Career
Ordered:	1904
Laid down:	January 1905
Launched:	22 March 1906
Commissioned:	24 October 1907
Fate:	Sunk in action, First Battle of the Falkland Islands, 8 December 1914
General characteristics
Displacement:	12,781 tons
Length:	144.6 meters (474.7 feet) overall 143.8 meters (472 feet) waterline
Beam:	21.6 meters (71 feet)
Draft:	8.4 meters (27 feet 6 inches)
Propulsion:	18 Schulz Thornycroft Boilers 3 shaft Triple expansion engines 27,759 ihp (trials)
Speed:	22.7 knots
Complement:	764
Armament:	8 x 21 cm (8.2 in) (2x2, 4x2) 6 x 15 cm (5.9 in) (6x1) 18 x 88mm/35 cal (3.45 in)(18 x 1) 4 x 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes

SMS Scharnhorst was an 11,616 ton armored cruiser of the Imperial German Navy, built at the Blohm & Voss Shipyard in Hamburg, Germany. She was named after the Prussian reformer general Gerhard von Scharnhorst and commissioned on 24 October 1907. German WW1 cruiser Scharnhorst, from Polish Wikipedia This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... The Kaiserliche Kriegsflagge (the War Ensign of the Kaiserliche Marine, the Imperial Germany Navy, 1903–1919) Downloaded from Flags of the World File links The following pages link to this file: SMS Ostfriesland SMS Scharnhorst SMS Gneisenau Wikipedia:WikiProject Ships SMS Lützow SMS Friedrich der Grosse SMS Kaiser SMS Königsberg... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 22 March is the 81st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (82nd in Leap years). ... 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... October 24 is the 297th day of the year (298th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 68 days remaining. ... 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Combatants British Empire Germany Commanders Doveton Sturdee Maximilian von Spee Strength 2 battlecruisers, 3 armoured cruisers, 2 light cruisers and 1 grounded pre-dreadnought 2 armoured cruisers, 3 light cruisers Casualties 10 killed, 19 wounded No ships lost 1,871 killed, 215 captured All but one light cruiser sunk The... December 8 is the 342nd day (343rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Armored cruiser General-Admiral (1873) Armored cruiser USS Brooklyn (1898) Armored cruiser HMS Good Hope (1901) Armored cruiser SMS Blücher (1908) The armored cruiser was a naval cruiser protected by armor on its sides as well as on the decks and gun positions. ... The Kaiserliche Marine or Imperial Navy was the German Navy created by Kaiser Wilhelm II between 1871 and 1919; it grew out of the Prussian Navy. ... On April 5, 1877, Hermann Blohm and Ernst Voss founded the Blohm & Voss Schiffswerft und Maschinenfabrik shipbuilding and engineering works as a general partnership. ... The smaller Alster lake at dusk Hamburg (Low German: Hamborg, [haË‘mbɔːχ]) is the second largest city in Germany and with Hamburg Harbour, its principal port, Hamburg is also the second largest port city in the European Union. ... The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 Prussia (German: ; Latin: Borussia, Prutenia; Lithuanian: ; Old Prussian: PrÅ«sa; Polish: ) was, most recently, a historic state originating in East Prussia, an area which for centuries had a substantial influence on German and European history. ... Gerhard Johann David von Scharnhorst (November 12, 1755 - June 28, 1813) was a general in Prussian service, Chief of the Prussian General Staff, noted for both his writings and his leadership during the Napoleonic Wars. ... October 24 is the 297th day of the year (298th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 68 days remaining. ... 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

In one of her first voyages in 1909, she ran aground, and took several months to repair. When the First World War broke out, she was Admiral Maximilian von Spee's flagship in the German East Asian Cruiser Squadron. This squadron consisted of Scharnhorst, her sister ship Gneisenau, Dresden, Nürnberg, and Leipzig. The squadron initially engaged in attacks on enemy commercial and troop transports with great success, and on 1 November 1914, engaged and sank the two British cruisers Good Hope and Monmouth at the Battle of Coronel, off the coast of Chile. 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Combatants Allies: Serbia, Russia, France, Romania, Belgium, British Empire, United States, Italy, and others Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire Casualties Military dead: 5 million Civilian deaths: 3 million Total of dead: 8 million Military dead: 4 million Civilian deaths: 3 million Total dead: 7 million The First... Maximilian von Spee Count (Graf) Maximilian Johannes Maria Hubert von Spee (22 June 1861 - 8 December 1914) was a German naval officer, born in Copenhagen, Denmark, who joined the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy) in 1878. ... The German East Asia squadron was a German Kaiserliche Marine (naval) cruiser squadron which operated mainly in the Pacific Ocean between the 1870s and 1914. ... This article is about the WWI armored cruiser Gneisenau; for the World War II battlecruiser of the same name, see German battlecruiser Gneisenau. ... The SMS Dresden was a German Kaiserliche Marine light cruiser of the Dresden class, commissioned in 1908. ... SMS Nürnberg, named after the town of Nuremberg, was a German light cruiser launched in 1907. ... SMS Leipzig was a German light cruiser, of the Bremen class. ... November 1 is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 60 days remaining. ... 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... HMS Good Hope was a 14,100-ton Drake-class armoured cruiser of the Royal Navy; she was originally planned to be named Africa, but was renamed before she was launched. ... The sixth HMS Monmouth of the British Royal Navy was the name ship of her class of armored cruiser of 9,800 tons displacement. ... German squadron leaving Valparaiso 3 Nov. ...

On 8 December 1914, the five cruisers of the squadron attempted to attack Stanley in the Falkland Islands with the intention of obtaining coal. They were unaware of the presence of a force under Vice Admiral Sir Doveton Sturdee, including two British battlecruisers HMS Invincible and HMS Inflexible, and several light cruisers, which had arrived only the previous day. In the ensuing Battle of the Falkland Islands, SMS Scharnhorst was lost with her entire crew, together with all of her squadron except the SMS Dresden, which was sunk 3 months later off Valparaíso, Chile. December 8 is the 342nd day (343rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Official website: http://www. ... Sir Frederick Charles Doveton Sturdee, Bt. ... The fifth Invincible of the Royal Navy was a battlecruiser, the lead ship of her class of three, and the first battlecruiser to be built by any country in the world. ... HMS Inflexible was one of three Invincible-class battlecruisers built for the Royal Navy in 1906-08. ... Combatants British Empire Germany Commanders Doveton Sturdee Maximilian von Spee Strength 2 battlecruisers, 3 armoured cruisers, 2 light cruisers and 1 grounded pre-dreadnought 2 armoured cruisers, 3 light cruisers Casualties 10 killed, 19 wounded No ships lost 1,871 killed, 215 captured All but one light cruiser sunk The... Port of Valparaíso, Chile Valparaíso is one of the main seaports of Chile, on the Pacific Ocean, and the capital of the Valparaíso Region. ...

References

• Jane's Fighting Ships of World War I (Jane's Publishing, London, 1919)
• Robert Gardiner, ed., Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905 (Conway Maritime Press, London, 1979)
• Hanson W. Baldwin, World War I: An Outline History (Harper and Row, New York, 1962)

External link

• Maritimequest SMS Scharnhorst photo gallery