
00:05:30there followed a complete rethink which foresaw a tonnage of 26 000
00:05:38and an initial armament of nine 28 centimeter guns in three triple turrets
00:05:44apart from the armaments these plans were based on the original plans for the battlecruiser mackinson
00:05:55and a replacement for the world war one york class
00:05:58when the national socialists came to power in 1933
00:06:10the political situation in germany began to change radically
00:06:14the most urgent focus of german foreign policy was the amendment of the treaty of versailles
00:06:20because of the superiority of the french battlecruisers of the dunkirk class
00:06:27over their german counterparts
00:06:29the construction of two further armored ships was stopped in the summer of 1934
00:06:34and the existing material dismantled
00:06:37just a year later on june the 15th 1935
00:06:43as a replacement for the planned armored ship d
00:06:46the new battleship was laid down in the wartime shipyard at wilhelmsthaven
00:06:51three weeks before this on may the 6th 1935
00:06:55the german shipyards in kiel had laid down a second battleship
00:07:00to replace the armored ships e
00:07:02with the german english fleet treaty of 1935
00:07:06hitler finally succeeded in getting rid of the restrictions imposed by the treaty of versailles
00:07:12the german empire could now build at its own discretion up to 35 percent of the british surface capacity
00:07:22the building of battleships of the scharnhorst class
00:07:26initially carried out in secret was now legalized
00:07:30on october the 3rd 1936 it finally happened
00:07:41in the presence of adolf hitler
00:07:43and to the great joy of the german people
00:07:46the battleship d
00:07:47now named scharnhorst
00:07:49was launched
00:07:50field marshal von blomberg presided over the proceedings
00:07:57whilst the launch was carried out by the widow of captain felix schultz
00:08:01who'd gone down with the ship he commanded
00:08:03the heavy cruiser scharnhorst
00:08:05off the falkland islands on the 8th of december 1914
00:08:08october 3rd marked not only the birth of the first battleship of the new navy
00:08:19but also the beginning of the new era of german shipbuilding
00:08:23now the fitting out would begin
00:08:26all the latest technology plus gun turrets and the superstructure were systematically installed
00:08:31as the work progressed it gradually became possible to appreciate the fine contours of the new battleship
00:08:38a sister ship the gneisenau had already been put into service on may the 21st 1935
00:08:491938 but due to a shortage of some materials it was to be some 27 months later on january the 7th 1939
00:08:56that the scharnhorst would enter service
00:09:00a new ship ship of the German army in charge
00:09:07a new ship ship of the German army in charge
00:09:11it carries the name Scharnhorst
00:09:13of the big ship of the German German army
00:09:16the ship ship has 26.000 tons of water pressure
00:09:20with a length of 226 meters
00:09:221460 Offiziere und Mannschaften bilden die Besatzung
00:09:29Oh, oh, oh!
00:09:59After entering service, there were several months of intensive sea trials and training in the Baltic Sea.
00:10:20Visits to Pilau, Mamel, Sashnitz and Kiel afforded the crew some variety and interest during the training period.
00:10:29The 1st of April 1939 marked the first major occasion in the history of the new battleship.
00:10:48Sarnhorst had anchored in a home port of Wilhelmshaven and was serving as the flagship of the Navy during the review of the fleet accompanying the launch of the Tirpitz.
00:10:59All the VIPs were gathered on the quarterdeck of the Sarnhorst, which lay at the Sidelitz Bridge, to witness Adolf Hitler appointing Admiral Raeder to be Grand Admiral.
00:11:15The Sidelitz Bridge
00:11:45Nach der Parade begab sich der Führer an Bord des Schlachtriffes Sarnhorst, wo er Generaladmiral Raeder in Würdigung seiner Arbeit und die Erneuerung und Festigung der deutschen Seemacht zum Großadmiral beförderte.
00:12:02Das neue Startschiff wird durch den Hafen zum Schwimmdorf geleitet.
00:12:30Das neue Startschiff wird durch die Schaffrezerien und die Erneuerung und die Erneuerung und die Arme des Schlachtriff gegründet.
00:12:32Das neue Startschiff wird durch die Schachtriff gegründet.
00:12:35Die Erneuerung und die Erneuerung und die Erneuerung und die Erneuerung und die Erneuerung und die Erneuerung ist bei der апaphrist, wo er
00:12:48ein Flüchtlinge war.
00:12:49During the first sea trials, the low freeboard turned out to be a problem.
00:13:06With a higher speed and rough seas, the forward superstructures were constantly awash,
00:13:11causing failure and damage, as well as doubt that the gun turret Anton would be fully operational in an emergency.
00:13:19So the Scharnhorst was returned to the shipyard at Wilhelmshaven between June and August 1939 for a bow rebuild.
00:13:28The straight prow in front was dismantled, the foc'sle was lengthened and given an Atlantic prow, also known as a clipper prow.
00:13:37The funnel acquired a sloping top, the aircraft hangar was rebuilt,
00:13:42and the main mast, which, as on the Gneisenau was astern of the funnel, was moved.
00:13:49Before the rebuild, the Scharnhorst was almost identical to her sister's ship,
00:14:02but now, with the movement of the main mast, there was a clear distinction.
00:14:05The many structural changes also increased displacement from 26,000 to 31,000 tons.
00:14:25Although the rebuilding of the foc'sle gave better stability at sea,
00:14:31it did not completely solve the problem of the superstructures becoming awash at high speed.
00:14:36This was to remain a shortcoming of the Scharnhorst.
00:14:40Besides her clean lines, the overall architecture was impressive and beautiful to behold.
00:14:46The Scharnhorst-class was the first battleship to combine the functions of a regular surface ship and a battlecruiser.
00:15:03It was a new generation of the so-called fast battleships.
00:15:06Their artillery consisted of nine 28-centimetre guns in three triple-turrets with a maximum range of 42,500 metres.
00:15:16The Scharnhorst also had 12, 15-centimetre guns, of which two were on each side in twin turrets and two in single carriages.
00:15:30There were 14 10.5-centimetre anti-aircraft guns placed in double carriages,
00:15:4116 3.7-centimetre guns in double carriages, as well as numerous 2-centimetre AK-AK guns,
00:15:49whose number varied constantly during the course of the war.
00:15:53On sea trials in the Baltic, the Scharnhorst achieved a speed of approximately 36 knots,
00:15:59remarkable for a battleship.
00:16:04The former Chief Petty Officer's mate, Billy Goerd, the Scharnhorst remembers.
