Changes

==''Admiral Scheer''==

==''Admiral Scheer''==

''Admiral Scheer'' was the second ship of the class, launched in April of 1933 and commissioned into the German Navy in November 1934.  Her namesake was the commander of the German fleet at the [[Battle of Jutland]].  Like the ''Deutschland'', she saw service in Spanish waters during the Spanish Civil War.  On May 31, 1937, the ''Admiral Scheer'' bombarded the port of Almeria in reprisal for the Republican attack on the ''Deutschland'', causing serious damage and many casualties.

''Admiral Scheer'' was the second ship of the class, launched in April 1933 and commissioned into the German Navy in November 1934.  Her namesake was the commander of the German fleet at the [[Battle of Jutland]].  Like the ''Deutschland'', she saw service in Spanish waters during the Spanish Civil War.  On May 31, 1937, the ''Admiral Scheer'' bombarded the port of Almeria in reprisal for the Republican attack on the ''Deutschland'', causing serious damage and many casualties.

When World War II began, the ''Admiral Scheer'' was in harbor at Wilhelmshaven.  On September 4, she was attacked by RAF bombers, but suffered no damage.  She spent the rest of 1939 in the Baltic Sea on training exercises, then underwent a major overhaul in port.  Finally, in October of 1940, she was sent out on her first major combat mission of the war, to intercept enemy shipping in the Atlantic.  Over the next six months, the ''Admiral Scheer'' sank or captured 17 merchant vessels and 1 armed merchant cruiser, totaling over 113,000 tons, on a voyage that spanned the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.  After returning to Germany in April, she underwent an overhaul at Kiel.  Another commerce-raiding mission was planned, but after the sinking of the battleship ''Bismarck'', this was cancelled for fear of further losses.

When World War II began, the ''Admiral Scheer'' was in harbor at Wilhelmshaven.  On September 4, she was attacked by RAF bombers, but suffered no damage.  She spent the rest of 1939 in the Baltic Sea on training exercises, then underwent a major overhaul in port.  Finally, in October 1940, she was sent out on her first major combat mission of the war, to intercept enemy shipping in the Atlantic.  Over the next six months, the ''Admiral Scheer'' sank or captured 17 merchant vessels and 1 armed merchant cruiser, totaling over 113,000 tons, on a voyage that spanned the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.  After returning to Germany in April, she underwent an overhaul at Kiel.  Another commerce-raiding mission was planned, but after the sinking of the battleship ''Bismarck'', this was cancelled for fear of further losses.

In February 1942, the ''Admiral Scheer'' was sent north to Narvik, in Norway, and was later joined by her sister ship, the ''Lützow''.  Both ships were assigned to attack the Arctic convoy PQ 17, but the ''Lützow'' ran aground, and the ''Admiral Scheer'' never made contact with the enemy.  On a later mission in those waters, she had more success, sinking an icebreaker and shelling Soviet shore facilities.

In February 1942, the ''Admiral Scheer'' was sent north to Narvik, in Norway, and was later joined by her sister ship, the ''Lützow''.  Both ships were assigned to attack the Arctic convoy PQ 17, but the ''Lützow'' ran aground, and the ''Admiral Scheer'' never made contact with the enemy.  On a later mission in those waters, she had more success, sinking an icebreaker and shelling Soviet shore facilities.

When the war began, the cruiser was sent out on a commerce-raiding mission in the Atlantic.  She sank her first victim off the coast of Brazil, and destroyed or captured nine more vessels before being intercepted by a British cruiser force.  In the Battle of the River Platte on December 13, 1939, the Graf Spee damaged 3 cruisers, but suffered several hits and a number of casualties.  The German ship made it to the port of [[Montevideo]], but the port’s neutrality meant that it could only stay for three days, not enough time to make proper repairs.  Faced with what he believed to be a superior British force, the captain chose to scuttle the ship.

When the war began, the cruiser was sent out on a commerce-raiding mission in the Atlantic.  She sank her first victim off the coast of Brazil, and destroyed or captured nine more vessels before being intercepted by a British cruiser force.  In the Battle of the River Platte on December 13, 1939, the Graf Spee damaged 3 cruisers, but suffered several hits and a number of casualties.  The German ship made it to the port of [[Montevideo]], but the port’s neutrality meant that it could only stay for three days, not enough time to make proper repairs.  Faced with what he believed to be a superior British force, the captain chose to scuttle the ship.

==see also==

==See also==

* [[Battleships]]

* [[Battleships]]

* [[Naval guns]]

* [[Naval guns]]