Editing Channel Dash (section)

===British air offensive, 1941===

From 10 January to mid-April 1941, Bomber Command aimed {{cvt|829|LT}} of bombs at the ships in Brest harbour. Winston Churchill issued the [[Battle of the Atlantic]] directive on 9 March, directing the priority of the British war effort temporarily to counter the German campaign against Atlantic convoys.{{sfn|Webster|Frankland|2006|pp=167, 234}} The RAF photographic reconnaissance unit (1 PRU) discovered ''Scharnhorst'' and ''Gneisenau'' in port on 28 March. Bomber Command flew about {{nowrap|1,161 sorties}} against the ships in Brest, through poor weather over the next two months. ''Gneisenau'' needed an engine room overhaul and entered dry dock on 4 April and an unexploded bomb was found between the stocks under the ship. ''Gneisenau'' had to be refloated and removed to defuse the bomb. ''Gneisenau'' was moored in an exposed position in the [[roadstead]], where it was photographed by a 1 PRU [[Supermarine Spitfire|Spitfire]] on 5 April.{{sfn|Barker|2009|pp=74–76}} A raid was quickly planned with the six [[Bristol Beaufort|Beaufort]] torpedo bombers at [[RAF St Eval]] for an attack at dawn the next day.{{sfn|Barker|2009|pp=74–76}}{{efn|These Beauforts were part of a group of nine aircraft on detachment to St Eval from  [[No. 22 Squadron RAF|22 squadron]]. Three aircraft were already on other operations, so only six were available. An attack by torpedo bombers against an elaborately defended harbour was judged to be a particularly hazardous operation. This was balanced against the instructions from Churchill that risks must be taken against such an important target. All the planners could do was ensure the best chance of hitting their target to balance against the high chance of losses. Accurate flying was needed to drop a torpedo in the confines of the harbour and high ground on the landward side made escaping the anti-aircraft fire unlikely.{{sfn|Barker|2009|pp=74–76}}}}

Three Beauforts carried bombs to damage the [[torpedo nets]] that were presumed to protect the ship and three carried torpedoes. Two of the bombers bogged when taxiing for take-off and the third never found Brest in the thick weather. Two of the torpedo-bombers arrived off Brest, where they were to wait until the nets had been bombed. As dawn arrived the Beaufort flown by [[Kenneth Campbell (VC)|Kenneth Campbell]] attacked and dropped the torpedo as they passed over the [[Mole (architecture)|mole]] giving it the maximum distance to arm on its run to its target. There were no torpedo nets and ''Gneisenau'' was hit on the starboard side in the region of the after turret; the Beaufort was shot down, killing all on board. The damage to ''Gneisenau'' was severe, affecting the starboard propeller shaft bearings and shaft tunnel, causing flooding where the explosion destroyed the watertight integrity of [[stuffing box]]es. Fuel and sea-water got into some important compartments and some equipment suffered shock damage. A salvage tug was needed to assist in getting the flooding under control.{{sfnm|1a1=Garzke|1a2=Dulin|1y=1985|1p=143|2a1=Hinsley|2y=1994|2pp=54–57|3a1=Richards|3y=1974|3pp=223–225, 233, 236–237|4a1=Barker|4y=2009|4pp=78-80}}

[[File:Brest, Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941 C2228.jpg|thumb|{{centre|[[No. 35 Squadron RAF|35 Squadron]] Halifax bombers over Brest, 1941}}|alt=Photograph taken from high level looking down shows two bomber aircraft over port]]
''Gneisenau'' went back into dry dock; on the night of {{nowrap|10/11 April,}} was hit by four bombs and had two near misses. One of the hits did not explode but the others killed 75 crewmen, jammed 'B' turret and distorted the armoured deck near it, made about a third of the crew quarters uninhabitable by fire and blast damage, destroyed the kitchens and bakery and affected some gunnery control systems.{{sfnm|1a1=Koop|1a2=Schmolke|1y=2014|1p=51|2a1=Hellwinkel|2y=2014|2p=61}} The damage to ''Gneisenau'' led the ''[[Seekriegsleitung]]'' (SKL) to raise the question of the suitability of Brest for heavy surface units; Raeder disagreed and wanted more air defences instead.{{sfn|Hellwinkel|2014|p=61}} ''Scharnhorst'' was not damaged but the bomb hits on the docks delayed its refit, which included a substantial overhaul of its machinery; the boiler [[superheater]] tubes had a manufacturing defect that had plagued the ship throughout Operation Berlin.{{sfn|Garzke|Dulin|1985|p=159}} Repairs had been expected to take ten weeks but delays, exacerbated by British mine laying in the vicinity, caused them to miss {{lang|de|[[Operation Rheinübung|Unternehmen Rheinübung]]}} (Operation Rhine Exercise). The sortie by {{ship|German battleship|Bismarck||2}} and ''Prinz Eugen'' into the North Atlantic went ahead and ''Bismarck'' was sunk; ''Prinz Eugen'' returned to Brest on 1 June. Hitler ordered that capital ships must operate with much greater caution, that severely limited the freedom of action of the German surface fleet.{{sfnm|1a1=Garzke|1a2=Dulin|1y=1985|1p=246|2a1=Hinsley|2y=1994|2pp=54–57|3a1=Richards|3y=1974|3pp=223–225, 233, 236–237}}

