the command of Admiral Günther Lütjens, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau broke into the Atlantic in late January 1941 to raid convoys between North America and Great Britain. On 8 February, they spotted a convoy, HX 106, but it was escorted by the battleship , armed with eight 38 cm (15 in) guns. The German ships therefore broke off the attack. A second convoy was encountered on 22 February; Scharnhorst sank the tanker Lustrous, while Gneisenau accounted for four cargo ships. On 8 March, Scharnhorst spotted another convoy, but it too had battleship protection, in the form of . A week later, on the 15th, another convoy was intercepted; Scharnhorst sank two vessels while Gneisenau captured three and sank one. Following the engagement, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau headed for Brest in occupied France; they arrived on 22 March. Scharnhorst had suffered repeated problems with defective superheater tubes in her boilers and this needed the repair facilities that existed in the French naval dockyard. Air raid damage Brest was comfortably within range for air attack from Britain. A series of raids started on 30 March. On 6 April, four Beaufort torpedo-bombers attacked Gneisenau after she had been moved to a buoy from dry dock. One of the attacking aircraft was successful; the hit did significant damage to the ship. Gneisenau shipped some of water, which caused her to list 2° and settle lower in the water. The shock force of the explosion also did a great deal of internal damage; fuel tanks were ruptured and electrical systems were damaged. A salvage tugboat was brought alongside to assist in flood control. Gneisenau was put into dry dock for repairs, which were prolonged by further British air raids. On the night of 9–10 April, British high-level bombers attacked both Gneisenau and Scharnhorst. The latter escaped unscathed, but the former was struck four times; 72 men were killed and another 90 were wounded.Scharnhorst completed engine repairs and the retubing of the defective superheaters in July, and after engine trials, was dispersed to La Pallice on 23 July to avoid a concentration of heavy units in Brest. While moored there on 24 July, Scharnhorst was attacked by 15 Halifax bombers from 2 squadrons; five bombs—two high explosive and three semi-AP —found their mark. The two 454 kg bombs penetrated both armored decks, all the way down through the double bottom, before coming to rest on the sea floor;