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
"Gneisenau" was assigned to the forces participating in Operation "Weserübung", the invasion of Denmark and Norway. She and her sister were the covering force for the assaults on Narvik and Trondheim (Flag Officer "Vize Admiral" Günther Lütjens). The two ships left Wilhelmshaven on the morning of 7 April, along with the heavy cruiser and fourteen destroyers. The cruiser and destroyers carried the assault forces for Narvik and Trondheim, while "Gneisenau" and "Scharnhorst" provided cover for them. Later that day, at around 14:30, the three ships came under attack by a force of British bombers, though the bombers failed to make any hits. On the morning of 8 April, the destroyer encountered the British destroyer . Before being sunk, "Glowworm" rammed "Admiral Hipper", though the latter was not seriously damaged. The crews of the two battleships went to battle stations, though they did not take part in the brief engagement. At 21:00, "Gneisenau" and "Scharnhorst" took up a position west of the Vestfjorden to provide distant cover to both of the landings at Narvik and Trondheim.