00:16:10We have done the tests again.
00:16:15We have done the tests again.
00:16:17We have done the tests again.
00:16:20We have done the tests again.
00:16:22We have done the tests again.
00:16:25We have done the tests again.
00:16:27We have done all the tests again.
00:16:28We have done the tests again.
00:16:30We all had to go down from the bridge.
00:16:34I was also doing, just like before, on Schleswig-Holstein and on Kreuzzer M,
00:16:39I was doing a bridge service.
00:16:41If there was no Kriegswache, I was doing a bridge service.
00:16:47We all had to escape from these miles.
00:16:53The first Airbusier and the Leibniz-Ingenieur came on the bridge
00:17:00and then observed that when the ship went through the Ostsee,
00:17:06and this was in a speed,
00:17:08that the water came through the Speigards to the deck.
00:17:11Also those are Speigards, which should the water from the ship go up.
00:17:15At the same time when the Regen or by my ship,
00:17:18the water went up through the Speigards in the sea.
00:17:22Only when war broke out was the Scharnhorst cleared for the shipyard's sea trials.
00:17:29The first step taken was to bring up the number of the crew to its wartime complement.
00:17:44So the so-called war supplement came on board.
00:17:47Both battleships were in Wilhelmshaven when the war broke out on September 1, 1939.
00:18:05Am 3. September war ja die Kriegserklärung,
00:18:10wurden wir alle Mannachter raus auf die Schanz gerufen.
00:18:14Kapitän Ziliaks war unser damaliger Kommandant,
00:18:17erklärte knapp und klar und präzise, was passiert sei
00:18:23und dass wir jetzt einen sehr schweren Gegner,
00:18:26nämlich England, zu befürchten hätten
00:18:29und dass uns also einiges bevorstehen würde.
00:18:35The unexpected outbreak of war put the Navy into an awkward situation.
00:18:41The German Navy still in its infancy
00:18:44was in no way prepared for a military conflict
00:18:46with the mighty naval power of England.
00:18:50The declaration on September 3, 1939
00:18:53from the Supreme Commander of the Navy, Grand Admiral Raeder
00:18:57to the German Reich, on the occasion of the declaration of war
00:19:00by both England and France, turned the spotlight on the Navy.
00:19:04The surface ships are, however, so small in number and strength
00:19:08compared with the English fleet
00:19:10that, even with them all in action,
00:19:12all that they could show would be that they know how to die with dignity.
00:19:17From this time on, the two battleships, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau,
00:19:23were to be united in a shared destiny,
00:19:26living through many actions and battles against enemy ships.
00:19:30The radio message of the Gneisenau to her sister ship
00:19:51gives moving expression to the tradition and the attachment of the two battleships.
00:19:56Scharnhorst and Gneisenau are now twice united in history
00:20:00through glorious deeds and loyal comradeship.
00:20:03Let it be our aim to strive for the same for a third time.
00:20:07Good luck on your voyage, sister ship.
00:20:11This gave memorable expression to the closeness
00:20:14and the tradition of the two battleships.
00:20:24Also, I think,
00:20:25you can't imagine any more memorable comradeship
00:20:29than it was at the time of the whole war.
00:20:34Because you knew that the one had to leave the other.
00:20:39At Scheinach,
00:20:41that was once,
00:20:43that was once,
00:20:44that was once,
00:20:45that was once again,
00:20:46we as the Entfernungsmesse,
00:20:47we had a
00:20:48Owe Messmeister,
00:20:49a gewisser Hoffsteller,
00:20:50Fritz Hoffsteller,
00:20:51and he was,
00:20:53also,
00:20:54he was a friend,
00:20:55he was a friend,
00:20:56he was a friend,
00:20:57he was a friend.
00:20:58I think,
00:21:00Mechanos,
00:21:01in the Indianstellung,
00:21:03he had also commanded,
00:21:04he was a commander,
00:21:05he was a soldier,
00:21:08who had really all have been able to,
00:21:10he could have really beheronym,
00:21:12he was a wonderful captain,
00:21:14who was in Germany
00:21:16who was already in Germany as captain,
00:21:21there was, and then came the first officer, that was a friend, who had to do it again,
00:21:29what the commandant with his strength and his strength, he had to do it again.
00:21:40And so the first officer had the people so well behaved and with the people so well
00:21:49the first war time action for Sarnhorst and Gneisenau took place on November the 23rd, 1939.
00:22:09They both advanced from the Jade Mouth at Wilhelmshaven to the Faroe Islands to relieve the Admiral Graf Spee,
00:22:16which was operating in the South Atlantic.
00:22:20During this operation the German ships encountered the 17,000 tons auxiliary cruiser Rul Pindi.
00:22:27The courageous Royal Javan ship with its weak 15 centimeter guns fought gallantly,
00:22:32and even made a hit on the Sarnhorst.
00:22:35But when the Gneisenau joined the fray, the fight was swiftly settled in favor of the German ships.
00:22:41I was at the time in the second service of the 2nd, the 2nd, the 1st, the 2nd and 7th, the 1st, the 2nd, the 15th, the 4th, the 1st, the 2nd, the 1st, the 2nd, the 1st, the 2nd and the 1st.
00:23:03It was a 15-centimeter-geschütz.
00:23:05And through the fall,
00:23:07there was a Warnschuss
00:23:09with the 28-er,
00:23:11the middle-of-roar,
00:23:13and that was set up
00:23:15that was after a few minutes
00:23:17was already finished.
00:23:19The opponent was completely
00:23:21covered, but we ourselves
00:23:23got a 15-centimeter-Treffer
00:23:25in the Schanz.
00:23:33After the Royal Pindy succumbed,
00:23:35the battleships started to search
00:23:37for survivors. Both ships
00:23:39managed to save some, but
00:23:41the rescue operation had to be stopped
00:23:43when the Gneisenau picked up the British cruiser
00:23:45Newcastle on the radio.
00:23:49Both ships then broke off and sailed
00:23:51northeast, disappearing into the
00:23:53darkness, whilst the Newcastle
00:23:55took station alone with the blazing
00:23:57Royal Pindy.
00:24:03The German strike force
00:24:13now sought cover in the Antarctic
00:24:15until November the 26th,
00:24:17when the weather took a turn for the worse,
00:24:19at which point it made a breakout
00:24:21into the Baltic.
00:24:23Both ships proceeded south at full speed
00:24:25and reached a safe anchorage
00:24:27at Wilhelmshaven Reed at 11am
00:24:29on November the 28th.
