Launched in 1938, Gneisenau was the second and final ship of the Scharnhorst-class battlecruisers built for the Kriegsmarine. Operating alongside Scharnhorst, Gneisenau conducted raids in the Atlantic, striking Allied convoys and significantly complicating the operations of the British fleet.

In the game, Gneisenau represents a design based on her never-completed modernization, in which the original triple 283 mm gun turrets were replaced with three powerful twin turrets armed with 380 mm SK C/34 guns. This new main battery significantly boosted the ship’s combat capabilities. In addition to the main guns, Gneisenau is equipped with substantial secondary armament: twelve 150 mm SK C/28 guns and fourteen 105 mm SK C/33 dual-purpose guns housed in seven twin mounts. Her anti-aircraft defenses include sixteen 37 mm SK C/30 guns in eight twin mounts, thirty-two 20 mm C/38 autocannons in both single and quadruple mounts, and two triple 533 mm G7a torpedo tubes with a total loadout of 14 torpedoes.