Sinking of Admiral Scheer

Date: April 9, 1945 • Location: Kiel, Germany

The German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer (pictured), the most successful capital-ship surface raider of the Second World War, was sunk by British bombers in port in Kiel.

A heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in calibre, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and the London Naval Treaty of 1930. Heavy cruisers were generally larger, more heavily armed and more heavily armoured than light cruisers while being smaller, faster, and more lightly armed and armoured than battlecruisers and battleships. Heavy cruisers were not considered capital ships, unlike battlecruisers, battleships, and fleet carriers. Heavy cruisers were assigned a variety of roles ranging from commerce raiding to serving as 'cruiser-killers,' i.e. hunting and destroying similarly sized ships.