Postcard of German Battleship Gneisenau-The Gneisenau is a Scharnhorst class battleship and was the capital ship of the Kriegsmarine. This is the second vessel in this class, including her sister ship named the Scharnhorst. This ship was launched in 1936 and commissioned in 1938. The Gneisenau was involved in the battle of Norway and sunk the British aircraft carrier the HMS Glorious. She was armed with a main battery of nine 28 cm C/34 guns in three triple turrets. It was planned to upgrade these weapons, but a ship re-design would be required. Construction on the ship was about to begin when the war broke out, so redesign plans were abandoned. As an interesting note, both the Gneisenau and Scharnhorst made a daylight dash in 1942, and actually made it to the English Channel from occupied France. She was bombed many times by the RAF, but always repaired. This black and white postcard measures 5 ½ inches (13.97 cm) long by 3 ½ inches (8.89 cm) wide. It is in very good condition. There is one spot of discoloration on the upper left-hand corner, but otherwise this is very clean. The reverse is set up in traditional postcard style. If you have any interest in battleships, this is a cool card for you.