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The Scharnhorst class battleships were the first warships of the Kriegsmarine in construction of which new armour plates made of hard Wotan (Wotan Hart) and soft Wotan (Wotan weich) steel were widely used. These materials replaced both nickel steel used so far for the previous Deutschland class warships as well as Krupp KNC (Krupp Non-Cemented) steel. Owing to a special welding technology, the new materials allowed for the use of thicker armour in comparison to its weight. They were used for 50 to 150 mm armour plates. The remaining armour was made of face-hardened steel (Krupp Cementiert Panzer – Krupp Cemented Armour), which could be welded. The main side armour stretched on both sides between the frames 32 and 185.7. It extended from 1.7 m below the waterline to 3 m above it. Amidship, it was 170 mm thick below the waterline and 350 mm above it. It the bow area it tapered from 150 to 70 mm and in the stern section respectively from 200 to 170 mm. Above the side armour was the anti-splinter armour made of hard Wotan steel. It was 40-45 mm thick in the citadel area and 35 mm thick in both the bow and stern sections. Internal protection was provided by longitudinal bulkheads. Anti-torpedo bulkhead stretching from frame 32 to 185.7 was made of 45 mm thick soft Wotan steel. Horizontal protection comprised two decks: upper deck and armoured deck. The upper deck that covered the entire hull was made of 50 mm thick hard Wotan steel, while the armoured, deck extending between the forward and aft armoured bulkheads (between the frames 10.5 and 185.7), was made of 80 to 95 mm thick hard Wotan steel. The battleship had three transverse armoured bulkheads, one forward and two aft. The first, 150 mm thick, was installed at the edge of the side armour, near the frame 185.7. The aft bulkhead, similarly to the forward one, was installed at the rear edge of the side armour, near the frame 32. It was made of 200 mm thick Krupp steel plates. The third one, 150 mm thick, was installed right after the steering gear. The armour of the main battery gun turrets varied in thickness from 90 to 360 mm. The face was protected by 360 mm thick armour and a sloped 150 mm thick plate. Side armour plates were 150 to 220 mm1 thick and the rear armour was 350 mm thick used also to properly balance the turret. The roof was made of 180 mm thick armour plates. The entire turret armour was made of Krupp steel.
The main battery of the Gneisenau was composed of nine quick-firing 28 cm SK C/34 guns manufactured by the Krupp armament works. The C/34 gun for the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau had the actual calibre of 283 mm and was mounted in Drh L C/28 triple gun turret. In comparison to the previous 28 cm C/34 model, the new gun fired a more elongated projectile, but the propellant charge remained the same as before. The additional weight of the projectile was connected with the use of a new type of warhead, which was assumed to be more effective in piercing armour plates. Early in her career the Gneisenau had a catapult installed on turret “C”, which considerably reduced its training speed. Consequently, it was removed in February 1940. Then, in the middle of 1942, the Gneisenau was disarmed and her “B” and “C” turrets were prepared to be sent to Norway in order to reinforce its coastal defence system. The secondary battery consisted of twelve 150 mm SK C/28 guns installed in four single open MPLC/28 mounts and four twin LC/34 turrets. General characteristics of the 28 cm and 15 cm guns are presented in the Table No. 2
The heavy anti-aircraft battery of the battleship included 14 quick-firing 10.5 cm SK C/33 guns installed in twin LC 31 gE mounts. Six open mounts were located on the lower level of the forward superstructure near the funnel and a single mount was installed on the aft superstructure in front of turret “C”. Medium 37 mm anti-aircraft battery consisted of 16 cannons installed in eight twin C/30 mounts. They were located as follows: four mounts on the lower superstructure deck directly behind turret “B”. Next four mounts were installed at the superstructure level on the sides of the aft fire control post. General characteristic of both anti-aircraft battery guns are presented in Table No. 3
The light anti-aircraft battery consisted of 10 single 20 mm MG C/30 cannons. They were replaced by MG C/38 type at the beginning of 1940. During the battleship’s entire career the number of the anti-aircraft cannons was frequently changed.
Table No. 4. General characteristics of the 2 cm MG C/30 cannon.
1 Length overall 2300 mm
2 Barrel length 1300 mm
3 Chamber length 140.6 mm
4 Rifling length 1159.4 mm
5 Grooves 8
6 Rifling length in calibres 36 calibres
7 Maximum elevation +85 degrees
8 Minimum depression –10 degrees
In the summer of 1941, while the battleship was stationed at Brest, she was equipped with two triple 533 mm torpedo tube mounting, located on the main deck, on both the sides of the aircraft hangar. They were previously used on board the light cruiser Leipzig. The ship carried a total of eighteen torpedoes.
