SMS Scharnhorst was an armored cruiser of the Imperial German Navy, built at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany. She was the lead ship of her class, which included SMS Gneisenau. Scharnhorst and her sister were enlarged versions of the preceding Roon class; they were equipped with a greater number of main guns and were capable of a higher top speed. The ship was named after the Prussian military reformer General Gerhard von Scharnhorst and commissioned into service on 24 October 1907.
Scharnhorst steaming at high speed, c. 1907–1908
Line drawing of the Scharnhorst class
Scharnhorst steaming at high speed around 1908, probably while on her sea trials
Pre-war photo of Scharnhorst
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast enough to outrun any battleship it encountered.
The Russian armored cruiser Rurik is an example of an armored cruiser.
Russian armored cruiser General-Admiral.
French armored cruiser Dupuy de Lôme
HMS Orlando