During the summer the new RAF [[heavy bomber]]s attacked ''Gneisenau'', ''Prinz Eugen'' and ''Scharnhorst''. ''Prinz Eugen'' was hit on the night of {{nowrap|1/2 July}} and put out of action. The sailing on 21 July of ''Scharnhorst'' to La Pallice forestalled a surprise attack by Bomber Command. ''Scharnhorst'' was attacked by six [[Short Stirling|Stirling]] bombers on the evening of 23 July and German fighters shot down one bomber. The attack on Brest took place in daylight on 24 July, with a loss of {{nowrap|13 bombers;}} La Pallice was bombed again by fifteen [[Handley Page Halifax|Halifaxes]]. The formation was met by {{nowrap|12 to  18 Bf 109s}} and [[Anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft fire]] ({{lang|de|FlaK}}) five bombers being shot down, five seriously damaged and ''Scharnhorst'' hit five times.{{sfn|Webster|Frankland|2006|pp=240–241}}{{efn|The plan had been to make a surprise attack on the ships at Brest in daylight, escorted by five long-range Spitfire squadrons, which by then had been fitted with external fuel tanks. Only {{nowrap|30 single-engined}} and nine twin-engined German day fighters were thought to be based near Brest, with another {{nowrap|60 at}} Cherbourg and the Channel Islands. Bomber Command planners thought that {{nowrap|140–150 bombers}} would be needed. The bomber pilots were inexperienced in formation flying and the number of long-range Spitfires was insufficient to escort a loose formation. [[Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress|Fortress Is]] were to attack first at height, followed by 18 [[Handley Page Hampden|Hampden]]s, with Spitfire escorts, to attract German fighters and leave them short of fuel and ammunition. The main force of {{nowrap|120 [[Vickers Wellington|Wellington]]}} bombers and heavy bombers were to attack for {{nowrap|45 minutes,}} with the last two Spitfire squadrons in the vicinity for any German fighters that managed to make second sorties. The fighters near Cherbourg were to be diverted by [[Bristol Blenheim|Blenheim]] bombers covered by Spitfires. The Hampden crews trained for a month but the plan was upset when ''Scharnhorst'' was found to have sailed to La Pallice, beyond the reach of the long-range Spitfires. The heavy bombers were taken out of the Brest attack and [[Avro Manchester|Manchester]] bombers were withdrawn due to mechanical defects, reducing the main force to {{nowrap|78 bombers.}} The rest of the bombers attacked Brest on 24 July; the Fortress crews saw a few German fighters and the Hampdens reported about {{nowrap|24 more}} but the main force was too small to swamp the German ground defences. Eleven bombers were shot down and two more bombers crashed on their return flights.{{sfn|Webster|Frankland|2006|pp=240–241}}}} While returning to Brest containing {{cvt|3000|LT}} of seawater, ''Scharnhorst'' was attacked by a Beaufort but shot it down before it could drop its torpedo.{{sfnm|1a1=Webster|1a2=Frankland|1y=2006|1pp=167, 240–241|2a1=Richards|2y=1974|2p=361}} By late July 1941, the bombing left the three large ships in Brest undergoing extensive repairs. ''Lützow'' had been seriously damaged by a torpedo on 13 June; ''Admiral Scheer'' and ''Admiral Hipper'' were undergoing maintenance in German shipyards, {{ship|German battleship |Tirpitz||2}} was still working up and ''Bismarck'' had been sunk. British code breakers had contributed to the destruction of the German supply-ship network in the Atlantic that supported surface ship actions against Allied convoys.{{sfn|Hellwinkel|2014|p=70}}

From 28 March to the end of July, {{cvt|1962|LT}} of bombs were dropped in {{nowrap|1,875 sorties,}} {{nowrap|1,723 by}} Bomber Command, which also sent {{nowrap|205 mine laying}} sorties, with another {{nowrap|159 from}} Coastal Command, laying {{nowrap|275 mines}} off Brest; the British lost {{nowrap|34 aircraft,}} three being mine layers. For the next two months, Bomber Command made frequent small attacks, then {{nowrap|56 bombers}} attacked on the night of {{nowrap|3/4 September,}} followed by {{nowrap|120 bombers}} on the night of {{nowrap|13/14 September.}} Frequent small attacks were resumed and about {{nowrap|1,000 sorties}} were flown from July to December.{{sfn|Roskill|1957|pp=487, 491}} At the start of the month, the Brest Group was made the Bomber Command priority again and from 11 December, bombing and mine laying took place nightly. When ''Prinz Eugen'' was found out of dry dock on 16 December,  a {{nowrap|101-bomber}} attack was made on the night of {{nowrap|17/18 December}} followed by a day operation by {{nowrap|41 heavy}} bombers on the afternoon of 18 December, escorted by ten fighter squadrons. ''Gneisenau'' was slightly damaged and dock gates were smashed, stranding ''Scharnhorst'' for a month, for the loss of six bombers. Attacks continued all month and another day raid by Halifaxes was made on 30 December. From 1 August to 31 December, {{cvt|1175|LT}} of high explosive and {{cvt|10|LT}} of incendiaries were dropped, eleven heavy bombers were shot down and considerable damage was inflicted on the docks and the town but none of the ships were hit again. ''Gneisenau'' was damaged on the evening of 6 January; 37 per cent of Bomber Command sorties between 10 December and 20 January 1942 were flown against the ships at Brest.{{sfn|Roskill|1957|p=491}}{{sfnm|1a1=Richards|1y=1974|1pp=349, 361–363|2a1=Webster|2a2=Frankland|2y=2006|2p=320}}{{efn|A Directorate of Bomber Operations paper of 5 April 1941 concluded that achieving one hit on each ship took 2,200 to 5,000 bombs.{{sfn|Webster|Frankland|1961|p=458}}}}