00:24:33Despite heavy damage at sea,
00:24:35both ships survived their first action
00:24:37in relatively good shape.
00:24:39In December 1939
00:24:41the Scharnhorst was equipped with radar.
00:24:43The first year of the war
00:24:45passed without further action.
00:24:471940
00:24:49started with the Operation Nordmark.
00:24:51Scharnhorst, Gneisenau,
00:24:53and the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper,
00:24:55along with eight destroyers,
00:24:57ventured without incident
00:24:59into the Shetland waters between
00:25:01the 18th and 19th of February.
00:25:03In spite of the favourable enemy disbursement,
00:25:07this operation was stopped too early,
00:25:09which led to discord between the
00:25:11Group West and the Naval High Command.
00:25:13But it also strengthened the opinion
00:25:15that this type of operation
00:25:17should not be a large scale sea offensive.
00:25:19But that success could only be achieved
00:25:21by regular and sudden appearance
00:25:23of the battleships
00:25:25in the area of Shetland,
00:25:27Norway, and beyond.
00:25:29The German navy,
00:25:33hopelessly outnumbered,
00:25:35had the advantage that it could dictate
00:25:37the time and place of an action,
00:25:39and concentrate its forces there.
00:25:41The British forces,
00:25:43on the other hand,
00:25:45were widely dispersed
00:25:47and tied up in carrying out escort duties,
00:25:49and fixed patrols.
00:25:51On April 7, 1940,
00:25:53a large part of the fleet began to assemble
00:25:55in the German bay.
00:25:57Shortly after midnight,
00:25:59Sharnhorst and Gneisenau,
00:26:01dressed in wartime blackout,
00:26:03sailed down the jade to the North Sea
00:26:04and disappeared into the darkness.
00:26:05It was the beginning of the day
00:26:07and the beginning of the night,
00:26:08the revolution of the German bay.
00:26:09The German army,
00:26:11the German army,
00:26:13the German army,
00:26:15the German army,
00:26:17was then tied up in carrying out escort duties
00:26:19and fixed patrols.
00:26:21On April 7, 1940,
00:26:23a large part of the fleet began to assemble
00:26:25It was the beginning of one of the most spectacular operations of the war.
00:26:30Weserubung was the code name for the German occupation of Denmark and Norway.
00:26:36Both battleships were assigned to defend the assault forces on land and in the air.
00:26:41However, out at sea and far away from their home waters, the weather worsened to hurricane force,
00:26:47resulting in serious damage to the foc'sle and superstructure.
00:26:55In the early hours of April 9th at precisely 5.05, the alarm bells on the Scharnhorst rang out.
00:27:07It's all down in the logbook.
00:27:09In the dark western sky, the silhouette of a ship is visible.
00:27:135.07 a.m. Enemy opens fire.
00:27:175.10 a.m. Heavy artillery. Opened fire.
00:27:215.10 a.m. Enemy identified as battlecruiser renown. Behind it, one or two other targets.
00:27:285.07 a.m. Enemy opens fire.
00:27:30In the morning morning, when the N.O., the navigation officer,
00:27:35the altitude of an altitude,
00:27:38he then suddenly saw in his six feet an atomic fire.
00:27:40And the rumble went on.
00:27:44We were first shot, and we saw the big attacks of the troops,
00:27:52which were left and right from the ship, and it was then developed a fight.
00:28:02Behind us, in about 20 kilometers, was the Renault.
00:28:09The Renault and its nine destroyers had a lot of trouble keeping up with the high speed of the German units.
00:28:25The battlecruiser fired its complete medium and heavy artillery in an attempt to damage the German ships,
00:28:32while Scharnhorst and Gneisenau returned fire with their triple gun turrets astern.
00:28:37The Gneisenau was hit three times, but the Scharnhorst escaped undamaged.
00:28:49The Renault received a total of three 28 centimeter hits.
00:28:55The encounter ended at 6.59 a.m., the enemies losing contact with each other in the rough seas.
00:29:02Once again, the German battleships were shown to be very weak in a rough sea.
00:29:07Not only were the armaments subject to constant faults, but the high pressure steam turbine engines were prone to failure.
00:29:17Although the Renault also shipped a lot of water on the foc'sle, astonishingly this disturbed neither its precision nor its force of fire.
00:29:25During the whole of the two hour encounter, it maintained a remarkable rate of salvos.
00:29:30This encounter proved not only the greater seaworthiness of the British warships, but also the superiority of the Renault's 38.1 centimeter guns.
00:29:40The German battleships were at a disadvantage, being too lightly armed for their size.
00:29:53On April the 12th, the Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper returned home.
00:30:00On May the 10th, 1940, after a short layup in the naval shipyard of Wilhelmshaven, the Scharnhorst sailed through the Kaiser Wilhelm channel to Kiel.
00:30:12After a short period in the shipyard, the usual sea trials began, together with the overhaul and maintenance of the artillery and the all-important training for the crew.
00:30:29The next fleet movement took place between June the 4th and June the 10th, 1940, under the code name Juno.
00:30:39The units sailing from Kiel consisted of Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper,
00:30:46and the four destroyers Hans Lodi, Eric Steinbrink, Hermann Schurman, and Karl Galster.
00:30:53The Western campaign, which had started on May the 10th, 1940, was taking effect,
00:30:59and the British and French troops were now urgently needed in France.
00:31:03Without knowing it, the German navy sailed directly into the enemy retreat.
00:31:08On June 8th, the battleships met the aircraft carrier Glorious with her two escort destroyers Acasta and Arden.
00:31:17The deal an einem schweren Kreuzer, entlassen für Sonderaufgabe.
00:31:26Inzwischen ist der englische Flugzeugträger Glorious gemeldet.
00:31:43Der 22.500 Tonnen große Koloss hat 48 Bombenflugzeuge an Bord.
00:31:49Mit äußerster Kraft geht es dem Feind entgegen, der durch Verstörer gesichert wird.
00:31:54Die Schwerstvolle Beute ist der Kampf. Unsere Schlachtschiffe eröffnen das Feuer auf die Glorious.
00:31:57Die Schwerstvolle Beute ist der Kampf. Unsere Schlachtschiffe eröffnen das Feuer auf die Glorious.
00:31:59Die Schwerstvolle Beute ist der Kampf. Unsere Schlachtschiffe eröffnen das Feuer auf die Glorious.
00:32:08Die Schwerstvolle Beute ist der Kampf. Unsere Schlachtschiffe eröffnen das Feuer auf die Glorious.
