Heavy cruiser Prince Eugen: the main characteristics. Prinz Eugen (1938)

The cruiser "Prince Eugen" was the pride of the fleet of Hitler's Germany. It was the most powerful at that time weapons on the sea, manufactured in the light of all modern requirements and possessed some of the best characteristics among military vessels of the Second World War period. However, the fate of this ship was quite tragic. Let's find out what was the heavy cruiser Prince Eugen, its main characteristics and history to the very end.

History of creation

The German cruiser Prinz Eugen was created in the second half of the 30s of last century. The order for its creation went to the German shipyard of Henry Krupp Germaniawerft in November 1935. This company was created by entrepreneur Lloyd Foster in 1867 in the town of Gaarden, near Kiel, three years before the emergence of a single German Empire under the rule of Prussia. Originally, the firm was called the "North German Construction Company". In 1896, it was acquired by one of the richest in Germany entrepreneurs - the Krupp family. The shipyard produced not only military, but also civilian ships. At the turn of the century, it came in second place in the supply of ships for the German Imperial Navy. During the First World, the submarines also supplied the army.

"Prince Eugen" was to be the third German ship of the program, within the framework of which heavy cruisers of the Admiral Hipper type were produced. In this series, two ships were already produced - the "Admiral Hipper" built in 1937, after which the entire line of ships was named, as well as "Blucher" of the same year of release. In addition, two more cruisers - "Lutzov" and "Seydlitz" - were to be built. But by the end of the war they were not yet ready. In the construction of "Prince Eugen" received the symbol "J".

Construction began in April 1936 and lasted almost two and a half years. It cost the German treasury in the amount of 109 million Reichsmarks. For comparison, the cost of a British ship of a similar type of "County" was 2.5 times less. In the end, the heavy cruiser Prince Eugen was launched in August 1938. But it took another two years to finalize all the internal units and equipment. As a result, the cruiser finally entered the German fleet only in August 1940.

The name of the cruiser

The heavy German cruiser Prince Eugen received its name in honor of the greatest commander of the Austrian state of the Habsburgs at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, Prince Eugene of Savoy. Although he belonged to one of the ruling feudal duchy families in Italy and was born in Paris, most of his outstanding achievements, in particular the successful actions in the war for the Spanish inheritance and in the Turkish company, were mined in the service of the Austrian crown. Among his great victories as a commander are the following battles: the Battle of Zent (1697), the reflection of the siege of Turin (1706), the battle of Malplak (1709), the capture of Belgrade (1717).

Just in 1938 there was anschluss (annexation) of Austria to Germany. This was presented by fascist propaganda as a 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 a sign of the victories of the cruiser. So the ship Prinz Eugen in 1938 issued its name.

Specifications

What was the heavy cruiser Prince Eugen in technical terms?

Its length was 199.5 m with standard rigging, and 207.7 m at full rigging. The vessel's displacement was 14,506 tons with standard equipment, and 19,042 tons at full capacity. The ship's width was 21.7 m. The maximum speed of the cruiser reached 32 knots, which was 59.3 km / h. The total capacity of three steam turbines and twelve boilers of the ship is 132,000 horsepower, or 97 MW. The draft of the vessel Prinz Eugen ranged from 5.9 to 7.2 m. At a speed of 16 knots, the cruiser could make non-stop navigation up to a distance of 6.8 thousand nautical miles. The crew of the ship was completed from the team in 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. The thickness of the armor on the traverses and barbets was equal to 80 mm.

"Prince Eugen" was staffed with the most modern at that time radio electronic equipment, the quality of which could not boast of all the warships in the world. He was especially famous for the means of detection, capable of finding the enemy at sea, in the sky and under water. On board the ship there were even analog computers. However, the abundance of electronics sometimes played a bad joke with the cruiser, because the new technologies had a number of other shortcomings, and some were clearly "raw". But even so, the ship was not equal in technology to Europe.

Armament

Battle power was not the strength of the ship Prinz Eugen. But at the same time, this defect was compensated by the possibility of more targeted fire control in comparison with other ships and the availability of modern means of detecting the enemy.

The ship's armament consisted of eight 203 mm artillery guns, twelve universal guns of 105 mm anti-aircraft artillery, six automatic 37-mm guns, and ten - 20 mm guns. In addition, the cruiser had four torpedo tubes caliber 533 mm with ammunition 12 torpedoes. The air group consisted of one pneumatic catapult and four reconnaissance seaplanes.

