Editing Channel Dash (section)

====Night 12/13 and 13 February====

[[File:Cruiser Prinz Eugen underway in May 1945.jpg|thumb|{{centre|''Prinz Eugen'' (May 1945)}}]]
''Scharnhorst'' had fallen behind after hitting a mine and at {{nowrap|7:55 p.m.}} ''Gneisenau'' hit a magnetic mine off [[Terschelling]]. The mine exploded some distance from the ship, making a small hole on the starboard side and temporarily knocking a turbine out of action.{{sfn| Macintyre|1971|pp=144–145}} After about thirty minutes, the ship continued at about {{cvt|25|kn|mph+km/h}} and as ''Scharnhorst'' sailed through the same area, it hit another mine at {{nowrap|9:34 p.m.,}} both main engines stopped, steering was lost and fire control was damaged. The ship got under way with the starboard engines at {{nowrap|10:23 p.m.,}} making {{cvt|12|kn|mph+km/h}} and carrying about {{cvt|1000|LT|t|0}} of seawater.{{sfn|Roskill|1962|p=158}}{{sfn|Richards|1974|p=373}} ''Scharnhorst'' arrived at [[Wilhelmshaven]] at {{nowrap|10:00 a.m.}} on 13 February, with damage that took three months to repair. ''Gneisenau'' and ''Prinz Eugen'' reached the [[Elbe]] at {{nowrap|7:00 a.m.}} and tied up at Brunsbüttel North Locks at {{nowrap|9:30 a.m.}}{{sfn|Roskill|1962|p=158}} After receiving Ultra intelligence about German minesweeping in the [[German Bight]], Bomber Command had laid {{nowrap|69 magnetic}} mines along the swept channel on 6 February and {{nowrap|25 mines}} the next day. When the route of the channel was more accurately plotted on 11 February, four mines were laid, then more on 12 February when the Channel Dash was on. Enigma decrypts revealed the mining of the German ships but the news was kept secret by the British to protect the source.{{sfn|Hinsley|1994|p=138}}