Story Highlights
- Historical event
- 9 April 1945
- The German ship Admiral Scheer was launched in 1933, when Adolf Hitler ruled Germany. The Admiral Scheer sank more enemy merchant ships than any other German ship.
This day in 1945 marked the sinking of the German ship Admiral Scheer. The ship was a Deutschland-class heavy cruiser similar a battleship due to its heavy armament and armor (surface ships were classified as the most powerful battleships before the appearance of the aircraft carrier).
Its sister ship was the famous ship Admiral Graf Spee which was sunk in Montevideo in Uruguay.
The Admiral Scheer was launched in 1933, when Adolf Hitler ruled Germany. The ship was named after Admiral Reinhard Scheer, the supreme commander of the German Imperial Hochseeflotte in the First World War.
The ship Admiral Scheer had 280 mm caliber guns, and steel armor up to 140 mm thick. The powerful 52,000-horsepower MAN’s diesel engines enabled it a great speed of more than 28 knots.
The Admiral Scheer sank more enemy merchant ships than any other German ship during World War II.
The ship even sailed the Arctic Ocean, to attack the Soviet ships which were traveling north of Siberia (convoy operations). The Admiral Scheer also sailed the Indian Ocean.
The ship was in the German port of Kiel on this day, when the British air force (RAF) attacked it with more than 300 aircraft. Five so-called Tallboy bombs (i.e. 5,400-pound bombs) hit the ship.
It capsized in the harbor and filled with water. It is interesting to note that one of the piers was later built on its wreck.