The First Battle

Battle baptism the ship "Prince Eugen" received during the naval battle, which became known as the battle in the Danish Strait.

The ship first entered the open sea in May 1941. He was accompanied by two destroyers, as well as several penetration gates. Soon, "Prince Eugen" joined with another famous ship of the Second World War - the battleship "Bismarck". Their joint journey ran through the Danish strait.

Movement of German ships blocked the British ships. On May 24, 1941, a battle took place between them. In the battle, several British ships were destroyed, the Bismarck battleship was damaged, Prinz Eugen was able to break through the strait. The ship went to the North Sea. However, due to a number of circumstances, he was unable to profit by the seizure of enemy merchant vessels. In June 1941, after a two-week voyage, the cruiser arrived at the port of the French city of Brest, controlled by the Wehrmacht forces.

Return to Germany

But in Brest, "Prince Eugen" and other German ships were constantly exposed to the danger of destruction due to periodic British air strikes. In February 1942, it was decided to return the cruiser along with the battleships "Gneisenau" and "Scharnhost" to the German ports. This event on the breakthrough 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, he still managed to reach the mouth of the Elbe River in three incomplete days . The operation could be considered successfully completed. It was an unprecedented and audacious breakthrough across the English Channel, right under the nose of British aviation and navy. The breakthrough marked the moral victory of the Germans and strengthened their spirit. Although a strategic turning point in the losing situation for Germany, the situation at sea did not happen.

In the waters of the Baltic

The next stage of the "Prince Eugen" activity is connected with the discovery in the waters of the Baltic Sea, where it was soon transferred.

It is impossible to call this period of cruiser history glorious. In fact, at that time he was performing the functions of the largest gunboat of the Baltic, although, naturally, this was not its original purpose. Mostly, "Prince Eugen" fired on the coast occupied by the enemy. I had to shell even my own shores and bases. For example, it happened when the Red Army approached Gotenhafen. Then even the surroundings of Danzig (modern Gdansk in Poland) suffered from the shelling. In the same period of its existence, the cruiser went to the raid to the coast of Norway.

Had happened to him and absurdities. So, "Prince Eugen" rammed the German cruiser "Leipzig" that 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 capitulation by Germany.

Results of the war

Despite the fact that the German leadership had high hopes for the cruiser Prince Eugen, it was not to justify their ship. The ship was intended for fighting in the Atlantic Ocean with the fleet of the US and Britain, but most of the time he walked like a gunboat in the Baltic Sea. This was mainly due to the fact that Germany was not able to impose a serious war on the Allies at sea. Kriegsmarine (naval forces of the Third Reich) clearly yielded to the power of the British fleet, firmly holding the primacy in the European seas.

Moreover, following the war it turned out that the Prince Eugen could not sink any of the enemy ships. Although he damaged one of the destroyers of Britain and shot down about a dozen enemy aircraft. But it should be fairly noted that the enemy was not able to cause him any significant damage. But by the end of the war, the cruiser's ammunition was running out. For example, shells for 8-inch guns Germany ceased to produce in 1942. Shells of the caliber of 203 mm, which were basic, on board the cruiser remained less than forty.

We can say that the actions of "Prince Eugen" in the Baltic Sea, where he spent most of his short history running, very much resembled shooting on sparrows from a cannon. A heavy cruiser of similar size and technical equipment was too expensive to fulfill the functions of the "biggest gunboat of the Baltic Sea". But the greatest feat of the ship was still ahead, after the end of the war. We will discuss it in more detail below.

As part of the US Navy

After the surrender of Germany in May 1945, the Prince Eugen was transferred to the United States of America according to the Potsdam agreement. In January 1946, he was transferred to Bremen and joined the US Navy. However, then he received the status of not a battle 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 transatlantic voyage, during which it was transferred from Bremen to the American city of Boston. In the port of this settlement "Prince Eugen" was carefully examined. Also, all equipment, including weapons, was unloaded to shore. Based on the results of the commission, it was decided to send the ship to the 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 got through the Panama Canal. Then, in the Pacific waters, he docked at San Diego in California. After that, "Prince Eugen" headed for Hawaii. In the first half of May, he reached the US base on these islands - Pearl Harbor. In June 1946, arrived at the Bikini Atoll - the final destination.

