The heavy cruiser "Prinz Eugen" was the pride of the fleet of Nazi Germany. It was the most powerful weapon at the time at sea, made to meet all modern requirements and had one of the best characteristics among military ships of the Second World War. However, the fate of this ship was quite tragic. Let's find out what the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen was like, its main characteristics and history until its death.
History of Creation
The German cruiser Prinz Eugen was created in the second half of the 30s of the last century. The order for its creation was received by the German shipyard of Heinrich Krupp Germaniawerft in November 1935. This company was founded by entrepreneur Lloyd Foster in 1867 in the city of Gaarden, near Kiel, three years before the emergence of a unified German Empire under the rule of Prussia. Initially, the company was called the "North German Construction Company". In 1896, it was acquired by one of the richest entrepreneurs in Germany - the Krupp family. The shipyard produced not only military, but also civilian ships. At the turn of the century, she came in second placefor the supply of ships for the German imperial fleet. During World War I, she also supplied the army with submarines.
"Prinz Eugen" was to be the third German ship of the program, under which heavy cruisers of the "Admiral Hipper" type were produced. Two ships have already been produced in this series - the Admiral Hipper built in 1937, after which the entire line of ships was named, as well as the Blucher of the same year of manufacture. In addition, two more cruisers, Lutzow and Seydlitz, were to be built. But they were not yet ready for the end of the war. During the construction of "Prinz Eugen" received the symbol "J".
Construction began in April 1936 and lasted almost two and a half years. It cost the German treasury 109 million Reichsmarks. For comparison, the cost of a British ship of a similar type "County" was 2.5 times less. In the end, the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen was launched in August 1938. But it took another two years to finalize all the internal components and equipment. As a result, the cruiser finally entered service with the German fleet only in August 1940.
Cruiser name
The heavy German cruiser "Prinz Eugen" got its name in honor of the greatest commander of the Austrian state of the Habsburgs at the turn of the 17th-18th centuries, Prince Eugene of Savoy. Although he belonged to one of the ruling feudal ducal families in Italy and was born in Paris, most of his outstanding merits, in particular successful actions in the War of the Spanish Succession and in the Turkish company, were obtained onservice to the Austrian crown. Among his great victories as a military leader are the following battles: the battle of Zenta (1697), the repulse of the siege of Turin (1706), the battle of Malplaka (1709), the capture of Belgrade (1717).
Just in 1938, the Anschluss (accession) of Austria to Germany took place. This was presented by fascist propaganda as the reunification of the nation. To show the unity of Germany and Austria, it was decided to name the new ship in honor of the outstanding Austrian commander. The glory of Eugene of Savoy was supposed to be an omen of the cruiser's victories. This is how the 1938 Prinz Eugen got its name.
Specifications
What was the heavy cruiser "Prinz Eugen" in technical terms?
Its length was 199.5 m with standard rig, and 207.7 m with full rig. The ship's displacement was 14,506 tons with standard rigging, and 19,042 tons with full rigging. The width of the ship is 21.7 m. The maximum speed of the cruiser reached 32 knots, which was equal to 59.3 km / h. The total power of the ship's three steam turbines and twelve boilers is 132,000 horsepower, or 97 MW. The draft of the Prinz Eugen vessel ranged from 5.9 to 7.2 m. At a speed of 16 knots, the cruiser could sail non-stop for a distance of up to 6.8 thousand nautical miles. The crew of the ship consisted of a team of 1400-1600 people, which was quite a lot for a vessel of this class.
The thickness of the armor on the towers reached 160 mm. At the same time, it was the thinnest on the deck - 30 mm, and on the sides - from 40 mm. Thicknessarmor on traverses and barbettes was 80 mm.
"Prince Eugen" was equipped with the most modern electronic equipment at that time, the quality of which could not boast of all warships in the world. He was especially famous for his means of detection, capable of finding the enemy at sea, in the sky and under water. There were even analog computers aboard the ship. However, the abundance of electronics sometimes played a bad joke with the cruiser, as new technologies still had a number of drawbacks, and some were clearly “raw”. But even despite this, in terms of technological stuffing, the ship had no equal in Europe.
Armaments
Combat power was not Prinz Eugen's forte. But at the same time, this disadvantage was compensated by the possibility of more targeted fire control compared to other ships and the availability of modern means of detecting the enemy.
The ship's armament consisted of eight 203 mm artillery guns, twelve 105 mm anti-aircraft artillery guns, six 37 mm automatic guns, and ten 20 mm guns. In addition, the cruiser had four 533 mm torpedo tubes with 12 torpedoes. The aviation group consisted of one pneumatic catapult and four reconnaissance seaplanes.
First battle
The Prinz Eugen received its baptism of fire during the naval battle that became known as the Battle of the Denmark Strait.
