Comments by "doveton sturdee" (@dovetonsturdee7033) on "KMS Gneisenau - Guide 282" video.

  1.  @bara922  Ironically, by the time Tovey signalled to Somerville that ' I could not sink the Bismarck with gunfire' at 1045 on 27th May, she had already sunk. However, after Bismarck had lost most of her main armament, her bridge, and her command staff to a salvo from Rodney very early on (by around 0931 or so) the action became less of a battle than the execution of a practice target.
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  2.  @riverraven7359  Well, Andrew Cunningham, who commanded one, said that the Nelsons were as manoeuvrable as the Queen Elizabeths. I suggest that his opinion carries more weight than yours.
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  3. There is more to a warship than looking pretty. The ability to give and receive punishment is more important. The Scharnhorsts could take punishment, but not give it out.
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  4. Dudley Pope, in '73 North' had this nice little postcript about the battered Onslow, commanded by Lt.Cdr. T.J.G. Marchant, her second-in-command, arriving back at Scapa on 4 February. ' Onslow arrived back in Scapa Flow to receive more surprises. The battleship Anson, which had provided the wireless link with the Admiralty during the battle, was leaving with Admiral Fraser on board, and Marchant altered course to give her a wide berth. He was startled to get a signal from the battleship saying 'pass close to me.' As the Onslow approached, they could see that the decks of the great battleship were black with men, and over the loudspeakers they heard: 'Three cheers for the Onslow - hip hip hurray! hip, hip....' They were still recovering from their gratified embarassment when they approached Switha and met the battleship Malaya coming out. Once again the little destroyer was cheered as she passed. A few moments later came the order that the Onslow was to steam past all the ships of the fleet now at anchor to receive their congratulations. She had been away for 43 days; she had fought bravely in defence of a convoy. Though only a few men knew it, and they were in Berlin or at Fort Wolf, she had played a great part in defeating the German surface fleet. '
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  5.  @Slapdash1  It ranks alongside an account of HMS Warspite limping back under the Forth Bridge to Rosyth after being mined off Normandy just after D-Day. She was moving at ten knots, and drawing 42 feet aft. As she steamed slowly past, the ships of the Home Fleet cleared lower deck to cheer the Old Lady.
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  6. You think a Scharnhorst could have challenged a Nelson, KGV, or even a modernized Queen Elizabeth? Oh well, no accounting for delusions.
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  7. Yes. Work began on Gneisenau, but was soon abandoned. One of the triple turrets removed from Gneisenau still exists, at Austrått Fort in Ørland, Norway.
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  8. Fast enough to avoid action against capital ships, but too poorly armed to fight capital ships.
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  9. British forces sank 70 ships totalling 138,346 tons. Australian 13, totalling 31,802 New Zealand 2, totalling 2,095 Dutch/Australian 2, totalling 8,303. Australian/Indian 1, of 525. Dutch/Indian, totalling 1, of 10,439. US/Australian, 11, totalling 44,622. US/Australian/Dutch 2, totalling 16362. US/British 5, totalling 8,602. US/New Zealand 1, of 2,212. US/British/Dutch 1, of 989. Of these, 46 were warships.
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  10.  @simonpitt8145  Kuma was a light cruiser torpedoed by HMSm. Tally-Ho on 11 January, 1944.
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