I'm currently reading "BISMARCK: The Final Days of Germany's Greatest Battleship". In it, the author gives some background on Adm. Lütjens and his command of the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau during Operation Berlin. What I found intriguing was that after two months at sea, both capital ships were due for major repairs.

My question is, is this a common time frame for any capital ship or were the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau over designed like German armor and prone to breakdowns?

I am interested to hear you thoughts.

Hi Kenny,

IMHO any battleship after two months of campaign in Northern Atlantic during heavy winter gales (january - march 1941) will need some repairs.

Cheers

Wojtek

Well, I can only answer about being on a destroyer in the North Atlantic. We got the living garbage smacked out of us. Sure, it was 40 years difference in time and a modern destroyer is really a delicate ship compared to a battleship.

Thinking that both of the sisters needed repairs after 2 months does make some sense. There are some portions of a warship that just hate saltwater. I know that seems strange, but it is true.

Some possible causes would be taking heavy weather. This can cause breaking in superstructure. Possible problems with the shafts due to heavy weather.

Part of the problem may be over design as well.

Hello
It is an interesting question. I have no knowledge of the specifics of their 2 month trip, ie., weather encountered, equipment failure. However, I believe the Germans, along with most of the world's navies, did not design their ships for extended operations without access to major port/shipyard facilities. As far as being overbuilt, German Destroyers were plagued with reliability issues with their steam plants. Granted, these were high temperature, high pressure plants that pushed the technology and the Capitol Ship's plants were more conservative. But, I think this shows where the German emphasis was, on performance and not reliability. It is interesting to look at the 'Pocket' Battleships, which were designed for extended operations away from support. The Germans emphasized endurance and reliability over performance, at least speed wise, in these ships. The Germans were not alone in having problems though. The RN's modern Battleships had range problems and maintenance problems with their steam plants. The Italian Battleships were also short legged and would probably have had real maintenance problems on an extended cruise. From what I have read, French modern Battleships had very cramped engine rooms which made maintenance at sea difficult. None of the above were meant to operate for extended periods away from access to a major base. So, in that regard, the German ships are probably no better or worse than their contemporaries.
Shaun