SS Gneisenau (1935)

SS Gneisenau was a Norddeutscher Lloyd ocean liner that was launched and completed in 1935. Like several other German ships of the same name, she was named after the Prussian Generalfeldmarschall and military reformer August Neidhardt von Gneisenau (1760–1831).

Gneisenau was the second of three sister ships built for NDL. DeSchiMAG in Bremen built Gneisenau and SS Scharnhorst (1934), while Blohm + Voss in Hamburg built the third sister, SS Potsdam (1935).

Until the outbreak of the Second World War, the trio worked NDL's express service between Bremen and the Far East. At 21 kn they were some of the fastest ships on the route.