SMS Gneisenau
"Gneisenau" was laid down at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen, Germany in 1904, under construction number 144. She was launched on 14 June 1906, and commissioned into the fleet nearly two years later on 6 March 1908. The ship cost the German government 19,243,000 goldmarks. The ship had been designed for service with the High Seas Fleet, though it was found to be too weak for service with the battle fleet; instead it was deployed overseas, a role in which it performed well.
German battleship Gneisenau
Repair work on "Gneisenau" was completed by 26 February 1942, and she was scheduled to deploy to Norway on 6 March. Despite the fact that she was still in dry dock, her ammunition stores had been restocked and she was prepared for a short round of trials before her departure. On the night of 26–27 February, however, the British launched a heavy air raid on the ship. The ship was hit by a single bomb in her forecastle that penetrated the armored deck and exploded. Red-hot bomb fragments ignited propellant charges in the forward turret and caused a tremendous explosion. The turret was thrown off its mount and the entire bow section was burned out. The crew partially flooded the magazine to prevent a more catastrophic explosion. The blast killed 112 men and wounded 21 others.