June 15, 1935-The keel of the Scharnhorst is laid in the Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven.
March 10, 1936-The Scharnhorst is launched.
January 7, 1939-The Scharnhorst is commissioned.
January 1939-The Scharnhorst takes part in shakedown training in the Jade Estuary.
February through July 1939-The Scharnhorst participates in training operations in the Baltic Sea.
July through August 1939-The Scharnhorst enters drydock in Wilhelmshaven so that the ships bow may be modified as part of final construction.
August through November 1939-The Scharnhorst trains in the Baltic Sea.
November 21, 1939-The Scharnhorst and Gneisenau are sent to attack the Northern Patrol, which was last reported around Iceland.
November 23, 1939-The Scharnhorst and Gneisenau sink the auxiliary cruiser Rawalpindi.
November 27, 1939-The Scharnhorst returns to Kiel.
February 18 through February 20, 1940-The Scharnhorst, Scharnhorst, Admiral Hipper, Z9 Wolfgang Zenker, Z20 Karl Galster, and Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp leave to intercept British convoys, but without result.
June 4 through June 10, 1940-The Gneisenau is the flagship for Operation Juno in the Polar Sea. The Scharnhorst is with the Gneisenau, Admiral Hipper, Z7 Hermann Schoemann, Z10 Hans Lody, Z15 Erich Steinbrick, and Z20 Karl Galster.
June 8, 1940-The Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Admiral Hipper, and destroyers engage the Royal Navy carrier Glorious and the destroyers Ardent and Acasta. All the British ships were lost. However, during the engagement, a torpedo from the destroyer Acasta slammed into the ship, damaging the third turret and the middle-starboard engine.
June 10, 1940-The Scharnhorst enters Drontheim Fjord.
June 1940-The Scharnhorst is sent to Kiel after emergeny repairs on the ship are carried out in the Drontheim Fjord.
December 28, 1940-The Scharnhorst and Gneisenau abort an attempt to break out into the North Atlantic due to severe weather.
January 22, 1941-The Scharnhorst and Gneisenau break out into the North Atlantic.
February 4, 1941-The Scharnhorst reaches the southern tip of Greenland.
February 8, 1941-The Scharnhorst and Gneisenau break off a planned attack on convoy HX-108 after a report that the Royal Navy battleship Ramilles was in the area.
February 22, 1941-The Scharnhorst and Gneisenau sink four merchant vessels around Newfoundland.
March 7 through March 9, 1941-The Scharnhorst and Gneisenau break off an attack on a second convoy when the Royal Navy battleship Malaya is reported in the area.
March 15, 1941-The Scharnhorst and Gneisenau sink 16 merchant vessels before being sighted by the British battleship Rodney on March 16. The Rodney queries the ship on its identification, to which the German Gneisenau replies “H.M.S Emerald”. The Scharnhorst and Gneisenau then return home to Brest, arriving 6 days later, on March 22.
March 1941 through February 1942-The Scharnhorst is hit by 5 bombs while based in Brest. The ship is heavily damaged and is out of service until it can be replaced.
February 11 through February 13, 1942-The Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Prinz Eugen, Z4 Richard Beitzen, Z5 Paul Jacobi, Z7 Hermann Schoemann, Z14 Friedrich Ihn, Z25, Z29, and fourteen torpedo boats break into the Atlantic for Operation Cerberus.
March 1943-The Scharnhorst leaves for north Norway, stationed in the Alta Fjord.
September 6 through September 7, 1943-The Scharnhorst, along with Tirpitz, Z6 Theodor Reidel, Z10 Hans Lody, Z15 Erich Steinbrick, Z20 Karl Galster, Z27, Z29, Z30, Z31, Z33 all leave to attack the Allied base at Spitzbergen.
September through December 1943-The Scharnhorst is stationed at the Kaa Fjord, then at the Lang Fjord.
December 25, 1943-The Scharnhorst, Z29, Z30, Z33, Z34, Z38 leave to attempt an attack on convoy JW-55B, but is detected by British cruisers, which relay the sighting on to a larger force.
December 26, 1943-The Scharnhorst is sighted by the British battleship Duke of York, and is sunk by the British ship at roughly 7:45 p.m., after several hours of fighting. Of the entire crew, only 36 of the Scharnhorst’s crew would survive.
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