Battle of the North Cape

The Battle of the North Cape was a Second World War

naval battle which occurred on 26 December 1943, as
part of the Arctic Campaign. The German battleship
Scharnhorst, on an operation to attack Arctic Convoys
of war matriel from the Western Allies to the USSR,
was brought to battle and sunk by Royal Navy forces
the battleship HMS Duke of York plus several cruisers
and destroyerso Norway's North Cape.

Norfolk and Sheeld.

Fraser expected and hoped that Scharnhorst would attempt to attack JW 55B. At a conference of the captains
of the ships in his force Fraser described his plan to intercept Scharnhorst at a position between the convoy and the
enemys Norwegian base before approaching the enemy
within 12,000 yd (11,000 m) in the Arctic night, illuminating with star-shell, and opening re using re-control
The battle was the last between big-gun capital ships in radar.
the war between Britain and Germany. The British vic- Convoy JW 55B had left Loch Ewe on 20 December,
tory conrmed the massive strategic advantage held by and by 23 December it was clear from intelligence rethe British, at least in surface units. It was also the second- ports that it had been sighted and was being shadowed by
to-last engagement between battleships, the last being the enemy aircraft. Fraser then put to sea with Force 2 conBattle of Surigao Strait in October 1944.
sisting of his agship the battleship HMS Duke of York,
the cruiser HMS Jamaica and S-class destroyers HMS
Savage, Scorpion, Saumarez, and HNoMS Stord of the
1 Background
exiled Royal Norwegian Navy. Fraser was anxious not to
discourage Scharnhorst from leaving its base, so did not
Operation Ostfront was an attempt by the German approach before it was necessary to do so.
Kriegsmarine to intercept the expected Arctic convoys. As JW 55B and its escorts approached the area of greatIn late December 1943, these would be the Russia-bound est danger on the same day, the 23rd, travelling slowly
convoy JW 55B and the Home-bound convoy RA 55A. eastward 250 mi (220 nmi; 400 km) o the coast of
north Norway, Burnett and Force 1 set out westward from
Murmansk while Fraser with Force 2 approached at moderate speed from the west. Scharnhorst sailed from its
base at Altenfjord on the evening of 25 December and
set course for the convoys reported position as a southwesterly gale developed.[1]

On 22 December 1943, a Luftwae aircraft sighted JW

55B and commenced shadowing. Three days later, on 25
December, Scharnhorst (Captain Fritz Hintze) with the
Narvik-class destroyers Z-29, Z-30, Z-33, Z-34 and Z-38
left Norways Alta Fjord under the overall command of
Konteradmiral Erich Bey.

JW 55B consisted of 19 cargo vessels under the command of the Commodore, retired Rear-Admiral Maitland
Boucher, accompanied by a close escort of two destroy- 2 Battle
ers and three other vessels, and an ocean escort of eight
Home Fleet destroyers led by the destroyer HMS Onslow. The following day, in poor weather and heavy seas and
Also in the area was convoy RA 55A, returning to the with only minimal Luftwae reconnaissance to aid him,
United Kingdom from Russia. RA 55A consisted of 22 Rear Admiral Bey was unable to locate the convoy.
cargo ships, accompanied by a close escort of two de- Thinking he had overshot the enemy, he detached his destroyers and four other vessels, and an ocean escort of six stroyers and sent them southward to increase the search
Home Fleet destroyers led by the destroyer HMS Milne. area. Admiral Fraser, preparing for a German attack, had
Escorting the convoys to Russia was the responsibility of diverted the returning empty convoy RA 55A northward,
the Home Fleet and its Commander-in-Chief, Admiral out of the area in which it was expected, and ordered JW
Sir Bruce Fraser. Fraser wished to neutralise Scharn- 55B to reverse course, to allow him to close. He later orhorst, a major threat to the convoys, and planned a con- dered four of the destroyers with RA 55A; HMS Matchfrontation over Christmas 1943 in which convoy JW 55B less, HMS Musketeer, HMS Opportune and HMS Virago,
would be used to draw the enemy out. The previous con- to detach and join him.
The now unescorted Scharnhorst encountered Burnetts
Force 1 shortly after 09:00. At a distance of nearly
13,000 yd (12,000 m), the British cruisers opened re
and Scharnhorst responded with her own salvoes. While

voy, JW 55A, had arrived safely at Murmansk with its

normal escorts and additional protection from Force 1
commanded by Vice Admiral Robert Burnett in his agship light cruiser HMS Belfast with the cruisers HMS
1