The ship first went to the open sea in May 1941. Hisaccompanied by two destroyers, as well as several barrier breakers. Soon "Prinz Eugen" connected with another famous ship of the Second World War - the battleship "Bismarck". Their joint path ran through the Danish Strait.
The movement of German ships was blocked by British ships. On May 24, 1941, a battle took place between them. Several British ships were destroyed in the battle, the Bismarck battleship was damaged, and Prinz Eugen was able to break through the strait. The ship entered the North Sea. However, due to a number of circumstances, he failed to profit from the capture of enemy merchant ships. In June 1941, after a two-week voyage, the cruiser arrived at the port of the French city of Brest, controlled by the Wehrmacht.
Return to Germany
But in Brest, the Prinz Eugen and other German ships were constantly in danger of destruction due to periodic British air raids. In February 1942, it was decided to return the cruiser, along with the battleships Gneisenau and Scharnhost, to German ports. This event to break through to the native shores was called "Operation Cerberus".
Despite the fact that during the return home the cruiser was repeatedly attacked by aircraft and enemy ships, it still managed to reach the mouth of the Elbe River in less than three days. The operation could be considered successfully completed. It was an unprecedented and daring breakthrough across the English Channel, right under the noses of the British air force and navy. The breakthrough marked a moral victory for the Germans and strengthenedtheir spirit. Although the strategic turning point in the losing situation for Germany at sea did not happen.
In the waters of the B altic
The next stage of the Prinz Eugen's activity is associated with being in the waters of the B altic Sea, where he was soon transferred.
This period of the cruiser's history cannot be called glorious. In fact, at that time it served as the largest gunboat in the B altic, although, of course, this was not its original purpose. Mainly "Prince Eugen" carried out shelling of the coast occupied by the enemy. Even their own coasts and bases had to be shelled. So, for example, it happened when the Red Army approached Gotenhafen. Then even the environs of Danzig (modern Gdansk in Poland) suffered from shelling. In the same period of its existence, the cruiser went on a raid to the coast of Norway.
Strange things happened to him too. So, "Prince Eugen" rammed the German cruiser "Leipzig", which had just left the docks.
In April 1945, "Prince Eugen" was sent to the capital of Denmark - Copenhagen. There he stayed until the signing of the surrender by Germany.
Results of the war
Despite the fact that the German leadership had high hopes for the Prinz Eugen cruiser, it was not destined to justify their ship. The ship was intended for battles in the Atlantic Ocean with the fleets of the United States and Britain, but most of the time she sailed as a gunboat in the B altic Sea. This was mainly due to the fact that Germany never managed to impose a serious war on the Allies at sea. Kriegsmarine (naval forces of the Third Reich) is clearlyinferior in power to the British fleet, which firmly held the lead in European seas.
Moreover, according to the results of the war, it turned out that "Prince Eugen" could not sink any of the enemy ships. Although he damaged one of the British destroyers and shot down about a dozen enemy aircraft. But it must be rightly noted that the enemy could not inflict any significant damage on him either. But by the end of the war, the cruiser's ammunition was running out. For example, Germany stopped producing shells for 8-inch guns back in 1942. Less than forty shells of 203 mm caliber, which were the main ones, remained on board the cruiser.
It can be said that the actions of the "Prince Eugen" in the B altic Sea, where she cruised for most of her short history, were very reminiscent of shooting at sparrows from a cannon. A heavy cruiser of this size and technical equipment was too expensive a project to serve as the "largest gunboat in the B altic Sea." But the greatest feat of the ship was yet to come, after the end of the war. We will talk about it in detail below.
In US Navy
After the surrender of Germany in May 1945, "Prinz Eugen" was transferred to the United States of America in accordance with the Potsdam agreements. In January 1946 she was transferred to Bremen and attached to the US Navy. However, then he received the status of not a combat ship, but only a test ship. The command of the cruiser was transferred to Captain 1st Rank A. Graubart, who, despite American citizenship, was an ethnic German.
Soon the cruiser made a transatlanticvoyage, during which he was transferred from Bremen to the American city of Boston. In the port of this settlement, "Prinz Eugen" was carefully examined. Also, all equipment, including weapons, was unloaded from it ashore. Based on the results of the commission, it was decided to send the ship to Bikini Atoll as a target for testing nuclear weapons.
In March, the cruiser sailed from Boston for transfer to the waters of the Pacific Ocean, which came through the Panama Canal. Then, already in the Pacific, it moored off San Diego in California. After that, "Prince Eugen" headed for Hawaii. In the first half of May, he reached the American base on these islands - Pearl Harbor. Arrived at Bikini Atoll in June 1946, final destination.
