Admiral Hipper from Glowworm to the Barents Sea

Admiral Hipper entered the war after prolonged fitting and modification, then carried troops to Trondheim during Operation Weserübung and survived serious collision damage from HMS Glowworm. The collision stripped away a long section of starboard armor belt and destroyed a torpedo launcher, yet the cruiser continued the troop-delivery mission. During Operation Juno she sank the minesweeping trawler HMS Juniper, the tanker Oil Pioneer, and the empty troopship Orama. Later raiding and Norwegian service culminated in the Battle of the Barents Sea, after which Germany's major surface ships were increasingly sidelined. That outcome exposed the contradiction between using cruisers to threaten British trade and ordering commanders to avoid equal or stronger opponents.