Typical american bad taste to commission the ship into the US navy as USS 'Prinz Eugen'. Uselessly insulting to a defeated enemy. Call it USS 'Top Hat', or anything else you like................
I really liked this Warship as a kid. Always there in the thick of it all and it was beautiful as well. It's a great pity that it wasn't preserved as a museum piece I would have certainly taken the time to see it.
Rarely in the thick of anything. A brief involvement during the Bismarck action, a flight through the Channel, never reached Norway, crippling by collision a light cruiser, albeit a German one, then acting as a floating gun battery.
Russia phobia? Considering the ''nasty'' Russians did the most to end WW2 in Europe, fighting against 80% of the German Nazi Forces ...and losing 27 plus million people (approx 18-19 million were innocent civilians murdered by Nazi ''Scorched Earth'' policy) ...they were treated very badly, Communist country or not. And as the Russian Federation they still continue to be persecuted and hated by the west.
"Fun" fact; in an US test, in a competition with an US cruiser equipped with the latest FC, Prinz Eugen hit the target both sooner and more often (KM Prinz Eugen: Heavy Cruiser, 1938-1947, Paul Schmalenbach). She probably had the best 8-inch guns of the war, very accurate and with an excellent range. The US sailors on her loved her, stating she felt like a luxury liner compared to their own cruisers.
I've always thought the Prinz Eugen to be one of the Kriegsmarine's best looking ships, there was just that undefinable something about her. She was arguably the best cruiser design of any of the WW2 navies She was certainly the best looking and was well regarded by her crews who always considered her a lucky ship. To me it was criminal how she met her ignominious end, but she was defiant to the end in that even after not sinking after being subject to a nuclear bomb she remained afloat and it finally took several attempts for the US navy to finally sink her. It was, a shame, to my mind, that she wasn't preserved as a public exhibit.
To bad they decided to use her for nuc tests. It would great to see her as a museum ship. Unfortunately there's no German surface ships still around. I think the Kreigsmarine had some of the best looking ships
Today we see the loss of such ships with a sad eye, but the value of huge warships was different then than it is today. As World War II drew to a close, there was a surplus of battleships and heavy cruisers that were virtually no longer needed. In addition, strategy changed dramatically as increasingly better aircraft came along that could fly farther and faster than ever before, making huge battleships and heavy cruisers simply large, defenseless targets. Accurate anti-aircraft missiles did not yet exist. Almost all of the major German battleships and heavy cruisers were lost to air attack, and the British also lost their once highly prized HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse to attacks by Japanese torpedo planes. The running costs of a battleship and cruiser fleet also played a role. For the cost of a single battleship, one could build and maintain an entire flotilla of destroyers, frigates or submarines that were far more effective. Likewise, the era of naval battles, ship against ship, was actually already over after the First World War because it had become clear that this was no longer relevant to the outcome of a modern war.
Torpedo boats were in effect light destroyers/destroyer escorts rather than true small TBs like the S-boats, because they were so much larger and more heavily armed compared to the smaller Schnellboote.
Cool video as always, Important History! Its good to know what happened to Prinz Eugen between when the war ended in May, 1945, and when she sank off Kwajalein Atoll in December, 1946. However, I noticed that you have yet to make a video on Leipzig, so in the next video could you cover the history of her?
A friend of mine's father had the captain's chair that he removed from the ship after the first nuclear test that the ship survived he used it as his TV lounge chair in his San Diego living room until in the mid-1960s he died of cancer in his forties. I alwa 2:56 ys wondered if it was that chair ?
Thanks for the well researched video. Was most impressed with the video of Prinz Eugen firing at Soviet forces which I have never seen before. She was a most beautiful warship and like Bismarck, the pride of the Kriegsmarine. When examined by Royal Navy engineers they were reported to have said that British shipyards could not build one like her .
' When examined by Royal Navy engineers they were reported to have said that British shipyards could not build one like her.' Hardly, unless you mean that, had British yards been commissioned a new generation of 8 inch cruisers they would, like the US Navy actually did, have produced a superior warship on a lesser displacement.
