Gneisenau was hit by the RAF in Kiel shortly after the Channel dash in 1942.
One of the luckiest hits of all times: the bomb detonated on the anti-bomb armour deck just beside the air vent of the propellant charge magazine for A turret. Hot splinters fell through the air vent and caused a detonation which lifted the A turret out of its bearings, destroyed a major part of the forecastle and killed 112 men.
While the whole forecastle was gutted she could still move under her own power and tranferred to Gotenhafen assisted by icebreaker "Stettin", which still exists as a museum ship.
That was to be part of a major reconstruction, in which the 15 cm secondary guns and the 10,5 cm flak were to be replaced by 12,8 cm dual purpose turrets, so the secondary artillery was landed as well.
Hitler was not content with the original 28 cm armament anyway (after insisting on it in the first place!) so the barbettes were constructed to take heavier calibers as well.
The forecastle was pretty much gutted.
The conversion scheme fell through after the Kriegsmarine shifted all priorities to U-Boats in 1943.
The old 28 cm turrets and secondary armament were installed in Norway, where one turret ("C", I think) and some 15 cm guns are still existing as museums.
Gneisenau was used as a Blockship in Gotenhafen in 1945, and was apparently torpedoed by both sides, last time by german S-Boats because a soviet artillery spotter had taken up residence in her main mast.
The Poles raised her in 1950 and scrapped her.
Scharnhorst was discovered in the Barents sea a few years ago, but is not in good shape.
__________________
|