Operation Cerberus (German: Zerberus) was the name given to the escape during World War II of the Kriegsmarine's ships Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Prinz Eugen and a number of smaller ships from Brest to ports in Germany and Denmark via the English Channel. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... The Kriegsmarine or War Navy was the name of the German Navy between 1935 and 1945, during the Nazi reign. ... Scharnhorst was a 31,500 ton Gneisenau class battlecruiser of the German Kriegsmarine, named to commemorate the World War I armoured cruiser SMS Scharnhorst, which was in turn named after the Prussian general Gerhard von Scharnhorst. ... Gneisenau was a 31,100 ton Gneisenau class battlecruiser of the German Kriegsmarine, named to commemorate the World War I armoured cruiser SMS Gneisenau, which was in turn named after the Prussian general August von Gneisenau. ... The German heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen fought as part of the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was named after Prince Eugene of Savoy (Prinz Eugen in German). ... Location within France Brest, at the tip of Brittany Brest (population of the city: 146,000 inhabitants as of 2004 estimates; population of the metropolitan area: 303,484 inhabitants as of 1999 census) is a city in the Bretagne région, north-west France, subprefecture of the Finistère d... The English Channel ( French:La Manche) is the part of the Atlantic Ocean that separates the island of Great Britain from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. ...

Hitler, convinced of an impending Allied invasion of Norway, ordered the escape. On 11 February 1942, the ships left port at night and escaped detection for more than twelve hours. Despite British air attacks, which cost the Royal Air Force ten planes, by 13 February all the ships had completed their transit. The action has entered history as the "Channel Dash". Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945, standard German pronunciation in the IPA) was the Führer (leader) of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party) and of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. ... In general, allies are people or groups that have joined an alliance and are working together to achieve some common purpose. ... February 11 is the 42nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1942 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Royal Air Force (often abbreviated to RAF) is the air force branch of the UK Armed Forces. ... February 13 is the 44th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

The operation was named after Cerberus, the three-headed dog in Greek mythology who guards the gate to Hades. For the snake genus Cerberus, see Cerberus (snake). ... Greek mythology comprises the collected legends of Greek gods and goddesses and ancient heroes and heroines, originally created and spread within an oral-poetic tradition. ... Hades (Greek: - Hadēs or - Háidēs) (unseen) means both the ancient Greek abode of the dead and the god of that underworld. ...

Vice-Admiral and Kriegsmarine Fleet Commander Otto Ciliax planned and led the successful German operation. His chief opponent was Vice-Admiral Bertram Ramsay of the Royal Navy who was allocated six destroyers equipped with torpedoes, which should have been at four hours' notice in the Thames Estuary but were not. There were also three Hunter class escorts but they had no torpedoes so posed little threat to the German capital ships. The 32 motor torpedo boats under his command were counterbalanced by the German flotilla of E-boats. For various reasons the Fleet Air Arm, RAF Coastal Command and RAF Bomber Command all failed in a timely fashion to provide the level of support they had promised. This was in part because all services expected the Germans to attempt the dash through the Channel at night time and were wrong footed by the Germans' audacious move. Fleet Air Arm reconnaissance failed to spot the ships leaving Brest because their radars failed. Two Spitfires of RAF Fighter Command spotted the ships in the channel but as they were under strict orders not to break radio silence (and they had not been briefed to look for the German flotilla), they waited until they landed to inform their superiors of what had been seen. Categories: People stubs | 1883 births | 1945 deaths | Royal Navy admirals | Royal Navy officers | British World War II people ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the senior service of the armed services, being the oldest of its three branches. ... The Thames estuary is a large estuary where the River Thames flows into the North Sea. ... Motor Torpedo Boats (MTB) was the name given to fast torpedo boats by the US and Royal Navies. ... E-boat is the British and American name for the German Schnellboot (S-boot), a small, fast torpedo boat a little larger than the American PT boat and the British MTB. Specification Length - 34. ... The Fleet Air Arm is the operational group of the Royal Navy responsible for the operation of the aircraft on board their ships. ... Coastal Command was an organization within the Royal Air Force tasked with protecting the United Kingdom from naval threats. ... RAF Bomber Command was the organisation that controlled the RAFs bomber forces. ... The Supermarine Spitfire was a single seat fighter used by the RAF and many Allied countries in World War II. The Spitfires elliptical wings gave it a very distinctive look; their thin cross-section gave it speed; the brilliant design of Chief Designer R.J. Mitchell and his successors... Fighter Command was one of three functional commands that dominated the public perception of the RAF for much of the mid-20th century. ...

Because Fighter Command was not expected to be the first to spot the German flotilla in the Channel, valuable time was lost reporting the sighting up the chain of command and on to the Royal Navy and Bomber Command. Uncoordinated attacks by the motor boats and the Fleet Air Arm Swordfish torpedo biplanes failed to harm their targets. Although they failed to hit their targets, the bravery of the Swordfish crews was commented on by friend and foe alike. RAF Bomber Command's response was tardy, only 39 of the 242 bombers which took part found and attacked the ships and no hits were scored. The Fairey Swordfish was a torpedo bomber used by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy during World War II. Affectionately known as the Stringbag by its crews, it was outdated by 1939, but achieved some spectacular successes during the war. ...

The six old destroyers and four more recently-built escort Hunts were taken by surprise. Instead of being on station, they were practising their gunnery in the North Sea. They steamed south to intercept the flotilla but arrived only in time to deliver one salvo of torpedoes, all of which missed. Counter fire severely damaged the destroyer HMS Worcester.

The British had failed to stop the flotilla before it reached the safety of German home waters and had suffered severe damage to a destroyer and the loss of 42 aeroplanes. The Germans did not escape damage free though, both the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau hit mines and were damaged.

See also

• Operation Donnerschlag

Categories: Disambiguation | Stub ...

External links

• Operation "Cerberus" (11 - 13 February 1942) (http://www.scharnhorst-class.dk/scharnhorst/history/scharncerberus.html)