Admiral Scheer was a Deutschland-class heavy cruiser which served with the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany during World War II. The vessel was named after Admiral Reinhard Scheer, German commander in the Battle of Jutland. She was laid down at the Reichsmarinewerft shipyard in Wilhelmshaven in June 1931 and completed by November 1934.
Admiral Scheer saw heavy service with the German Navy, including a deployment to Spain during the Spanish Civil War, where she bombarded the port of Almería. Her first operation during World War II was a commerce raiding operation into the southern Atlantic Ocean; she also made a brief foray into the Indian Ocean. During the operation, she sank 113,223 gross register tons (GRT) of shipping, making her the most successful capital ship surface raider of the war. Following her return to Germany, she was deployed to northern Norway to interdict shipping to the Soviet Union. She was part of the abortive attack on Convoy PQ 17 and conducted Operation Wunderland, a sortie into the Kara Sea. After returning to Germany at the end of 1942, the ship served as a training ship until the end of 1944, when she was used to support ground operations against the Soviet Army. She moved to Kiel for repairs in March 1945, where she was capsized by British bombers in a raid on 9 April 1945 and partially scrapped; the remainder of the wreck was buried when the inner part of Kiel dockyard was filled in after the war.
Admiral Sheer Being Launched on 1 May 1933
Photos of Admiral Sheer
Admiral Scheer ONIAdmiral Scheer 1935Admiral Scheer and Deutschland seen in May 1937Admiral Scheer in GibraltarAdmiral Scheer 1940Admiral Scheer fires on a British merchant ship, 1941Looking down on the Admiral Scheer April 30th 1942.Admiral Scheer and Prinz Eugen at Lofjord 1942Bombarding Port Dickson on the Soviet Arctic Coast, in 1942. Note 105.. A.A. Mount in foreground.Admiral ScheerAdmiral ScheerAdmiral ScheerAdmiral ScheerAdmiral ScheerAdmiral ScheerAdmiral ScheerAdmiral ScheerAdmiral Scheer 1942Admiral Scheer seen from behind Tirpitz’s Caesar turretAdmiral ScheerAdmiral ScheerAdmiral ScheerAdmiral ScheerAdmiral Scheer
Detailed Photographs
Midship Section Looking Forward Showing Conning Tower, Funnel and Secondary ArmamentMidship Section Showing Conning Tower, Funnel and Secondary ArmamentMidship Section Showing Conning Tower, Funnel and Secondary ArmamentMidship Section Looking Forward Showing Conning Tower, Funnel and Secondary ArmamentMidship Section Showing Funnel and Secondary ArmamentConning TowerConning TowerConning Tower Heinkel He 60 biplane observation floatplane
In Kiel and Capsized by British Bombers in a Raid on 9 April 1945
Admiral Scheer in Kiel May1945Admiral Scheer Capsized in Kiel, 1945Admiral Scheer at Kiel following an Allied air raid that occurred on April 9, 1945Admiral Scheer Sunk in Kiel May 1945Admiral Scheer Sunk in Kiel May 1945