It is often mentioned that the "Prinz" should have been preserved, and it would have been great if it was. However, we need to remember how these weapons were viewed 80 years ago. Today we look at them as historical artifacts, admire their beauty, technology and power. At the end of WWII The Prinz, Tiger 131, U505 et al were looked at as "nazi" weapons, symbols of evil , even possessing the characteristics of the regime that built them. The last thing the allies wanted to do was preserve them for future generations.
That was also with the ships of WW1. The last surviving was the Goeben. Destroyed by the Turkish at late 90th. Germany wants it back as Museumship. But the turks wants a fortune for it. It was originaly overtaken as a present of the Kaiser. Interrestingly, the Eagle was also a Naziship, why it is in use until today?
Even back then, Prinz Eugen was publicly admired by the Allies and only the press related her to the nazis. While i agree that due to the time, it would have been very difficult to get her preserved, I think its an overdramatication to declare her a "symbol of evil". Prinz Eugen was never a "nazi ship". She was a German ship, and even the Allies and the press knew that. Hell, the American public even held a galla party for her and her crew and showered them with gifts in various ports. Her crew were also invited for a nationwide live radio interview. She and her crew were celebrities, despite the era. These are sadly just much lesser facts that modern media havent picked up on. Shes only a "symbol of evil" becouse that fits much better with the story of nazi Germany. Poor Prinz. If she truely was so bad and evil, then why did Z39 get to live on? And what about Horst Wessel (Eagle)? Or Aviso Grille? And why would U505 get saved then, if she was such a symbol?
@@klaus-peterborn1370 Yes, a shame about the goeben. The Eagle is an interesting case. Perhaps because it wasn't a warship, but a unique sailing vessel it was treated differently. A rare, and happy, exception to the rule.
@@emilpetersen3365 I generally agree with your statement. The "Prinz" of course as an inanimate object could not be "evil." My point is that anything associated with Germany at the time was tainted (sauer kraut was re-named "liberty cabbage' LOL). U505 became a memorial 10 years after the war, (when emotions cooled somewhat) more because she was captured and an important historical artifact. The Eagle was not a warship, so perhaps not viewed in the same way (much like german liners taken over after the world wars).
@@klaus-peterborn1370 Actually, if I recall correctly, the West German Government of the time wanted nothing to do with Goeben. At least, not according to Robert Gardiner, & Randall Grey, Gray, in 'Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906-1921.'
the kreigsmarine had very long barrels. I made a brief search to find out what the calibre was on the 20.3 cm's, but all I managed to find out was the bore... similar guns are about 50 calibres in length, so I will have to go with that.
I think there should be time penalties on players that draw ejections. Rather, for example, if more than 7:30 remains in a quarter, a player may return for the next quarter or half. Under 7:30, a player is out for the ongoing quarter and the next quarter. This means a player tossed in the 1st quarter could return for the third quarter. The second quarter player could return for the fourth quarter, but in the third quarter, a disqualified player would not be able to return until overtime. In the fourth quarter y’all be gone.
Why did the British/Royal Navy “surrender” Prince Eugen to the USA/United States Navy????, by the end of WWII the Royal Navy was nothing compared to the pre-war powerhouse in naval warfare, and she could have been a good interim vessel during the post war rebuilding of the navy, and the fact that she was used mostly in nuclear weapons testing was sheer folly, and even more so because the USA decided to keep all nuclear weapons design and construction to themselves, which was a huge slap in the face of most of the allied nations who were instrumental in getting the “bomb” to work and being unceremoniously chucked out of the project just as it was being perfected, the USA wouldn’t have been able to get the bomb without the scientific knowledge of other countries, or not as quickly as it was done, so, from my standpoint the USA trod on the very same nations became they decided it was their “train set” and were not sharing, and using the excuse that they were trying to prevent “nuclear weapons proliferation” just doesn’t wash with me” it was pure greed and selfishness. Sorry for the Segway, I know this episode is about Prince Eugen and not about nuclear weapons, I apologise for going off on the USA 🇺🇸 but it really upsets me that the USA used other countries to help them perfect the bomb and then sh1t 💩 on them for no good reasons, I will expect some backlash from any American viewers who might be a touchy about it, to them I say bring it on, but, and there is always a but, if they want to use offensive language or whatever then is say…………DILLIGAF. Very interesting and informative episode as always, thanks for sharing, massive thumbs 👍 and thanks again. 😀👍🇬🇧🏴🇺🇦 P.S The British 🇬🇧 Navy was already in control of her and that should have been that, the excuse of not wanting her to be taken by the Soviets is definitely another example of the USA being the only country that could keep the “toys” safe is disguising and disrespectful, let alone being selfish……..AGAIN, if she was in British 🇬🇧 hands she was safe and secure, the USA was just being a bully……again. Then surprise surprise the USA won the lottery, I wonder 💭 why that does NOT surprise me, I wonder what pressure the USA applied to the people concerned with the draw, and once again I think 💭 this comment will upset American viewers, and I don’t care, I am fed up with American bully boy tactics that are still happening in 2024, Great Britain 🇬🇧 is NOT a satellite to the USA 🇺🇸, we are an independent sovereign nation and should be shown due respect, I will be glad when the lease on British 🇬🇧 airfields expires and the USA is forced to either renegotiate a new lease at a price or they just withdraw from OUR land.
