The 5th engagement in the Atlantic Campaign...
On 16 November 1939, the Kriegsmarine began planning their next convoy/commerce raiding foray into the North Atlantic, Operation Camulos. The “pocket battleship” Admiral Scheer, under the command of Kapitän zur See Theodor Kranke, and the new heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper, under the command of KptzS Hellmuth Heye, were moved to Kiel in preparation. On 22 December, Operation Camulos commenced, the ships sortied towards the Denmark Strait. In a supporting intelligence operation, on 24 December, the Abwehr passed misinformation to British Intelligence that Operation Camulos had been cancelled. As a result, the Admiralty, which had been contemplating assigning heavy escorts to North Atlantic convoys, in the form of old ‘R’ class battleships, elected not to do so on 26 December.
Ironically, the next day on 27 December, while on route to the Denmark Strait, Operation Camulos ran afoul of a British Patrol Group comprised of the cruisers Sheffield, under the command of Captain Charles Larcom, and Aurora, under the command of Capt. Gervase Middleton, approximately 120nm northeast of Raufarhöfn on the northeast tip of Iceland. The weather was surprisingly good for December; the sea state was 5, with visibility some 32,500 yards. The wind was 300o at 20 knots under two broken cloud layers at 4000 feet and 6000 feet.
The British Patrol Group was heading east at 16 knots when at 0800 they observed smoke to the south. Scheer and Hipper were steaming northwest at 24 knots, when they simultaneously spotted smoke to the north. Unlike most previous engagements, the likelihood of the smoke being from anything but a warship was extremely remote, so the Germans immediately turned south and went to flank speed in an attempt to disengage, while simultaneously preparing their Arado 196 floatplanes for launch. Meanwhile the British also turned south and worked up to flank speed. Unaccountably, Sheffield did not begin preparing her Supermarine Walrus floatplanes for launch until 0812, and then only one of them (Aurora had no aircraft).
At 0818, the Germans adjusted course simultaneously to turn back towards the wind, and launched their aircraft; this put them steaming west, with Hipper in echelon on Scheer’s starboard beam. This turn brought the two forces over the horizon, allowing both sides to positively identify the enemy. At 0824, KptzS Kranke ordered Hipper to slip back into a quarter line formation to unmask Scheer’s 11” guns. Scheer and Hipper opened fire ineffectually, while the British made their turn back towards the wind so Sheffield could launch her aircraft.
Ominously for the Germans, at 0830 they spotted more smoke to the west. Steaming towards them was a British Battle Group comprised of HMS Warspite, under the command of Capt. Victor Crutchley, and flying the flag of Admiral of the Fleet Sir Charles Forbes (CinC Home Fleet). Following Warspite were HMS Revenge under the command of Capt. Ernest Archer, and HMS Renown, still under the command of Capt. Charles Simeon. Admiral Forbes ordered his ships to their best speed, the 21 knots of Revenge, and wasted no time ordering Warspite and Renown to prepare their floatplanes for launch. The Germans executed a 135o simultaneous turn to port, and Hipper ordered one of her floatplanes to investigate the new smoke sighting. Even with the radical turn, 0830 saw first blood drawn, as Hipper’s 8” guns hit Aurora. Aurora’s A turret was knocked out, and she lost 5 knots of speed from flooding (1 hull box).
German gunnery continued to excel, with Scheer’s 11” hitting Sheffield at 0836. Sheffield lost her forward turret, and damage to her engines saw her speed cut to 21 knots (engineering hit). Meanwhile Admiral Forbes ordered his ships into a quarter line formation, in expectation of releasing Renown to maneuver independently, and Scheer and Hipper began making funnel smoke.
At 0842, Sheffield’s Chief Engineer informed Capt. Larcom the damage to her engines was irreparable, short of a dockyard. Capt. Larcom conned Sheffield out of Aurora’s path, and ordered Capt. Middleton to proceed on her own. As Capt. Middleton was acknowledging the signal, Hipper landed another salvo and knocked out Aurora’s B turret.
