Battle cruiser was launched on 18.12.1936 and went into service on 21.05.1938. Sister to the Scharnhorst. In the design of this class absolute priority was given to stability. In 1939/40 she ventured forth to the north of the North Sea and sank the British auxiliary cruiser Rawalpindi. On 26th and 27th Feb 1942 the Gneisenau was bombed in Keil, taken out of service, moved to Gotenhafen and on 28.03.1945 she was sunk.
Shipyard: Deutsche Werke, Kiel
Time to built: 1934-38
Length 234.9m
Draught 9.9m
Capacity: 165,000 hp
Speed: 32 knots
Armament: nine 28cm (11")Â cannon, twelve 15cm cannon, fourteen 10.5 cm AA guns, sixteen 3.7cm AA guns, ten 2cm AA guns, two 53.3cm triple torpedo tubes.