Thank you all for watching! An interesting end to such a ship.
Typical american bad taste to commission the ship into the US navy as USS 'Prinz Eugen'. Uselessly insulting to a defeated enemy. Call it USS 'Top Hat', or anything else you like................
Probably the most beautiful heavy cruiser ever built. Fantastic 8"guns too.
I really liked this Warship as a kid. Always there in the thick of it all and it was beautiful as well.
It's a great pity that it wasn't preserved as a museum piece I would have certainly taken the time to see it.
Agreed
Rarely in the thick of anything. A brief involvement during the Bismarck action, a flight through the Channel, never reached Norway, crippling by collision a light cruiser, albeit a German one, then acting as a floating gun battery.
Definitely worth a second look. The notion that the ship should be retained from the soviets makes perfect sense.
Russia phobia? Considering the ''nasty'' Russians did the most to end WW2 in Europe, fighting against 80% of the German Nazi Forces ...and losing 27 plus million people (approx 18-19 million were innocent civilians murdered by Nazi ''Scorched Earth'' policy) ...they were treated very badly, Communist country or not.
And as the Russian Federation they still continue to be persecuted and hated by the west.
"Fun" fact; in an US test, in a competition with an US cruiser equipped with the latest FC, Prinz Eugen hit the target both sooner and more often (KM Prinz Eugen: Heavy Cruiser, 1938-1947,
Paul Schmalenbach). She probably had the best 8-inch guns of the war, very accurate and with an excellent range.
The US sailors on her loved her, stating she felt like a luxury liner compared to their own cruisers.
I've always thought the Prinz Eugen to be one of the Kriegsmarine's best looking ships, there was just that undefinable something about her. She was arguably the best cruiser design of any of the WW2 navies She was certainly the best looking and was well regarded by her crews who always considered her a lucky ship. To me it was criminal how she met her ignominious end, but she was defiant to the end in that even after not sinking after being subject to a nuclear bomb she remained afloat and it finally took several attempts for the US navy to finally sink her. It was, a shame, to my mind, that she wasn't preserved as a public exhibit.
I am so glad that the US nattaror isn’t pronouncing the Ship as the Prince Yew-Jean. Something I have heard more than a few times.
I've played so many naval war games that I recognize even the support ships. Love these ship history lessons.
To bad they decided to use her for nuc tests. It would great to see her as a museum ship. Unfortunately there's no German surface ships still around. I think the Kreigsmarine had some of the best looking ships
Today we see the loss of such ships with a sad eye, but the value of huge warships was different then than it is today. As World War II drew to a close, there was a surplus of battleships and heavy cruisers that were virtually no longer needed. In addition, strategy changed dramatically as increasingly better aircraft came along that could fly farther and faster than ever before, making huge battleships and heavy cruisers simply large, defenseless targets. Accurate anti-aircraft missiles did not yet exist. Almost all of the major German battleships and heavy cruisers were lost to air attack, and the British also lost their once highly prized HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse to attacks by Japanese torpedo planes. The running costs of a battleship and cruiser fleet also played a role. For the cost of a single battleship, one could build and maintain an entire flotilla of destroyers, frigates or submarines that were far more effective. Likewise, the era of naval battles, ship against ship, was actually already over after the First World War because it had become clear that this was no longer relevant to the outcome of a modern war.