2 BATTLE
for a while. The lack of working radar aboard Scharnhorst prevented the Germans from taking advantage of
the situation, allowing Belfast to reacquire the German
ship on her radar set.
Meanwhile, the battleship Duke of York, with her four escorting destroyers already pressing ahead to try to get into
torpedo launching positions, had been informed of Belfast
's contact and they themselves soon picked up Scharnhorst on radar at 16:15 and were manoeuvring to bring a
full broadside to bear. At 16:17 Scharnhorst was detected
by Duke of York 's Type 273 radar at a range of 45,500
yards (41,500 m) and by 16:32 Duke of York 's Type 284
radar indicated that the range had closed to 29,700 yards
(27,700 m).[2]
At 16:48, Belfast red star shells to illuminate Scharnhorst. Scharnhorst, unprepared with her turrets trained
fore and aft, was clearly visible from Duke of York. Duke
of York opened re at a range of 11,920 yd (10,900 m)
and scored a hit on the rst salvo disabling [3] Scharnhorst
's foremost turrets (Anton and Bruno) while another salvo destroyed the ships aeroplane hangar.[4] Bey
turned north, but was engaged by the cruisers Norfolk and
Belfast, and turned east at a high speed of 31 kn (36 mph;
57 km/h).

Contemporary map of the battle.

no hits were scored on the cruisers, the German battleship

was struck twice, with one shell destroying the radar controls and leaving Scharnhorst virtually blind in a mounting snowstorm. Without radar, gunners aboard the German battleship were forced to aim at the enemys muzzle ashes. This was made more dicult because two of
the British cruisers were using a new ashless propellant,
leaving Norfolk the relatively easier target. Bey, believing
he had engaged a battleship, turned south in an attempt
to distance himself from the pursuers and perhaps draw
them away from the convoy.
Once he had shaken o his pursuers, Bey turned northeast
in an attempt to circle round them. Burnett, instead of
giving chase in sea conditions that were limiting his cruisers speed to 24 kn (28 mph; 44 km/h), positioned Force
1 so as to protect the convoy. It was a decision that he
had some personal doubts about and which was criticised
in some quarters but supported by Fraser, but to Burnetts relief, shortly after noon Scharnhorst approached
the cruisers once more. As re was again exchanged,
Scharnhorst scored hits on Norfolk, disabling a turret and
her radar. Following this exchange, Bey decided to return to port, while he ordered the destroyers to attack the
convoy at a position reported by a U-boat. The reported
position was out of date and the destroyers missed the
convoy.

Bey was able to put some more distance between Scharnhorst and the British ships to increase his prospects of
success. Two 11 shells from one of her salvoes passed
through the masts of the Duke of York, severing all the
wireless aerials, and more serious still, the wires leading
from the radar scanner to the Type 284 gunnery control
radar set. Lt H. R. K. Bates RNVR climbed the mast
and managed to repair the broken wires, but these hits
could not have been known to Bey, and his ships fortunes took a dramatic turn for the worse at 18:20 when
a shell red by Duke of York at extreme range pierced
her armour belt and destroyed the No. 1 boiler room.
Scharnhorst 's speed dropped to only 10 kn (12 mph; 19
km/h), and though immediate repair work allowed it to
recover to 22 kn (25 mph; 41 km/h),[5] Scharnhorst was
now vulnerable to torpedo attacks by the destroyers. Five
minutes later, Bey sent his nal radio message to the German naval command: We will ght on until the last shell
is red.[6]
At 18:50 Scharnhorst turned to starboard to engage the
destroyers Savage and Saumarez, but this allowed Scorpion and the Norwegian destroyer Stord to attack with
torpedoes, scoring one hit on the starboard side. As
Scharnhorst continued to turn to avoid the torpedoes,
Savage and Saumarez scored three hits on her port side.
Saumarez was hit several times by Scharnhorst 's secondary armament and suered eleven killed and eleven
wounded.

Due to the torpedo hits, Scharnhorst's speed again fell

to 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h), allowing Duke of York to
Scharnhorst ran south for several hours. Burnett pursued,
rapidly close the range.[7] With Scharnhorst illuminated
but both Sheeld and Norfolk suered engine problems
by starshells hanging over her like a chandelier,[8] Duke
and dropped back, leaving Belfast dangerously exposed

