Gneisenau Gneisenau, early Norwegian operations, 9-23 April 1940
By some accounts Gneisenau’s main turret tops were painted yellow as early as 10 February 1940. If this was so, then the ship would have used them for Operation Nordmark. The turrets were certainly so coloured when she provided distant cover for the invasion of Norway in April 1940. This was her appearance as she and her sistership encountered a British battle group and the ensuing duel with HMS Renown. A few days later, by order of Naval high Command the turrets were repainted red to
distinguish Kriegsmarine ships from Royal Navy ships that had begun to mimic German markings. The air recognition markings are slightly unusual: the fore and aft disks were usually the same size, but not here. Also, there are earlier photos showing a longitudinally aligned swastika aft, but this was soon changed to the more common oblique version. Orders for the use of this device were not needlessly specific.
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