British Forces

For those in peril on the sea - "Duke of York"

H.M. Government.

"King George V" Class battleship, "Duke of York". This was a real-deal battleship, slightly slower than "Scharnhorst" but with significantly superior armour and firepower - ten 360mm guns as main armament. In early December, 1943, the Germans sighted Arctic Convoy JW55 b, and Scharnhorst was ordered to sally forth and intercept - which it did, accompanied by an escorting/scouting force of five destroyers. Unfortunately for the Germans, their move was detected by the Royal Navy, which sent two task groups to intercept them. The powerful British force included a number of cruisers (including HMS Jamaica) and the battleship, Duke of York. In the ensuing "Battle of the North Cape", Scharnhorst exchanged fire, hitting each other. However, Scharnhorst suffered worse damage, knocking out much of her secondary armament and also her front radar array. Scharnhorst attempted to withdraw, and increased distance between herself and Duke of York with her superior speed. However, her disabled secondary armament left her vulnerable to torpedo attack by the British destroyers, which caused crippling damage to her engine/propulsion system. Duke of York promptly closed and, in a subsequent exchange of fire, disabled Scharnhorst. Cruisers HMS Belfast and HMS Jamaica were ordered to finish her with torpedoes which, after some targeting problems, they duly did. "Belfast" and "Jamaica" made a brief effort to recover survivors, but were recalled when the activity proved obviously pointless. Of the 1,700 crew of "Scharnhorst", only about 40 were recovered alive. JR.