3
radar-re-controlled salvos red by Duke of York.[11] In
the aftermath of the battle, the Kriegsmarine commander, Groadmiral Karl Dnitz remarked, Surface ships
are no longer able to ght without eective radar equipment. [12]

of York and Jamaica resumed re, at a range of only

10,400 yd (9,500 m). At 19:15, Belfast joined in from the
north. The British vessels subjected the German ship to a
deluge of shells, and the cruisers Jamaica and Belfast red
their remaining torpedoes at the slowing target. Scharnhorst 's end came when the British destroyers Opportune,
Virago, Musketeer and Matchless red a further 19 torpedoes at her. Wracked with hits and unable to ee, Scharnhorst nally capsized and sank at 19:45 on 26 December, her propellers still turning, at an estimated position
of 7216N 2841E / 72.267N 28.683E. She was later
identied and lmed at 7231N 2815E / 72.517N
28.250ECoordinates: 7231N 2815E / 72.517N
28.250E. Of her total complement of 1,968, only 36
were pulled from the frigid waters, 30 by Scorpion and
six by Matchless. Neither Rear Admiral Bey nor Captain
Hintze were among those rescued, although both were reported seen in the water after the ship sank, nor were
any other ocers. Scorpion tried to rescue Bey but he
foundered.[9] Fraser ordered the force to proceed to Murmansk, making a signal to the Admiralty: Scharnhorst
sunk, to which the reply came: Grand, well done.

Stord and Scorpion red their torpedoes from an easterly

direction. Stord red her eight torpedoes as she was about
1,500 yd (1,400 m) from Scharnhorst, while also ring
her guns. After the battle Admiral Fraser sent the following message to the Admiralty: "... Please convey to
the C-in-C Norwegian Navy. Stord played a very daring
role in the ght and I am very proud of her.... In an
interview in The Evening News on 5 February 1944 the
commanding ocer of HMS Duke of York, Captain Guy
Russell, said: "... the Norwegian destroyer Stord carried
out the most daring attack of the whole action....

5 Notes

Aftermath

4 See also
Arctic Ocean operations of World War II

[1] Konstam.
[2] Watts, p. 46.
[3] D. MacIntyre, p. 79.
[4] Watts, p. 48Turret Bruno was later brought back into
action.
[5] Watts, p. 50.
[6] Claasen, p. 232.
[7] Watts, p. 55.
[8] MacIntyre, p. 437.
Blindfolded Scharnhorst survivors come ashore at Scapa Flow
on 2 January 1944

[9] Bredemeyer, p. 258.

[10] Garzke & Dulin, p. 176.

Later in the evening of 26 December, Admiral Fraser [11] D. MacIntyre.

briefed his ocers on board Duke of York: Gentlemen,
the battle against Scharnhorst has ended in victory for us. [12] Claasen, p. 233.
I hope that if any of you are ever called upon to lead a ship
into action against an opponent many times superior, you
will command your ship as gallantly as Scharnhorst was 6 References
commanded today .[10]
The loss of Scharnhorst demonstrated the vital importance of radar in modern naval warfare. While the German battleship should have been able to outgun all of
her opponents save the battleship Duke of York, the early
loss of radar-assisted re control combined with the problem of inclement weather left her at a signicant disadvantage. Scharnhorst was straddled by 31 of the 52

Busch, Fritz-Otto (1956). The Sinking of the

Scharnhorst. London: Robert Hale, LTD. ISBN 086007-130-8.
Bredemeier, Heinrich (1997). Schlactschi Scharnhorst. Koehlers Verlag. pp. 228233. ISBN 37822-0592-8.

7
Claasen, Adam R. A. (2001). Hitlers Northern
War: The Luftwaes Ill-Fated Campaign, 19401945. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of
Kansas. pp. 228233. ISBN 978-0-7006-1050-1.
Fraser, Bruce A. (1947-08-05). Sinking of the
German Battlecruiser Scharnhorst on the 26th December 1943 (PDF). Supplement to the London
Gazette No. 38038 (The London Gazette). Retrieved 2010-10-03.
Garzke, William H.; Dulin, Robert O. (1985). Battleships: Axis and Neutral Battleships in World War
II. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-087021-101-0.
Konstam, Angus (2009). The Battle of North Cape.
UK: Pen & Sword Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-84415856-0.
MacIntyre, Donald (1971). The Naval War against
Hitler. Birkenhead: Willmer Bros. ISBN 0-71341172-4.
MacIntyre, Donald (September 1967). Shipborne
Radar. United States Naval Proceedings.
Roskill, Stephen W. (1960). The Oensive Part I, 1st
June 194331st May 1944. History of the Second
World War. United Kingdom Military Series. The
War at Sea 19391945. Volume III. London: Her
Majestys Stationery Oce.
Watts, Antony J. (1972). The Loss of the Scharnhorst. London: Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0141-3.

External links
Newsreel footage of the ships that participated in the
battle.
The Battleship Scharnhorst at KBismarck.com
Scharnhorst History and Diagrams at ScharnhorstClass.dk
Scharnhorst at Ships of the World: An Historical
Encyclopedia

EXTERNAL LINKS

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8.1

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