Torpedo boats were in effect light destroyers/destroyer escorts rather than true small TBs like the S-boats, because they were so much larger and more heavily armed compared to the smaller Schnellboote.
I love getting home from work and seeing these, keep up the good work!
Cool video as always, Important History! Its good to know what happened to Prinz Eugen between when the war ended in May, 1945, and when she sank off Kwajalein Atoll in December, 1946. However, I noticed that you have yet to make a video on Leipzig, so in the next video could you cover the history of her?
In the next installment of the series I will!
@@ImportantNavalHistory Thanks!
A friend of mine's father had the captain's chair that he removed from the ship after the first nuclear test that the ship survived he used it as his TV lounge chair in his San Diego living room until in the mid-1960s he died of cancer in his forties. I alwa 2:56 ys wondered if it was that chair ?
It should be a museum ship.
Great Video!
Thanks for the well researched video. Was most impressed with the video of Prinz Eugen firing at Soviet forces which I have never seen before. She was a most beautiful warship and like Bismarck, the pride of the Kriegsmarine. When examined by Royal Navy engineers they were reported to have said that British shipyards could not build one like her .
' When examined by Royal Navy engineers they were reported to have said that British shipyards could not build one like her.' Hardly, unless you mean that, had British yards been commissioned a new generation of 8 inch cruisers they would, like the US Navy actually did, have produced a superior warship on a lesser displacement.
USS?!?!?
She was transferred to the US Navy as a war prize in 1945.
Trotzdem deutsch !!! Nichts uss
Your German pronounciation is quite good. 👍
It is often mentioned that the "Prinz" should have been preserved, and it would have been great if it was. However, we need to remember how these weapons were viewed 80 years ago. Today we look at them as historical artifacts, admire their beauty, technology and power. At the end of WWII The Prinz, Tiger 131, U505 et al were looked at as "nazi" weapons, symbols of evil , even possessing the characteristics of the regime that built them.
The last thing the allies wanted to do was preserve them for future generations.
That was also with the ships of WW1. The last surviving was the Goeben. Destroyed by the Turkish at late 90th. Germany wants it back as Museumship. But the turks wants a fortune for it. It was originaly overtaken as a present of the Kaiser. Interrestingly, the Eagle was also a Naziship, why it is in use until today?
Even back then, Prinz Eugen was publicly admired by the Allies and only the press related her to the nazis. While i agree that due to the time, it would have been very difficult to get her preserved, I think its an overdramatication to declare her a "symbol of evil".
Prinz Eugen was never a "nazi ship". She was a German ship, and even the Allies and the press knew that. Hell, the American public even held a galla party for her and her crew and showered them with gifts in various ports. Her crew were also invited for a nationwide live radio interview. She and her crew were celebrities, despite the era. These are sadly just much lesser facts that modern media havent picked up on.
Shes only a "symbol of evil" becouse that fits much better with the story of nazi Germany. Poor Prinz.
If she truely was so bad and evil, then why did Z39 get to live on? And what about Horst Wessel (Eagle)? Or Aviso Grille?
And why would U505 get saved then, if she was such a symbol?
@@klaus-peterborn1370 Yes, a shame about the goeben. The Eagle is an interesting case. Perhaps because it wasn't a warship, but a unique sailing vessel it was treated differently. A rare, and happy, exception to the rule.
@@emilpetersen3365 I generally agree with your statement. The "Prinz" of course as an inanimate object could not be "evil." My point is that anything associated with Germany at the time was tainted (sauer kraut was re-named "liberty cabbage' LOL). U505 became a memorial 10 years after the war, (when emotions cooled somewhat) more because she was captured and an important historical artifact. The Eagle was not a warship, so perhaps not viewed in the same way (much like german liners taken over after the world wars).
@@klaus-peterborn1370 Actually, if I recall correctly, the West German Government of the time wanted nothing to do with Goeben. At least, not according to Robert Gardiner, & Randall Grey, Gray, in 'Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906-1921.'
USS?
Correction?
No correction necessary :)
7:47 !