00:32:14Die Schwerstvolle Beute ist der Kampf. Unsere Schlachtschiffe eröffnen das Feuer auf die Glorious.
00:32:23Die Schwerstvolle Beute ist der Kampf. Unsere Schlachtschiffe eröffnen das Feuer auf die Glorious.
00:32:27Die feindlichen Granaten liegen viel zu kurz.
00:32:48Breitseite auf Breitseite jagt aus den Rohren. Die Glorious ist bereits schwer getroffen.
00:32:57Die englischen Verstörer versuchen den Flugzeugträger einzunebeln und damit der Sicht zu entziehen.
00:33:03Vergeben. Der Feind wird nicht mehr losgelassen. Immer wieder überschüttet Schnellfeuer schwersten Kalibers den Gegner.
00:33:10Die Glorious steht in Flammen. Die begleitenden Verstörer sind schwer beschädigt und sinken im weiteren Verlauf des Gefechtes.
00:33:38Und da hat ein Zerstörer, von denen hat vor der Glorious eine Nebelwand gelegt, dadurch, dass das Ziel eben verschwindet.
00:34:01Und die Zerstörer, der andere, der hat uns angegriffen. Zwei Schlachtschiffe. Da waren hier die Scharners, oder wir die Scharners, der Gneisenau, und dort der Flugzeugträger.
00:34:13Und da hat der Zerstörer so und so. Und der muss, wenn er etwas treffen will, auch drei, vier Kilometer nur ran, dass er dann hat er seine Rolle.
00:34:25Da hat er am Fächer geschlossen, da kamen vier Torpedalaufbahnen zu. Da musste er erstmal die Scharners, da ist Halt, Batterie, Halt und den Torpedos ausweisen.
00:34:35Unglücklicherweise kriegten wir hier dann auch den Torpedotreffer an der Steuerbordseite. Das Schiff machte förmlich einen Satz. Die Schnellschlüsse bei den Dampfrohren fielen sofort dicht.
00:34:51Der Überdruck, wir hatten ja zehn oder zwölf Atü auf den Kesseln, entwich oben aus den Abdampfrohren. Natürlich war das ein bisschen konsterniert und das Schiff verlor jetzt gleich an Fahrt.
00:35:07Und es stellte sich ja später heraus, dass die Steuerbordwelle abgerissen war, das heißt unterbrochen war.
00:35:16Aber nach circa zehn, zwanzig Minuten war dann schon wieder klar gemeldet, dass das Schiff mit zwei Schrauben weiterlaufen konnte.
00:35:27Inzwischen haben unsere Zerstörer den englischen Marinetanker Ölpionier ausgemacht. Ein Schiff von 9.100 Tonnen.
00:35:37Ein Kurs verarscht über den Kampf leitet hier das Schiff ein. Dann ein wohlgeziehter Strapidelschuss und auch der Ölpionier ist erledigt.
00:35:52Die schiffbrüchige Besatzung wird von unseren Zerstörern an Bord genommen.
00:35:55Die zweite Kampfgruppe hat währenddessen auf den von Ausklärungsflugzeugen gemeldeten 21.000 Tonnen großen Truppentransporter Orama-Jagd gemacht.
00:36:13Ein paar Breitzeiten genügen und das Schicksal des Schiffes ist besiegelt.
00:36:27Die Mannschaft ist den großen Rettungsbooten von Bord gegangen.
00:36:37Brennend sinkt die Orama in die Tiefe.
00:36:46Untertitelung des Zerstörers
00:37:16Untertitelung des Zerstörers
00:37:46Am anderen Morgen, bei der Einteilung des Dienstes, wurde ich dann dazu kommandiert,
00:37:52mit anderen zusammen die Toten aus dem Achterschiff zu bergen, um sie dann zum Ehrenfriedhof schaffen zu lassen.
00:37:57Am anderen Morgen, bei der Einteilung des Dienstes, wurde ich dann dazu kommandiert, mit anderen zusammen die Toten aus dem Achterschiff zu bergen,
00:38:16um sie dann zum Friedhof, um sie dann zum Ehrenfriedhof schaffen zu lassen.
00:38:22Das war gerade keine schöne Arbeit, aber man muss auf alles gefasst sein, wenn man an Bord kommt, dass man auch Arbeiten machen muss, die einem nicht sehr gut gefallen.
00:38:34Wir haben dann etwa 50 Tote geborgen und sie zum Friedhof geschafft.
00:38:43Es wurde ein großes Grab, ein Massengrab gemacht und es wurden aller Land Särge bereitgestellt, damit wir immer die Teile auf die Särge verteilen konnten von den Kameraden.
00:39:01Es waren oft gar nicht mehr zu erkennen, wer es war, aber jeder sah, hatte seine Nummer und hieß es denn, der und der Kamerad ist das.
00:39:11Und heute ist ja in Kiel auf dem Ehrenfriedhof dieses Massengrab noch vorhanden,
00:39:19aber es steht ein Stein, den die Scharners Kameradschaft damals hat aufstellen lassen, zum Gedenken an die 50 Toten des Gefechts mit der Glorius.
00:39:30Und die werftliche Zeit ist ja nichts Besonderes an Bord.
00:39:38Es läuft den Tag über dann eben alles so ohne Geschützausbildung.
00:39:44Man kann wohl an Bord meinetwegen so einfache Geschützausbildung ohne Schießübungen machen.
00:39:51Aber es ist immer eine langweilige Sache, wenn man an Bord in einer Werft liegt.
00:40:00Und wir waren froh, wie wir, nachdem die Schäden im Achterschiff so weit behoben waren,
00:40:08dass wir wieder aus dem Schwimmdok rauskommen konnten, dass wir wieder im Kieler Hafen erst mal vor Anker gingen.
00:40:18Und dann wurden wir nach Gotenhafen verlegt.
00:40:21In Gotenhafen, which was still safe from air attacks,
00:40:26the final repairs were carried out so that the Scharnhorst was once again ready for action.
00:40:32Emerging from the shipyard with the Gneisenau on December 28, 1940,
00:40:37an initial attempt to break into the Atlantic failed because of heavy damage suffered at sea by the Gneisenau.
00:40:44Then, on January 22, 1941, Operation Berlin began.
00:40:49The two battleships tried again to break through into the Atlantic.
00:40:53This was the start of the longest and most successful action by the two battleships.
00:41:00Sailing far north, they succeeded in breaking through the Danish Strait in the night of 3rd to 4th February 1941.
