 At her commissioning in November 1934 , Admiral Scheer was placed under the command of Kapitän zur See ( KzS ) Wilhelm Marschall . The ship spent the remainder of 1934 conducting sea trials and training her crew . In 1935 , she had a new catapult and landing sail system to operate her Arado seaplanes on heavy seas installed . From 1 October 1935 to 26 July 1937 her first officer was Leopold Bürkner , later to become head of foreign intelligence in the Third Reich . By October 1935 , the ship was ready for her first major cruise , when on 25 – 28 October she visited Madeira , returning to Kiel on 8 November . The following summer , she cruised out through the Skagerrak and the English Channel into the Irish Sea , before visiting Stockholm on the return voyage . 
