The Scharnhorst was a German capital ship of the Nazi Germany Kriegsmarine, classified as either a battleship or a battlecruiser. She served as the lead ship of her class, which included her sister ship, the Gneisenau. The vessel was constructed at the Kriegsmarinewerft dockyard in Wilhelmshaven.
The ship was laid down on June 15, 1935, and launched on October 3, 1936, before being completed in January 1939. Her primary armament consisted of a main battery of nine 28 cm (11 in) C/34 guns arranged in three triple turrets. Although there were plans to replace these weapons with six 38 cm (15 in) SK C/34 guns in twin turrets, those modifications were never implemented.