00:41:07Thirty minutes after midnight came the proud signal from flagship Gneisenau.
00:41:13For the first time in the history of the war, German battleships have succeeded in breaking through into the Atlantic.
00:41:20And now, let's go get them, Commander-in-Chief of the fleet.
00:41:23The pride of the crew is almost indescribable.
00:41:27For them, this was, and always will be, the most famous moment in Scharnhorst's history.
00:41:33And then, uh, it started with the search for English-Ships.
00:41:45The time we didn't have any success.
00:41:48We caught a single-carter, but it brought nothing special about it.
00:41:54It had to come together with tons.
00:41:56And the English were felt, that we were outside.
00:41:58We went from the North Atlantic up to the South Atlantic about the height of the Freethown.
00:42:07We also met an English sailboat there, with the slachtier Fremilier at the top,
00:42:17who was as a protection.
00:42:19His caliber was stronger than ours.
00:42:22We had the highest caliber 28, and he had more than 30 cm.
00:42:32He was longer, but his caliber was longer.
00:42:37We also had to turn off.
00:42:40We had the German German flight to the German Sea-Kriegs-Führung,
00:42:45and he gave it to another U-Lots-Fertility,
00:42:49the U-Lots-Fertility in the South Atlantic operated.
00:42:52He had in the coming night,
00:42:55when the U-Boot was first of all from us with fresh bread, with drinks,
00:43:00he was next to us on.
00:43:03In the coming night,
00:43:05the U-Boot-Kommandant Kapitän Lernens Schulze
00:43:08had five tanks from this plane from this plane.
00:43:11And until he was finally in England,
00:43:14from the 20 or 22 ships,
00:43:18there was only a small part left.
00:43:22The others had other German U-Boot,
00:43:24which were all over there,
00:43:26completed.
00:43:28Then it went further through the Atlantic,
00:43:30from north to south, from east to west.
00:43:33The flotten-chef Admiral Lüttchen
00:43:53had his Stab to the meeting.
00:43:56And now we had 22 ships,
00:44:17which we could almost always warn them.
00:44:22When we had them on the day,
00:44:24then we had warned them.
00:44:26The crew could get out.
00:44:29However, there were also
00:44:31such a Kapitän from the English Dampfer,
00:44:36who believed,
00:44:37with their small cannons
00:44:39then on a ship to shoot.
00:44:42And then of course,
00:44:44it was happened,
00:44:45that of course,
00:44:46that of course,
00:44:47that ship was shot.
00:44:49And we had one of these
00:44:52Kapitänes,
00:44:53that we had to protect
00:44:54by the Wut of their own
00:44:55equipment,
00:44:56otherwise they would have killed him
00:44:58by us on board,
00:45:00because they had to ask him,
00:45:03to give him,
00:45:04not to function.
00:45:05We had to give him
00:45:06right away,
00:45:07not to function.
00:45:08And
00:45:10that he had not followed.
00:45:14He had with his small
00:45:15ship on the Sharnas
00:45:16shot.
00:45:17He was of course
00:45:18far away from the ship,
00:45:20because his small cannons
00:45:22reached not far away.
00:45:23He had a 15-year battery
00:45:24and got a 15-year battery
00:45:28and got a 15-year battery
00:45:30and got a 15-year battery
00:45:31in the ship.
00:45:33Shes for the boat.
00:45:38Mausesburg!
00:45:40Stoppen Sie sofort!
00:45:44Die Besatzung eines Trumpers
00:45:49ist in die Boote gegangen
00:45:52und wird von einem
00:45:54der Schlachtschiffe übernommen.
00:45:55Durch Shüsse in die Wasserlinie
00:45:56wird das feindliche Handelsschiff
00:45:58schnell zum Sinken gebracht.
00:46:00schnell zum sinken gebracht.
00:46:10Wir haben sie optisch aufgefordert, Funken einstellen und Boote aussetzen.
00:46:18Kapitän mit den Ladepapieren bei uns rüber.
00:46:21Und wenn er das gemacht hat, dann fuhr von uns Prisenkommando rüber.
00:46:25Die haben dann die Brücke besetzt.
00:46:27Da war noch gar nichts passiert.
00:46:29Aber nun gab es verschiedene.
00:46:32Die haben versucht, die hatten ja auch ihre Anweise von der englischen Flotte,
00:46:36wenn deutsche Schiffe euch anhalten, ausrennen und einen Standort melden.
00:46:41Und das war ja für uns das gefährlichste.
00:46:43Deswegen hatten wir denen das verboten.
00:46:46Und dadurch hatten sie immer tot und auch verletzte.
00:46:49Der wurde dann geschossen.
00:46:51Wenn die nicht den Befehl ausgeführt haben von uns,
00:46:53haben sie zu stoppen.
00:46:55Ein Frachtschiff.
00:46:56Und untergeben sich.
00:46:57Und versuchen zu fliehen.
00:46:59Und was Schlimmes war eben Funken.
00:47:02Die haben eine Länge und eine Breite gefunden, wo das ist.
00:47:05Und da hat der Engländer uns doch gesucht.
00:47:08Der zweite Engländer trotz ausdrücklichen Verbotes gibt der Funkzeichen
00:47:11und verrät damit dem Standort des Verbandes.
00:47:13Wir hatten nachher etwa vier bis fünfhundert Gefangenen an Bord.
00:47:36Die wurden mit uns genauso verpflegt wie wir auch.
00:47:42Sie bekamen am Tage, wenn keine Gefahr bestand,
00:47:47bekamen sie auch, und natürlich unter Bewachung,
00:47:53bekamen sie ihre Ausgangsgenehmigung, dass sie also an Deck gehen konnten,
00:47:59eine frische Luft.
00:48:01Wir haben uns oft mit ihnen unterhalten.
00:48:04Da waren ja auch welche dabei, die Deutsch konnten.
00:48:07Andere unter uns waren wieder welche, die Englisch sprechen konnten.
00:48:11Und da kam dann doch immerhin einiges Gespräch zustande.
00:48:20Vom Nordatlantik wird in den Mittelatlantik vorgestoßen.
00:48:23Ein deutsches Unterseeboot erhält Anweisungen für gemeinsame Operationen,
00:48:27in deren Verlauf weitere 41.000 Rotoregistertonnen versenkt wurden.
00:48:34Das war sehr schön, wie wir weiter südlich in den südlichen Mittelatlantik fuhren.
00:48:49Wir kamen sogar bis auf den 16. Breitengrad.
