Scharnhorst, German battle cruiser completed in 1939. It did great damage to Allied shipping in northern waters during World War II before it was sunk by the British battleship “Duke of York” on Dec. 26, 1943. The “Scharnhorst” was a heavily armed ship of 26,000 tons standard displacement, carrying a 1,400 man crew and four aircraft and armed with nine 11-inch, twelve 5.9-inch, and fourteen 4.1-inch guns and sixteen 37-millimetre anti-aircraft guns. The “Gneisenau” was its sister ship.