I believe the US Navy labelled her as an 'unclassified miscellaneous vessel, IX-300.
the kreigsmarine had very long barrels.
I made a brief search to find out what the calibre was on the 20.3 cm's,
but all I managed to find out was the bore...
similar guns are about 50 calibres in length, so I will have to go with that.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/20.3_cm_SK_C/34_naval_gun 😂
@@RHaarFl been there. it doesn't give the length of the barrel. the 34 is the year it was introduced.
@@kidmohair8151 de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/20,3-cm-Schnelladekanone_C/34
L60
I think there should be time penalties on players that draw ejections. Rather, for example, if more than 7:30 remains in a quarter, a player may return for the next quarter or half. Under 7:30, a player is out for the ongoing quarter and the next quarter. This means a player tossed in the 1st quarter could return for the third quarter. The second quarter player could return for the fourth quarter, but in the third quarter, a disqualified player would not be able to return until overtime. In the fourth quarter y’all be gone.
I suspect you have commented on the incorrect video.!
Irradiated doesn't mean what you think. You meant contaminated.
The Narrator talks like a Robot!
Maybe I am one 🤖
Why did the British/Royal Navy “surrender” Prince Eugen to the USA/United States Navy????, by the end of WWII the Royal Navy was nothing compared to the pre-war powerhouse in naval warfare, and she could have been a good interim vessel during the post war rebuilding of the navy, and the fact that she was used mostly in nuclear weapons testing was sheer folly, and even more so because the USA decided to keep all nuclear weapons design and construction to themselves, which was a huge slap in the face of most of the allied nations who were instrumental in getting the “bomb” to work and being unceremoniously chucked out of the project just as it was being perfected, the USA wouldn’t have been able to get the bomb without the scientific knowledge of other countries, or not as quickly as it was done, so, from my standpoint the USA trod on the very same nations became they decided it was their “train set” and were not sharing, and using the excuse that they were trying to prevent “nuclear weapons proliferation” just doesn’t wash with me” it was pure greed and selfishness.
Sorry for the Segway, I know this episode is about Prince Eugen and not about nuclear weapons, I apologise for going off on the USA 🇺🇸 but it really upsets me that the USA used other countries to help them perfect the bomb and then sh1t 💩 on them for no good reasons, I will expect some backlash from any American viewers who might be a touchy about it, to them I say bring it on, but, and there is always a but, if they want to use offensive language or whatever then is say…………DILLIGAF.
Very interesting and informative episode as always, thanks for sharing, massive thumbs 👍 and thanks again. 😀👍🇬🇧🏴🇺🇦
P.S The British 🇬🇧 Navy was already in control of her and that should have been that, the excuse of not wanting her to be taken by the Soviets is definitely another example of the USA being the only country that could keep the “toys” safe is disguising and disrespectful, let alone being selfish……..AGAIN, if she was in British 🇬🇧 hands she was safe and secure, the USA was just being a bully……again. Then surprise surprise the USA won the lottery, I wonder 💭 why that does NOT surprise me, I wonder what pressure the USA applied to the people concerned with the draw, and once again I think 💭 this comment will upset American viewers, and I don’t care, I am fed up with American bully boy tactics that are still happening in 2024, Great Britain 🇬🇧 is NOT a satellite to the USA 🇺🇸, we are an independent sovereign nation and should be shown due respect, I will be glad when the lease on British 🇬🇧 airfields expires and the USA is forced to either renegotiate a new lease at a price or they just withdraw from OUR land.
I hate that we sank her, she should have been put on display next to Constitution.
this ship should be salvaged up righted and restored as a museum
Why? Apart from crippling a German light cruiser and operating for a time as a floating gun battery, PE was largely irrelevant.
Who has the money?
Sie ist sie kleine Schwester der Bismarck und Tirpitz 🫡
USS?
What’s the problem?
In 1946 the Prinz Eugen was an US navy warship. However in the Kriegsmarine, there was no title.
@@Emdee5632 Was she commissioned into the US Navy ?
@@wingmanjim6 How about watching the entire video and finding out yourself?
@@Emdee5632 So I missed something - sorry to upset you with a simple question. You must be having a bad day.
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