An observer with a God’s eye-view would have done a double take, as 0848 saw Warspite and Renown execute simultaneous 180o turns, in order to turn into the wind to launch their floatplanes, while Revenge hung back as if to watch (like Aurora, Revenge had no aircraft). Warspite and Renown continued and completed a full circle, and re-took up pursuit at 0854, with Revenge falling in again on Warspite’s quarter. By this time Renown had worked up to 29 knots, and was passing the flagship. Meanwhile, Scheer checked fire as Sheffield turned away, ordering her floatplane west to the new threat, and Hipper continued shooting at Aurora without success, while Aurora continued to try to close.
Finally, at 0906 Hipper found the range again. Aurora’s speed was further reduced to 21 knots (another hull box), and one of her 4” secondary mounts was knocked out. Then, at 0912, Hipper scored once more, knocking out Aurora’s Y turret, and jamming her rudder hard to starboard. With his main battery gone, and his ship circling out of control, Capt. Middleton decided discretion was the better part of valor. At 0918, as the Germans were now able to steam faster than the remaining British battleships, only Renown was still able to close the range. Hipper’s FlaK shot down one of Warspite’s Walrus amphibians, while Renown shot down Scheer’s Arado 196.
At 0924, Scheer’s FlaK scored, shooting down one of Renown’s Fairey III floatplanes. However, that was completely overshadowed as Warspite, with a blind over-the-horizon shot (thanks to gunnery spotting from her second Walrus, and rolling a 1 on a D20), hit Hipper from 31,200 yards. The plunging 15” shells tore through the German cruiser like a hot knife through butter. Some minor flooding reduced Hipper’s top speed to 29 knots (1 hull box), but the shells shredded Hipper’s boilers and turbines (2 engineering hits), leaving her slowing without power.
For some minutes while the shooting continued, neither side was able to hit the other. Hipper’s Chief Engineer was unable to repair her machinery, though not for a lack of trying. And in the interim, Admiral Forbes ordered Warspite and Renown to switch targets. Then at 0942, the dam burst. Renown landed a devastating salvo on Hipper (3 hits, for 9 equivalent damage rolls). Hipper’s C turret was knocked out, as were her searchlights and both starboard torpedo mounts. Her hangar and catapult were destroyed and two fires started, and while 2 hull boxes were lost, that was overshadowed by 2 bulkheads rupturing. As if that weren’t enough, Warspite outdid herself by hitting Scheer with another blind over-the-horizon shot, this time from 31,300 yards. Scheer lost her searchlights, a torpedo mount, and her catapult. A fire started and she also ruptured a main bulkhead.
0948 saw Hipper’s damage control teams manage to shore up one of the ruptured bulkheads, but water continued to pour in through the other. The fires continued unabated, and no more thought could be given to repairing her engines.
At 0954, even though Hipper’s damage control teams managed to repair the other ruptured bulkhead, it became obvious it was hopeless (the 2 fires eliminated the last hull box), and KptzS Heye gave the order to abandon ship. Scheer’s damage control teams manage to repair her ruptured bulkhead, though her fire still raged. However, Renown had shifted her fire to Scheer, and pummeled her. Scheer lost her other torpedo mount and 2 hull boxes.
Renown hit Scheer again at 1000, knocking out both of her 11” turrets.
At 1012, Hipper rolled over and sank. Scheer finally put out her fire, and at last managed to hit Renown – but only with her 5.9” secondary battery. The hit was on one of Renown’s fixed torpedo mounts, but the shell (which could penetrate CS armor at that range) failed to penetrate the CL “box protection” armor around Renown’s torpedo tubes.
At 1018, Warpsite, finally using director-controlled fire at a target she could actually see, hit Scheer, re-rupturing the main bulkhead, and KptzS Kranke ordered the abandon ship. Scheer slipped beneath the waves at 1042.
After the battle, the British moved in to rescue survivors. 346 of Hipper’s crew of 1,382 men, and 107 of Scheer’s crew of 1,070 men, were rescued from the frigid waters. Neither KptzS Kranke nor KptzS Heye were among them. Ironically, four of the survivors of Hipper’s crew were the pilots and observers of her Arado 196 floatplanes, who landed nearby and were picked up after scuttling their aircraft; however, Sheffield, Renown and Warspite all lost a floatplane as they crashed trying to land on the rough seas.
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