Nuclear test
The sinking of the ship "Prinz Eugen" occurred as a result of a test by the United States of nuclear weapons on Bikini Atoll. Explosions were made on July 1, 1946. In addition to the cruiser "Prinz Eugen", other warships of the world, in particular captured and decommissioned American ships, took part in it.
The first nuclear attack was on the cruiser from the air. The horizon lit up with a bright blinding light, a roar of terrifying power sounded. The epicenter of the explosion from the dropped nuclear bomb was 8-10 cables from the ship. Everyone thought that the ship had been blown to pieces. But, despite expectations, the damage to the cruiser was insignificant. In fact, they were concluded only with the paint completely torn from the side.
The next explosion of a nuclear warhead was carried out underwater. This time the damage was much worse.significant. Sheathing sheets were pressed into the cruiser, and she let out a leak, but at the same time she did not sink and did not roll. Such resilience of the German ship amazed the Americans. They planned to completely destroy it during the explosions described above. Now, Prinz Eugen has been towed to Kuazlen Atoll and awaiting future tests.
But, unfortunately, the ship's hull was too radioactively contaminated. Therefore, they decided to destroy the cruiser in the course. However, even after the third explosion, the ship remained afloat. Its flooding occurred gradually, when one compartment was flooded after another. In the end, in the 20th of December 1946, the pumps could no longer cope with the incoming amount of water. The ship rolled, and the windows were below sea level. The US military nevertheless made an attempt to save the ship, but it was too late, the cruiser sank near the Kuazlen atoll, leaving only the keel on the surface. In that place, his remains lie at the bottom of the sea to this day.
Truly, the durability of the ship is amazing. But there are also some questions. What if the cruiser was not just a target for nuclear bombs, but there would be a team on it that fought for the life of the ship, patched up holes, helped pump out water to the pumps? It is possible that in this case even three explosions would not have been enough to sink the Prinz Eugen.
But be that as it may, the ship, which was built by the Germans to terrify the Americans and their allies, became an unwitting accomplice in testing the strongest weapon in the world, designedserve as a symbol of US military power. However, the Americans now had another main rival. After the collapse of the Third Reich, it became the Soviet Union.
General characteristics of the ship
The Prinz Eugen cruiser was a unique ship of its kind. Like all heavy cruisers of the Admiral Hipper type, the ship's displacement exceeded 10 tons, although this particular mark was the boundary for ships of this class according to Washington restrictions. But Germany itself has set limits for itself. True, due to the increase in the displacement of the ship, its speed and maneuverability suffered.
Although the original purpose of the construction of the "Principle Eugen" was to strengthen the German fleet in the battles for the Atlantic, in fact, he cruised mostly in the waters of the B altic Sea or was laid up altogether. The ship participated in only one more or less serious battle, at the very beginning of its combat history - in the battle in the Danish Strait. At the same time, for the entire period of its existence, this cruiser failed to destroy a single enemy ship.
However, the enemy did not manage to seriously damage the ship "Prince Eugen", although the attacks were carried out from the sea, and from the sky, and from the ground. She became the only German cruiser that survived intact by the end of the war. Even nuclear weapons could only crush this titan from the third time, it was so firmly made. And even then, if there was a team on board, it is quite possible that even three times would not be enough.
Although many experts criticize the design of the cruiser, calling it clumsy. To blameshipbuilders were put on the fact that they made a fully armored ship, unlike most ships of that time, in which only the most vulnerable and important areas for maintaining performance were armored. "Prinz Eugen" was fully armored. In many areas, the armor was too thin to be a real protection, but at the same time it was an additional load on the ship, reducing its speed. Even the reservation of especially important parts was thinner than that of similar enemy ships. But, as it turned out, the reservation of the German cruiser still turned out to be sufficient to withstand numerous bombardments from the sky and from the sea, and even to challenge nuclear weapons. So the facts smash all the theoretical fabrications of the critics to smithereens.
Much of the direction taken by the creators of "Prince Eugen" is still relevant today. For example, versatility, multitasking, the priority of aiming over the power of a volley, the important place of electronics in control, the special role of enemy detection tools.
But in general, it should be noted that the cruiser "Prinz Eugen" still failed to fulfill any of the main tasks that were set before it globally, due to a number of objective and subjective circumstances. The reason for this was both the general failures of the Germans in the Atlantic Ocean, and the reassessment of the capabilities of a particular cruiser. He failed to become a decisive force in the Atlantic, or even failed to cause any significant damage to the enemy fleet.
It is hardly possible to talk aboutthat the ship paid back its cost of 109 million Reichsmarks. Nevertheless, he still managed to go down in history thanks to his uniqueness and unprecedented resilience during the nuclear tests of the American army, which surprised even the worldly-wise military and scientists.
