SMS Gneisenau
SMS "Gneisenau" was an armored cruiser of the German navy, part of the two-ship . She was named after August von Gneisenau, a Prussian general of the Napoleonic Wars. The ship was laid down in 1904 at the AG Weser dockyard in Bremen, launched in June 1906, and completed in March 1908, at a cost of over 19 million goldmarks. She was armed with a main battery of eight guns, had a top speed of , and displaced at full combat load.
German battleship Gneisenau
On 6 February, the two ships refueled from the tanker "Schlettstadt" south of Cape Farewell. Shortly after 08:30 on 8 February, lookouts spotted convoy HX 106, though it was escorted by the battleship . Lütjens' orders prohibited him from engaging Allied capital ships, and so the attack was called off. "Scharnhorst"s commander, "KzS" Hoffmann, however, closed to in an attempt to lure "Ramillies" away from the convoy so that "Gneisenau" could attack the convoy. Lütjens ordered Hoffmann to rejoin the flagship immediately. The two battleships steamed off to the northwest to search for more shipping. On 22 February, the pair spotted an empty convoy sailing west, though it dispersed at the appearance of the battleships. "Gneisenau" sank three ships, and along with a fourth destroyed by "Scharnhorst", the pair accounted for 25,784 GRT of Allied shipping.