Lützow - the renamed Deutschland - and Admiral Scheer formed much of the practical backbone of Germany's heavy-cruiser force. Admiral Scheer operated in the Atlantic, Norway, and the Baltic, including Operation Wunderland against Soviet Arctic shipping and the planned convoy interception Operation Rösselsprung. Long-range missions could exclude destroyer escorts because the escorts lacked the fuel endurance to accompany the raider, while moving fuel to support sorties created a separate logistical problem. With Graf Spee and Blücher lost early and only Hipper and Prinz Eugen remaining from the Hipper class, the operational fleet bore little resemblance to Plan Z's paper strength. The careers of these ships are the reality strand of the three-part framework: a few useful raiders carrying tasks that the projected fleet never became available to perform.
Notable Point · 22:29-27:45
The actual cruiser force and Admiral Scheer's reach
The wartime careers of Lützow and Admiral Scheer show both the reach of Germany's few heavy cruisers and the escort-and-fuel limitations that repeatedly constrained them.
Admiral Graf SpeeAdmiral Hipper (Cruiser)Admiral ScheerArctic ConvoysBaltic SeaCommerce RaidingCruisersDeutschland Class CruisersGerman Cruiser LutzowGerman Heavy Cruiser BlücherKriegsmarineLong-Range Destroyer EscortsNaval Fuel LogisticsNorwegian CampaignOperation RosselsprungOperation WunderlandOperational AvailabilityPQ 17Prinz Eugen