Nuclear test

The death of the ship "Prince Eugen" occurred as a result of the United States testing nuclear weapons on the Bikini Atoll. The explosions were carried out on July 1, 1946. In addition to the Prince Eugen cruiser, other warships of the world, in particular trophy and decommissioned American ships, also took part in it.

The first nuclear strike was applied to the cruiser from the air. The horizon lit up with a bright blinding light, a horrifying force rang out. The epicenter of the explosion from the dropped nuclear bomb was in 8-10 cable from the ship. Everyone believed that the ship was blown to shreds. But despite the expectations, the cruiser's damages were insignificant. In fact, they consisted only of a paint completely ripped from the side.

The next explosion of a nuclear warhead was made underwater. This time the damage was much more significant. Sheeting sheets were pressed into the cruiser, and it gave a leak, but it did not sink and did not give a heel. Such steadfastness of the German ship struck the Americans. They planned to destroy it completely during the above-described explosions. Now the "Prince Eugen" was towed to the atoll of Kouzieni and expected future tests.

But, unfortunately, the hull of the vessel was too radioactively contaminated. Therefore, the cruiser decided all the same to destroy 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 20 days of December 1946, the pumps could no longer cope with the incoming amount of water. The ship gave a roll, and the portholes were below sea level. The US military still made an attempt to save the ship, but it was already late, the cruiser sank near the atoll of Kouzieni, leaving only the keel on the surface. In that place, his remains are at the bottom of the sea to this day.

Truly astonishing is the firmness of the ship. But there are some questions. What if the cruiser was not just a target for nuclear bombs, but it would have a team that fought for the life of the ship, made holes, helped pump the water to the pumps? It is possible that in this case even three explosions would not have been enough to sink the Prince Eugen.

But, anyway, a ship that was built by the Germans to terrify Americans and their allies, became an unwitting accomplice in testing the world's strongest weapon, designed to serve as a symbol of the military power of the United States. However, the Americans now had another major rival. After the fall of the Third Reich, the Soviet Union became it.

General characteristics of the vessel

The cruiser Prince Eugen 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 mark was the boundary for ships of this class, according to Washington restrictions. But Germany itself has established a framework of permissible. True, because of the increase in the displacement of the ship, its speed and maneuverability suffered.

Although the original purpose of building the "Principle of Eugen" was to strengthen the German fleet in the battles for the Atlantic, in fact, it cruised mostly in the waters of the Baltic Sea or was generally on the joke. The ship participated in only one more or less serious battle, even 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 any enemy ship.

However, the enemy was not able to even seriously damage the ship Prince Eugen, although the attacks were conducted from the sea, and from the sky, and from the ground. It became the only German cruiser that survived by the end of the war. Even nuclear weapons could only crush this titanium from the third time, it was so firmly established. And then, if there is a command on board, it is quite possible that three times would not be enough.

Although many experts criticize the design of the cruiser, calling it sluggish. The shipbuilders were blamed for the fact that they made a fully armored ship, unlike most ships of the time, which reserved only the most vulnerable and important areas to maintain their performance. The Prince Eugen was completely armored. On many sites, the armor was too thin to be a real defense, but at the same time it was an additional cargo for the ship, reducing its speed. Even the reservation of especially important parts was thinner than that of similar enemy vessels. But, as it turned out, the booking of the German cruiser was still sufficient to sustain numerous bombardments from the sky and from the sea, and even to challenge nuclear weapons. So the facts break all the theoretical fabrications of critics in the nines.

Much in the direction taken by the creators of the "Prince Eugen" is actual in our days. For example, universality, multitasking, priority of targeting over the power of the volley, an important place for electronics in management, a special role for enemy detection facilities.

But in general, it should be noted that the cruiser Prince Eugen still failed to fulfill any of the main tasks that were set before him globally, due to a number of objective and subjective circumstances. This was due to the general failures of the Germans in the Atlantic Ocean, and the reassessment of the capabilities of this particular cruiser. He could not become a decisive force in the Atlantic, or even failed to inflict at least some significant damage to the enemy fleet.

It can hardly be said that the ship paid back its value to 109 million Reichsmarks. Nevertheless, he still managed to go down in history due to his uniqueness and unprecedented resilience during the nuclear tests of the American army, which surprised even those who saw much military and scientists.