00:49:04Wir hatten schon Angst, dass wir vielleicht eine Äquator-Taufe mitmachen müssen.
00:49:08Und Gott sei Dank wurde das nicht der Fall, denn wir wissen ja,
00:49:11was so eine Äquator-Taufe für die Täuflinge bedeutet.
00:49:15Die werden ja fürchterlich durchgemöbelt.
00:49:17Und da hatten wir aber in diesen südlichen Breiten,
00:49:21hatten wir mal so eine Seewasserschlauchschlacht,
00:49:26haben wir auf der Schanz veranstalten.
00:49:28Wir haben uns gegenseitig mit der Feuerlöschanlage bekämpft,
00:49:32mit den Strahlen.
00:49:33Und das war eine Motz Gaudi gewesen.
00:49:38Ansonsten war dann die Seewache auf vier Törns eingeteilt.
00:49:46Wir hatten dann Erleichterungen.
00:49:48Wir brauchten nicht mehr vier Stunden Wache,
00:49:50vier Stunden frei und vier Stunden Wache,
00:49:52sondern dann ging das in vier Wachtörn.
00:49:54Und da hatten wir mehr Freizeit.
00:49:57Es war sehr heiß und es war eine lange Tünung.
00:50:03Und da hatte ich die Kapelle gespielt,
00:50:05zur Abwechslung, also mal was anderes.
00:50:08Und mit Feuerlöschlauch gegenseitig bespritzt,
00:50:12weil man konnte ja nicht aus dem Bord springen.
00:50:15Freizeit an Bord.
00:50:18Das war eine Wachtörn.
00:50:20Und da hatte ich die Kapelle gespielt,
00:50:21das war eine Wachtörn,
00:50:23ich bin die Kammlung.
00:50:25Und da hatte ich die Kapelle gespielt,
00:50:27der hat es genau dann auf der Hände in.
00:50:30Das war eine Wachtörn.
00:50:32THE END
00:51:02Oh
00:51:32To ensure constant re-victoring for the battleships during the Atlantic operation, a system of supply ships was set up.
00:51:56These ships were on station in the furthest reaches, completely self-sufficient for months on end, just waiting for the order to meet up with the battleships at an agreed rendezvous.
00:52:20The result of this two-month operation was 22 merchant ships sunk, with a total of 115,622 registered tons.
00:52:30At the end of three tankers destined for France, only one of them made it. Under orders to avoid heavy surface forces, it was impossible to attack the allied convoys.
00:52:40But the battleships radioed their position to guide the U-boats to the convoys.
00:52:46The indirect participation of Scharnhorst and Gneisenau has to be added to the overall success of the operation.
00:52:54It is thanks to the excellent leadership of the commander-in-chief of the fleet, Admiral Lutyens, and to the great efforts of the crews, that the operation Berlin was a complete success.
00:53:08The aircraft were frequently the only means of reconnaissance over the wide Atlantic.
00:53:14The Arados not only flew dangerous missions time and time again on reconnaissance work, but they also ensured the safety of the battle fleet.
00:53:22If you think about the superiority of the British battleships and cruisers, the operation of the German strike force in the middle of the Atlantic is all the more amazing.
00:53:39On March the 22nd, 1941, the battleships entered Brest in southern France, and the operation Berlin was over.
00:53:56The British aerial reconnaissance immediately picked up the arrival of Scharnhorst and Gneisenau.
00:54:02Air raids day and night meant not a moment's peace for the crew.
00:54:09The air raid day and night came again.
00:54:12The air raid was always on the ground, where we were.
00:54:17We had tarnished in the Docks.
00:54:23There were big nets over the boats.
00:54:26The ship was also painted, the windows were painted.
00:54:30The windows were painted on the decks.
00:54:34There had to be a pretty pure champagne for accident on the driven
00:54:44scene, which were up to drive the sea.
00:54:48The UA server didn't 911.
00:54:53to go to La Rochelle, its a small Hafen.
00:55:00There was a fairly bright pier and we were standing there.
00:55:07We thought about it, because we are sitting here as a present.
00:55:15Mittags bekam die Besatzung an Urlaub, an Land zu gehen, nach La Rochelle.
00:55:25Der Hafen selbst hieß La Palis.
00:55:29Wir haben uns auch fertig machen wollen, aber da hieß es im letzten Augenblick,
00:55:35die Flak bleibt an Bord. Es ist ein Anflug, 15 viermotoriger Bomber Richtung La Palis gemeldet.
00:55:44Es dauerte auch nicht lange, da tauchten dann die ersten auf.
00:55:51Nachdem wir von allen Seiten beschossen wurden, verteilten sie sich.
00:55:56Sie konnten nicht in geschlossenen Beschware angreifen,
00:56:00sondern sie verteilten sich auch in der Höhe, griffen aber auch von allen Seiten an.
00:56:07Und von den 15 viermotorigen Bombern stürzten die meisten ab ins Wasser.
00:56:16Und der letzte, der flog feilgerade auf das Schiff zu, bekam Treffer, brannte schon
00:56:24und ließ genau über das Schiff fünf Bomben fallen, die uns alle getroffen haben.
00:56:30Das war für uns schon furchtbarer Schreck.
00:56:34Jetzt sagten wir, jetzt geht unsere Liegezeit in der Werft schon wieder los.
00:56:39Wir hatten drei panzerbrechende Bomben bei diesen Bomben am Wurf gehabt,
00:56:44die durch das ganze Schiff, durch das Panzerdeck, überall hindurch gegangen waren
00:56:49und unten durch den Schiffsboden wieder raus.
00:56:52Wir konnten mit dem Schiff einen anderen Morgen wieder losfahren
00:57:00oder vielmehr in der Nacht schon losfahren.
00:57:03Wir wollten wieder nach Brest zurück in die Werft.
00:57:05Es ist für uns eine schwere Zeit gewesen.
00:57:11Und Tag und Nacht waren wir dann in Alarm vor englischen Flugzeugen.
00:57:20The original plan of the Naval High Command
00:57:22was to roster the two battleships with the Bismarck and the Prinz Eugen,
00:57:26which had also managed to make a breakthrough into the Atlantic.
00:57:29But this was foiled by the British,
00:57:31who sank the Bismarck on May the 27th, 1941.
00:57:36Only the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen entered Brest on June the 1st.
00:57:44The increasing threat from the air on the two battleships
00:57:48obliged the German High Command to look for alternatives
00:57:51and it seemed to be only a question of time
00:57:54before the battleships would finally succumb to air attack.
