Action off Lofoten facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Action off Lofoten |
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| Part of the Norwegian Campaign, World War II | |||||||
 The capital ships that fought during the action off Lofoten: Scharnhorst (top), HMS Renown (middle), and Gneisenau (bottom). |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Kriegsmarine |
 Royal Navy |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Günther Lütjens |
Sir William Whitworth |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 2 battleships | 1 battlecruiser 9 destroyers |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 2 battleships damaged 6 killed |
1 battlecruiser slightly damaged 2 killed |
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The Action off Lofoten was a naval battle that happened during World War II. It took place on April 9, 1940, near the Lofoten Islands off the coast of Norway. This battle was fought between the German Navy (called the Kriegsmarine) and the British Royal Navy.
A German group of warships, led by Vice Admiral Günther Lütjens, included the powerful battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. They met a British group led by Admiral Sir William Whitworth. The British force had the battlecruiser HMS Renown and nine destroyers. After a short fight, the German ship Gneisenau was damaged, and the German ships decided to leave the area.
Contents
What Led to the Battle?
The Germans began their invasion of Norway, known as Operation Weserübung, on April 9, 1940. To protect their troops landing at Narvik, the German Navy sent a special force. This force included the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, a heavy cruiser called Admiral Hipper, and ten destroyers.
The British knew the Germans were gathering ships. So, they sent their own group of ships, led by Admiral Sir William Whitworth. Their goal was to lay mines in Norwegian waters and stop German ships from moving into the Atlantic Ocean. This plan was called Operation Wilfred.
Events Before the Fight
On April 7, the German force left Germany. British bombers attacked them, but caused no damage. The next day, April 8, Admiral Hipper and the German destroyers went to Narvik. The two German battleships, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, sailed north. They were trying to distract the British.
As Admiral Hipper left, it met a British destroyer, HMS Glowworm. This British ship had gotten separated from Admiral Whitworth's main group. Even though the German battleships were nearby, Admiral Hipper fought and sank Glowworm. Glowworm did manage to damage Admiral Hipper a bit.
Admiral Whitworth's main British force then spotted Scharnhorst and Gneisenau early on April 9. They quickly prepared to fight the German battleships.
The Ships Involved
Admiral Whitworth's force had the battlecruiser Renown and nine destroyers.
- The destroyers included HMS Hotspur, Hardy, Havock, and Hunter (H-class).
- HMS Esk (E-class).
- HMS Ivanhoe, Icarus, and Impulsive (I-class).
- HMS Greyhound (G-class).
Renown had been rebuilt between 1936 and 1939. It had stronger armor and better guns. Its main guns were six 15-inch guns, which could shoot further. It also had twenty 4.5-inch guns for defense.
Some of the destroyers, like the I and E-class ships, were set up for laying mines. This meant they had fewer of their normal guns. Greyhound and the H-class destroyers were stronger. They each had eight torpedo tubes and four 4.7-inch guns. Hardy had an extra 4.7-inch gun because it was a destroyer leader.
The German force had two Scharnhorst-class battleships. Each had nine 28.3 cm main guns and twelve 15 cm secondary guns. If the ships fought very close, the British force might have had an advantage. But from a distance, the German guns were more powerful. The German battleships were also faster than Renown. However, the British destroyers were faster than the German battleships. This meant the German ships were at risk from torpedo attacks by the destroyers.
The Battle Begins
At 3:50 AM, Gneisenau saw Renown on its radar. The German ships got ready for battle. The weather was very bad, with rough seas and poor visibility. This made it hard for the ships to get close enough to fight.
At 4:05 AM, Renown started the fight by shooting its 15-inch guns at Gneisenau. The German ships fired back at 4:11 AM. Gneisenau hit Renown twice with its 11-inch shells. Luckily, both shells did not explode. One hit the front mast, and the other went through the ship near the steering area.
Around the same time, Renown hit Gneisenau with two shells, and then a third. These hits damaged Gneisenau's control tower and its back gun turret, putting it out of action. An anti-aircraft gun was also hit. Renown then started firing at Scharnhorst, which was trying to hide Gneisenau with smoke.
Both German ships were also damaged by the rough seas as they tried to avoid Renown's fire. They had electrical problems in their gun turrets, which made their guns less effective. Renown also got some damage from the rough seas and from firing its own guns, which slowed it down.
The early shots were not continuous. The fighting stopped for 20 minutes around 5:00 AM. This was because huge waves were crashing over Renowns front gun turrets. The German ships sailed directly into the storm to escape. By this time, Renowns destroyer escorts had fallen behind because of the bad weather. Scharnhorst also started having radar problems around 4:20 AM.
German Withdrawal
At 5:20 AM, the battle started again, but neither side was hitting much. Both German ships were damaged by speeding through the storm. Gneisenau had a broken turret, and Scharnhorst's radar was not working. The Germans also worried about a torpedo attack on the damaged Gneisenau.
So, the Germans sped up and broke off the fight at 6:15 AM. The Germans thought Whitworth's smaller destroyers were much bigger, more powerful ships. They believed they were greatly outnumbered. Damaged and wanting to get away from what they thought was a stronger force, the German ships, led by Lütjens, managed to escape. They sailed west into the Arctic Ocean.
Because of its damaged side and problems firing into the storm, Renown had to stop chasing them. Instead, it moved to a position to cut off the German ships if they turned around. During the battle, Renown fired 230 large 15-inch shells and 1065 smaller 4.5-inch shells. Scharnhorst fired 182 11-inch shells, and Gneisenau only fired 54 11-inch shells.
What Happened After?
The British Royal Navy won a small victory in the battle itself. However, the Germans saw it as a big success for their overall plan. This is because Whitworth's ships were delayed long enough. This delay stopped them from getting in the way of the German troop landings at Narvik.
After the battle, Whitworth's force kept looking for the German battleships. While the British ships were busy, the German destroyers carrying troops managed to reach Narvik. They even destroyed two Norwegian coastal defense ships on their way.
After their fight with Renown, the German battleships met up with Admiral Hipper on April 11 near Trondheim. From there, they all returned to Germany. They reached Wilhelmshaven on April 12. There, the damage to Scharnhorst and Gneisenau from the battle and the rough weather was repaired.
See also
- List of Kriegsmarine ships
- List of classes of British ships of World War II
