Disclaimer:
This historic German film was produced during WWII as propaganda in support of the National Socialist regime. It is presented in its original form as an historical document so that students, educators, researchers and the general public can see how the Nazi regime justified its criminal activities. The political symbols of the regime, including the flag, swastika and eagle, may appear on screen. Periscope Film absolutely condemns the Nazi regime and affirms that it committed grave atrocities, war crimes, and crimes against humanity before and during WWII. These include the tragic, mass extermination of millions of innocent civilians. We preserve these films in part so that these terrible events and victims are not forgotten.
"Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it." -- Winston Churchill
Visit: [ Ссылка ]
This historic German film "Schlachtschiff in Fahrt" (literally -- "battleship cruise" or "battleships on patrol") shows the cruise of the German warships Gneisenau and Blucher in the North Atlantic in 1939 and 1940. It includes (at 8:15) a simulated attack by enemy aircraft. These two new ships were to be part of what Adolph Hitler hoped would be a new German Navy or Kriegsmarine that would challenge Britain's mastery of the sea. The cruiser Blucher would be sunk just a short time after the film was made, in 1940 during the invasion of Norway. The Scharnhorst class battleship Gneisenau was badly damaged in 1942 as the result of an air raid, and sunk as a block ship as Germany faltered in 1945.
Most of the shots in the film were taken from or on board of Gneisenau. At the end of the film there are some shots showing the pocket battleships Admiral Scheer and Deutschland.
Blücher was the second of five Admiral Hipper-class heavy cruisers built after the repudiation of the Treaty of Versailles. Named for Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, the Prussian victor of the Battle of Waterloo, the ship was laid down in August 1936 and launched in June 1937. She was completed in September 1939, shortly after the outbreak of World War II. After completing a series of sea trials and training exercises, the ship was pronounced ready for service with the fleet on 5 April 1940. She was armed with a main battery of eight 20.3 cm (8.0 in) guns and, although nominally under the 10,000-long-ton (10,000 t) limit set by the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, actually displaced over 16,000 long tons (16,000 t).
Immediately upon entering service, Blücher was assigned to the task force that supported the invasion of Norway in April 1940. Blücher served as the flagship of Konteradmiral (Rear Admiral) Oskar Kummetz, the commander of Group 5. The ship led the flotilla of warships into the Oslofjord on the night of 8 April, to seize Oslo, the capital of Norway. Two old 28 cm (11 in) coastal guns in the Oscarsborg Fortress engaged the ship at very close range, scoring two hits, as did several smaller guns in other batteries. Two torpedoes fired by land-based torpedo batteries struck the ship, causing serious damage. A major fire broke out aboard Blücher, which could not be contained. The fire spread to one of her anti-aircraft gun magazines, causing a large explosion, and then spread further to the ship's fuel bunkers. Blücher then capsized and sank with major loss of life.
Gneisenau was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser. She was the second vessel of her class, which included one other ship, Scharnhorst. The ship was built at the Deutsche Werke dockyard in Kiel; she was laid down on 6 May 1935 and launched on 8 December 1936. Completed in May 1938, the ship was armed with a main battery of nine 28 cm (11 in) C/34 guns in three triple turrets, though there were plans to replace these weapons with six 38 cm (15 in) SK C/34 guns in twin turrets.
Gneisenau and Scharnhorst operated together for much of the early portion of World War II, including sorties into the Atlantic to raid British merchant shipping. During their first operation, the two ships sank the British auxiliary cruiser HMS Rawalpindi in a short battle. Gneisenau and Scharnhorst participated in Operation Weserübung, the German invasion of Norway. During operations off Norway, the two ships engaged the battlecruiser HMS Renown and sank the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious. Gneisenau was damaged in the action with Renown and later torpedoed by a British submarine, HMS Clyde, off Norway. After a successful raid in the Atlantic in 1941, Gneisenau and her sister put in at Brest, France. The two battleships were the subject of repeated bombing raids by the RAF.
This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit [ Ссылка ]