00:57:57Finally, Adolf Hitler gave order to return the heavy ships home
00:58:04and so the boldest operation in naval history began
00:58:07on February the 11th, 1942 under the codename Cerberus.
00:58:13Gemerkt haben wir von den Vorbereitungen überhaupt nichts.
00:58:21Wir waren soweit wieder einsatzbereit.
00:58:24Es wurden wieder Scheinwerferübungen gefahren bei der Nacht
00:58:28und es wurden auch so Zielübungen,
00:58:31der Seezielarterie von dem Anliegeplatz aus durchgeführt.
00:58:34Und das war schon so langsam Routine,
00:58:37dass immer ein Schiff nach dem anderen in den Rest der Bucht rausfuhr
00:58:42und dort ihre Übungen durchführte.
00:58:45Und so war es auch an dem Tag.
00:58:47Und es war der 11. Februar.
00:58:51Und wir waren an der Reihe.
00:58:54Inzwischen war aber der Befehlshaber der Schlachtschiffe,
00:58:58der BDS, bei uns eingestiegen.
00:59:01Der BDS war der Vize-Admiral Ziliax.
00:59:04Ziliax war der erste Kommandant der Scharnhorst seit der Indienststellung.
00:59:08Und er wählt Randi Scharnhorst als sein Flaggschiff aus.
00:59:12Wir waren fertig zum Auslaufen.
00:59:15Und gerade, wie wir da ablegen wollten, kam Fliegerlag.
00:59:21Der ganze Hafen ist ja auch bei anderen Angriffen vernebelt worden.
00:59:26Es standen überall diese Nebeltonnen und Nebelgeschütze
00:59:30und im Augenblick war der Hafen dicht vernebelt.
00:59:33Die Engländer haben nicht viel erreicht.
00:59:36Es sind zwar Bomben in die Werft gefallen,
00:59:38aber die Schiffe haben sie nicht getroffen.
00:59:40Und mit weit über einer Stunde Verspätung
00:59:44sind wir dann doch ausgelaufen.
00:59:47Wie wir rauslaufen, haben wir schon gedacht,
00:59:51da ist doch irgendwas im Busch.
00:59:53Und wir wollten immer aufschauen, in welche Richtung wir fuhren.
00:59:57Aber der Kompass war abgeschaltet.
00:59:59Und wir haben uns immer gegenseitig angeguckt,
01:00:01dass da irgendwas nicht stimmt.
01:00:03Keiner sagte was, nicht einmal der 1AO,
01:00:05der auch noch auf Station war.
01:00:07Und dann später, wie dann das bekannt gegeben wurde,
01:00:12dass wir auslaufen zur Heimfahrt,
01:00:17dann wurden auch die Kompasse eingeschaltet.
01:00:21Und wie ich dann auf den Kompass schaue,
01:00:25da geht es zuerst westlichen Kurs
01:00:27und wir immer eisern auf den Kompass geschaut,
01:00:30in welche Richtung wir dann nun nach Hause fahren.
01:00:32Dann ging es auf nördlichen Kurs
01:00:34und dann, etliche Stunden später, auf einmal ging es auf östlichen Kurs.
01:00:42Wir haben gedacht, das gibt es doch nicht.
01:00:44Wir können, die fahren doch in den Kanal rein.
01:00:46Wir können doch nicht durch den englischen Kanal fahren.
01:00:49Wir können doch nicht den vor die Rohre her fahren.
01:00:51Aber der Befehl lautete eben, Heimfahrt durch den englischen Kanal.
01:00:59Und da kam endlich das, was wir erwartet hatten,
01:01:02dass man uns sagen würde, was nun geschehen sollte.
01:01:06Da gab unser Kommandant, Kapitän Susi Hoffmann,
01:01:10wir befinden uns auf der Fahrt durch den englischen Kanal in die deutsche Bucht.
01:01:16Morgen Abend sind wir bei Muttern.
01:01:18Das war so eine väterliche Art,
01:01:22das in der Besatzung dann auch so ganz gemütlich zu sagen.
01:01:26Und da war ein Hallo auf dem Schiff.
01:01:29Ich hatte Telefonnummer, aber ich hörte überall im Schiff dieses Jubeln,
01:01:32dass es endlich wieder loshing, dass man endlich wieder aus der Werft rauskam
01:01:38und nicht ewig Tag und Nacht von den englischen Flugzeugen bedroht wurde.
01:01:43Aber dass das kein Zuckerlecken sein würde, war uns auch klar.
01:01:48Zerstörer und Papetto-Boote sichern den Verband nach allen Seiten.
01:02:04Diesiges Wetter und tief hängende Wolken erschweren die Sicht.
01:02:22Die Beobachtungsmöglichkeiten sind beschränkt.
01:02:24Starke Luftwaffenverbände unter dem Oberbefehl des Generalfeldmarschals Sterle unterstützen die Aktion.
01:02:41Mit höchster Fahrt geht es durch den Kanal.
01:02:49Die Kampfgruppe hat vom Feinde unbemerkt die engste Stelle des Kanals zwischen Dover und Calais erreicht.
01:02:55Alle Geschütze sind in Gefährdstellung gebracht.
01:02:57Die Spannung hat den Höhepunkt erreicht.
01:02:59Star, Flingsbruch.
01:03:01Britische Zorpedoflugzeuge und Zerstörer greifen an.
01:03:04Alarm!
01:03:06.
01:03:11There, there are the Britten.
01:03:40In immer neuen Wellen versuchen Sie an den deutschen Verband heranzukommen.
01:03:48Die Angriffe zur See und zur Luft brechen im deutschen Abwehrfeuer zusammen.
01:03:52Die 49 feindlichen Flugzeuge und zwei Zerstörer bleiben auf der Strecke.
01:03:56Feuer auf Zappelflugzeuge, die im Ziebflug angreifen.
01:04:10Der Engländer hat ja nun mit seinen alten Torpedoflugzeugen versucht, aber da waren wir schon an Dover und so weiter vorbei, nicht?
01:04:21Der hat ja richtig geschlafen, kann man sagen, und hat dann versucht, doch irgendwelche Torpedoangriffe zu starten.
01:04:30Und natürlich, unsere Hauptaufgabe war natürlich Flugzeuge abzuwehren, dafür waren wir da an Bord, nicht weil die Flak gehörte zur Schweren.
01:04:40Und dann haben wir natürlich jede Menge Planfeuer hingesetzt, nicht wahr, wo was auftaucht im Ziel.
