 Admiral Scheer sailed in October 1940 on her first combat sortie . On the night of 31 October she slipped through the Denmark Strait and broke into the open Atlantic . Her B @-@ Dienst radio intercept equipment identified the convoy HX @-@ 84 , sailing from Halifax Nova Scotia . Admiral Scheer 's Arado seaplanes located the convoy on 5 November 1940 , The armed merchant cruiser HMS Jervis Bay , the sole escort for the convoy , issued a report of the German raider and attempted to prevent her from attacking the convoy . The convoy was ordered to scatter under cover of a smoke screen . Admiral Scheer 's first salvo scored hits on Jervis Bay , disabling her wireless equipment and steering gear . Shells from her second salvo struck the bridge and killed her commander , Edward <unk> . Admiral Scheer quickly sank Jervis Bay , but the delay allowed the majority of the convoy to escape . The Germans sank only five of the convoy 's 37 ships . 
