K.M. Scharnhorst - Paul Wright RSMA

German battleship. Built 1936. 35,000 tons.

Named after the two WW1 cruisers, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were the first modern German battleships built after WW1. Fast and powerful they were designed as commerce raiders and operated together successfully sinking many allied ships including the aircraft carrier Glorious. Unable to remain in the French port of Brest, both ships made the famous 'Channel Dash' under the noses of the British.

Finally, Scharnhorst was stationed in northern Norway, to threaten the Russian convoys setting out from Britain and it was on one of these sorties that she was intercepted by powerful units of the Royal Navy including the Battleship Duke of York and the cruiser Belfast.

At the Battle of the North Cape that followed, Scharnhorst fought as bravely as her WW1 namesake and finally blew up taking most of her crew to their deaths.

Oil on canvas.

Size 24 x 36 inches (61cm x 91cm)