May 6, 1935-The keel of the Gneisenau is laid down in the Deutsche Werke shipyards of Kiel.
December 8, 1936-Gneisenau is launched.
May 21, 1938-Gneisenau is commissioned and embarks on training operations.
August through November 1938-Gneisenau takes part in North Atlantic battle training.
October 1939-Gneisenau leaves with the light cruiser Köln, along with destroyers Z3 Max Schultz, Z5 Karl Galster, Z11 Bernd Von Arnim, Z14 Friedrich Ihn, Z15 Erich Steinbrick, Z16 Frederick Eckoldt, Z17 Diether Von Roeder, Z20 Karl Galster and Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp all depart to disrupt trade between Scandinavia and Britain, but return without having successfully sunk a single vessel.
November 21, 1939-Gneisenau and Scharnhorst are sent to attack the Northern Patrol, which was last reported around Iceland.
November 23, 1939-Gneisenau and Scharnhorst sink the auxiliary cruiser Rawalpindi.
November 26, 1939-Gneisenau receives heavy damage from a storm while in the Shetland-Bergen Narrows.
November 27, 1939-Gneisenau returns to Kiel to begin repairs.
February 4, 1940-The repairs of the Gneisenau are completed and the ship is ordered transferred to Wilhelmshaven.
February 18 through February 20, 1940-Gneisenau, Scharnhorst, Admiral Hipper, Z9 Wolfgang Zenker, Z20 Karl Galster, and Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp leave to intercept British convoys, but again without result.
April 6 through April 12, 1940-Gneisenau is hit once in a battle against the battlecruiser Renown and the cruiser Birmingham while on Operation Weserübung. The ship was chosen as the flagship of Vice Admiral Lütjens throughout this operation.
April 12, 1940-Gneisenau arrives in Wilhelmshaven.
June 4 through June 10, 1940-Gneisenau is again the flagship, this time for Operation Juno in the Polar Sea. The battlecruiser is with the Scharnhorst, Admiral Hipper, Z7 Hermann Schoemann, Z10 Hans Lody, Z15 Erich Steinbrick, and Z20 Karl Galster.
June 8, 1940-Gneisenau, Scharnhorst, Admiral Hipper, and destroyers engage the Royal Navy carrier Glorious and the destroyers Ardent and Acasta. All the British ships were sunk during the engagement.
June 10, 1940-Gneisenau enters Drontheim Fjord.
June 10 through June 12, 1940-Gneisenau and Admiral Hipper plan to enter the Polar Sea, but are recalled and return to Drontheim.
June 20, 1940-Gneisenau and Admiral Hipper are en route to Iceland when the Gneisenau is hit by a torpedo fired from the British submarine Clyde, forcing the ship to return to Drontheim for temporary repairs. Just barely over a month later, the Nuernberg escorts the damaged Gneisenau to Kiel for further repairs.
July 28, 1940-Gneisenau arrives in Kiel and enters drydock for the rest of the year.
December 28, 1940-Gneisenau and Scharnhorst abort an attempt to break out into the North Atlantic due to severe weather. The Gneisenau received minor storm damage.
January 22, 1941-Gneisenau and Scharnhorst break out into the North Atlantic.
February 4, 1941-Gneisenau reaches the southern tip of Greenland.
February 8, 1941-The Gneisenau and Scharnhorst break off a planned attack on Convoy HX-108 after a report that the Royal Navy battleship Ramilles was in the area.
February 22, 1941-Gneisenau and Scharnhorst sink four merchant vessels around Newfoundland.
March 7 through March 9, 1941-Gneisenau and Scharnhorst sink 16 merchant vessels before being sighted by the British battleship Rodney on March 16. The Rodney queries the ship on its identification, to which the German Gneisenau replies "H.M.S Emerald". The Gneisenau and Scharnhorst then return home to Brest, arriving 6 days later, on March 22.
April 1941-Gneisenau is forced to enter drydock after being torpedoed once by an aircraft early in the month.
February 11 through February 13, 1942-Gneisenau, Scharnhorst, Prinz Eugen, Z4 Richard Beitzen, Z5 Paul Jacobi, Z7 Hermann Schoemann, Z14 Friedrich Ihn, Z25, Z29, and fourteen torpedo boats break into the Atlantic for Operation Cerberus. The Gneisenau strikes a mine while en route to Kiel.
February 26, 1942-Gneisenau receives a devastating bomb hit during an evening air raid, the ensuing fires burn out the forward bow of the ship.
April 4, 1942-Gneisenau is sent to Gotenhafen, then decommissioned, awaiting reconstruction.
July 1943-Gneisenau is removed from service.
December 1943-The work on the Gneisenau is halted after the battlecruiser Scharnhorst is sunk.
March 1945-Gneisenau is sunk as a blockade ship.
1947-The wreck of the Gneisenau is gradually broken up for the next 3 years.
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