Operation Berlin was the commerce raid performed by German warships KM Scharnhorst and KM Gneisenau between January and March, 1941. The commander-in-chief of the operation was Admiral Gunther Lutjens, who subsequently commanded the famous cruise of KM Bismarck and KM Prinz Eugen. Gerhard von Scharnhorst was a Prussian general. ... August von Gneisenau was a Prussian general. ... Bismarck was a German battleship during World War II. She was named after Otto von Bismarck and is famous for sinking HMS Hood in 1941, and for the subsequent pursuit which ended with her destruction just three days later. ... 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). ...

The two ships aborted the operation in December, 1940, but finally sailed from Kiel on 22nd January, 1941. They were spotted en route through the Great Belt and the British Admiralty was informed. Admiral Tovey sailed with a strong force (3 battleships, 8 cruisers and 11 destroyers), hoping to intercept the German ships in the Iceland - Faero Passage. Instead, Lutjens took his flotilla through the Denmark Strait into the Atlantic, where they were positioned to intercept convoys between Canada and Britain. Jump to: navigation, search Statistics State: Schleswig-Holstein District: Independent city Area: 113. ... The Great Belt (Danish:Storebælt) is a strait between the main Danish islands of Zealand and Funen. ...

Convoy HX-106 was intercepted, but the attack was aborted when the escorting battleship HMS Ramillies was spotted. Lutjens had orders to avoid action with superior forces. Fortunately for the Germans, the British failed to make an accurate identification. HMS Ramillies (pennant number 07) was a Revenge-class battleship of the Royal Navy, named after the Battle of Ramillies. ...

After re-fuelling the German ships missed convoy HX-111, but happened upon an empty convoy returning to the United States. Over 12 hours, 5 ships were sunk but the attack was reported. The flotilla moved south to the Azores to intercept the convoy route between West Africa and Britain. Jump to: navigation, search Location Motto of the autonomous region: Antes morrer livres que em paz sujeitos (Portuguese: Rather die free than peacefully subjected) Official language Portuguese Capitals Ponta Delgada (Presidency of the autonomous government), Angra do Heroísmo (Supreme Court), Horta (Legislative Assembly) Other towns Praia da Vitória...

A convoy was sighted but, once again, was not attacked due to the presence of HMS Malaya, a battleship. Instead Scharnhorst and Gneisenau shadowed it, acting to guide in U-boat attacks. HMS Malaya was a Queen Elizabeth class battleship of the Royal Navy built by Armstrong Whitworth and launched in March 1915. ... U-boat is also a nickname for some diesel locomotives built by GE; see List of GE locomotives October 1939. ...

The two ships moved back to the western Atlantic, sinking a solitary freighter en route. Two unescorted convoys were attacked and 16 ships were sunk or captured. One of these ships, the Chilean Reefer, caused problems. It made smoke, radioed an accurate position and actually returned the Gneisenau's fire with its small deck gun. Lutjens was uncertain of the Chilean Reefer's capabilities, withdrew and destroyed it from a safe distance. During this action, HMS Rodney appeared, possibly in response to the radio calls. The German ships bluffed their way to safety while Rodney picked up survivors. HMS Rodney was a Nelson-class battleship of the Royal Navy. ...

The German ships were ordered back to Brest. They met air and sea escorts on 21st March and docked the next day. 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...

In total, they had sailed nearly 18,000 miles in 60 days and destroyed or captured 22 ships. They were supported by supply ships and tankers Uckermark, Ermland, Schlettstadt, Friedrich Breme and Hamburg.

External Links

• Scharnhorst: the history: Operation Berlin