The Scharnhorst was the first ship of the type with the same name - the Scharnhorst. It was ordered to replace in line the old battleship Elsass, completely obsolete in the 1930s. The Scharnhorst undoubtedly towered above any British heavy cruiser, while being clearly inferior to the artillery firepower of the Royal Navy battleships. This fact should not come as a surprise, as the ship was built primarily for cruiser service - so it was not to engage in open combat with British heavy ships, but rather to fight British merchant shipping, which was well suited to. The first actions during World War II took place as early as 1939, when Scharnhorst acted in the Iceland region against British merchant shipping. In 1940, he supported German landings in Norway and took part in the sinking of the British aircraft carrier HMS Glorious. From December 1940 to March 1941 - along with his twin Gneisenau - he performed a cruising service in the Atlantic, during which he sank 8-9 merchant ships. In February 1942, together with Scharnhorst and the cruiser Prinz Eugen, he had to flee from the British bombing of Brest to Wilhelmshaven. During this voyage it was seriously damaged, as a result of which it was renovated and repaired for 8 months. Scharnhorst was sunk on December 26, 1943 as a result of an artillery clash with British ships.