01:04:46Da waren wir, der Himmel war ja meistens eingeteilt, in Planquadrate, nicht wahr, haben wir ein schweres Streufeuer hingelegt, nicht?
01:04:53Und unter anderem haben wir auch welche abgeschossen, nicht? Und so weiter.
01:04:58Kurze Zeit später, zwischen 10 Uhr und Mittag, tauchte ein Torpedoflugzeug, die Schwade auf, das waren diese langsamen Sortfisch.
01:05:12Und die konnten ja nur ihre Torpedos abwerfen, wenn sie in der Zeit lang gerade ausflogen.
01:05:18Die mussten ja erstmal in Richtung auf das Schiff fliegen, das war quer ab.
01:05:24Da sind die, ein Flugzeug nach dem anderen, wie es ankam und ansetzen wollte zum Torpedoangriff, sind die abgeschossen worden.
01:05:34Also uns haben die richtig leid getan, dass sie also weggeputzt wurden.
01:05:38Wir haben dann bis dahin, bis Mittag, keinerlei Berührung mit englischen Schiffen oder Flugzeugen mehr gehabt.
01:05:51Aber dann setzten die Küstenbatterien von Dover ein.
01:05:56Ihr habt Aufschlagsmessungen gemacht, weit ab, weit ab, also überhaupt keine Gefahr.
01:06:01Warum? Dass die so schlechte Schößen waren bei uns sowieso, um nichts zu definieren. Warum?
01:06:09Und dann plötzlich ein schwerer Minentreffer.
01:06:13Im Augenblick schlugen die Schnellschlüsse in der Maschine dicht, so wie wir aus den Meldungen hörten.
01:06:20Das Schiff kam aus der Fahrt. Wir hatten 28 Meilen gelaufen und das Schiff stoppte fast.
01:06:27Wir sind betrieben nur noch mit ein paar Meilen durchs Wasser.
01:06:30Admal Ciliacs, der das Geschwader leitete, der hatte jetzt Befehl, wenn er auf einem Havaristen eingeschifft war,
01:06:43dann musste er den sofort verlassen und auf ein anderes Schiff umsteigen, damit er das Unternehmen weiterleiten konnte.
01:06:52Jedenfalls, er stieg gleich aus auf einen Zerstörer.
01:06:58Der Zerstörer brauste ab und unsere Maschine, die hat natürlich mit größter Anstrengung gearbeitet.
01:07:08Und vielleicht nach 20 Minuten, nach dem Minentreffer, da waren wir schon wieder in Fahrt.
01:07:19Und wir bekamen den Fehl, den Flottenchef Admiral Ciliacs an Bord zu nehmen und sind achtern an Nishanost herangefahren.
01:07:30Wir konnten den Admiral übernehmen, auf Z29 bringen und kamen dann unter starkem Beschuss der Engländer.
01:07:38Da sie hat den Flottenstandard des Admirals vor Massamben sehen.
01:07:45Wir mussten dann den Admiral wieder per Kutter auf einen anderen Zerstörer rüberbrüllen.
01:07:52Wir sind jedenfalls mit hoher Fahrt dann wieder losgefahren und kamen plötzlich an einen Zerstörer vorbei,
01:08:01auf dem sich unser Befehlshaber befand.
01:08:04Der hatte Maschinenschaden, hatte Brand im Maschinenraum gehabt.
01:08:10Mussten ja auch immer hohe Fahrt laufen.
01:08:13Und ich habe ihn später in Hamburg getroffen.
01:08:15Da hat er mir gesagt, das war für mich der stolzeste Augenblick als Befehlshaber,
01:08:19wie ich mein Flaggschiff mit höchster Fahrt an mir vorbeibrausen soll.
01:08:27Ach, wir haben uns immer gewundert, dass wir von der englischen Marine aus nicht angegriffen wurden.
01:08:34Ich habe später aus Büchern von englischer Seite erfahren,
01:08:40dass an dem Tage, in der Zusammenhalt zwischen Marine und Luftwaffe so viel Pannen passiert sind,
01:08:46dass die Engländer selbst hinterher gesagt haben, das darf ja gar nicht sein.
01:08:53An essential prerequisite for the success of this operation
01:08:56was the efficient cooperation between Air Force and Navy.
01:09:00In spite of encountering a second mine in the German Bay at about 22, 3500 hours,
01:09:06the Scharnhorst reached Wilhelmshaven safely,
01:09:09as did the Gneisnau and the Prinz Eugen.
01:09:12By February the 13th, the commander of the Scharnhorst, Rear Admiral Hoffman,
01:09:17was honoured on board with the Knight's Cross.
01:09:20Großadmiral Reda besichtigt eins der deutschen Schlachtschiffe,
01:09:24die in kühner Operation von Brest aus durch den Kanal hießen.
01:09:44Links Flottenchef Admiral Schniewing.
01:09:46Überreichung des Ritter Kreuzes an Contra-Admiral Hoffman,
01:09:55den Kommandanten des Schlachtschiffes.
01:10:02Even though their excitement after the channel breakthrough was understandable,
01:10:06we have to realise that this operation meant the end of the heavy surface forces
01:10:11against enemy merchant shipping.
01:10:12For the British, therefore, their greatest disgrace would mean an ultimate strategic victory.
01:10:19By the end of the war, it was mainly the submarines which fought in the Atlantic.
01:10:23Scharnhorst and Gneisenau went through the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal to Kiel
01:10:37to have repairs done in the shipyard.
01:10:39However, in the night of February the 26th to 27th, 1942,
01:10:48the sister ship's fate was sealed.
01:10:51In the dock of the German shipyards, the Gneisenau fell victim to a heavy air raid.
01:10:55In spite of all orders to the contrary, the armaments had remained on board,
01:11:05and the consequences were devastating, with the whole foc'sle destroyed.
01:11:11The Scharnhorst sailed with its new camouflage to Gotenhaven.
01:11:15Overhauls, sea trials and training voyages alternated with lay-up days in the shipyard.
01:11:20The end of 1942 saw the Scharnhorst in the Baltic Sea.
01:11:29The Gneisenau was also later transferred to Gotenhaven,
01:11:33where the long-planned rebuilding of the six 38-centimetre guns in double turrets
01:11:37on the Scharnhorst and the Gneisenau was due to take place.
01:11:41But the refit made only slow progress,
01:11:44and in January 1943, Adolf Hitler gave order to cease all work.
01:11:53The Gneisenau was no longer.
01:11:55The Gneisenau was not a miracle.
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