SMS Scharnhorst found

[cardboard_killer]

German WWI wreck Scharnhorst discovered off Falklands

 

Quote

The wreck of a World War One German armoured cruiser has been located off the Falkland Islands, where it was sunk by the British navy 105 years ago.

 

SMS Scharnhorst was the flagship of German Vice-Admiral Maximilian Graf von Spee's East Asia Squadron.

 

It was sunk on 8 December 1914 with more than 800 men on board, including Vice-Adm von Spee himself.

 

[AndyJWest]

The BBC previously reported that the Scharnhorst had been found back in 2000: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/scharnhorst_01.shtml#four

 

Did they find it, and then lose it again?

 

Edit: Oops. Different Scharnhorst. Should have read more carefully...

Edited December 5, 2019 by AndyJWest

[cardboard_killer]

Yes, different war, different ship, different ocean. That Scharnhorst was KMS Scharnhorst, this one SMS Scharnhorst. Similar results.

[Chief_Mouser]

Always been fascinated by these battles. The Royal Navy hadn't lost a battle for over 100 years when the Scharnhorst etc sunk HMS Monmouth and HMS Good Hope; the RN were really annoyed and made sure that the German ships paid for their audacity. Over 3500 men lost in total; WW1 was just beginning in earnest...

[MiloMorai]

HMS Monmouth seen at Devonport Dockyard, Plymouth, England. The oil storage tanks at Torpoint on the Cornish side of the River Tamar can be seen in the background.

 

HMS Good Hope

 

Battle of Coronel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Coronel

[Semor76]

@cardboard_killer Thank you for bringing this up here. I´ve already read about it last week. It was in every german newspaper/magazine.

 

Fascinating look at the wreck after all these years. A relative of mine has found his wet grave down there. My great grandfather, Wilhelm Knörnschild has a younger brother, Gustav. He was a Bootsmaat (Deck seemen) aboard S.M.S. Scharnhorst as the ship fought her last battle. He lost his life at the age of 19.

His brother Wilhelm had more luck. Otherwise I would not be here to write this. He served the entire war on S.M.S Lübeck at the baltic sea and survived this bloodshed with only minor injuries.

I still own a classic wartime postcard from him and his ship. I try to make a photo from it.

I´m already in touch with the Falklands Maritime Heritage to get access to the video and photos from the dive session.

 

 

Edited December 11, 2019 by Semor76

[cardboard_killer]

Another tragedy among four years of tragedies.

[Semor76]

On 12/11/2019 at 10:55 PM, Semor76 said:

 

I still own a classic wartime postcard from him and his ship. I try to make a photo from it.

 

 

 

 

Photo taken with my mobile, maybe not the best quality. This collage is now 103 years old and the only wartime photo from my great grandfather.

[DD_Arthur]

Fascinating Semor.  A real piece of history.

 

Your great grandfather must have seen a great deal of action on the Lubeck.

 

 

[Semor76]

@DD_Arthur

 

Thanks Arthur. Unfortunately his diary was lost over the time. I have only this wartime photo (and some from the 1940´s) and the few storys that my grandmother had told me before she passed away in 2014.

 

The story of the ship can be found on wikipedia. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Lübeck

 

But only via the german version. The british wiki has no entry for the Lübeck, but Google translate should be your friend here.

 

Another very informative page is here. But again, all in german. https://deutsche-schutzgebiete.de/wordpress/projekte/kaiserliche-marine/seiner-majestaet-schiffe/s-m-s-luebeck-1904/

 

Back to the S.M.S. Scharnhorst. I will post some more photos and the video from the diving session here in this thread if the Falklands Maritime Heritage will grant me permission to do so.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 13, 2019 by Semor76

[MiloMorai]

9 hours ago, Semor76 said:

But only via the german version. The british wiki has no entry for the Lübeck, but Google translate should be your friend here.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Lübeck

[cardboard_killer]

Admiral Graf von Spee's namesake ship.

Edited December 13, 2019 by cardboard_killer

[Semor76]

5 hours ago, MiloMorai said:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Lübeck

Thanks!

 

As always, english Wiki is the better resource ?

 

[Heliopause]

Jansen, Hermann. A lot of Jansen names in Holland. Dutch connection Semor?

[PatrickAWlson]

I'm guessing that the names Scharnhorst and Gneisenau are permanently retired from the German navy.

[MiloMorai]

SMS Scharnhorst

Hundreds of ship photos, https://dennilfloss.blogspot.com/2013/