Recognition Guide Warships of the Second World War
Kriegsmarine — Cruiser IX-300

German cruiser Prinz Eugen

Admiral Hipper-class cruiser

German cruiser Prinz Eugen
U.S. Navy — Official U.S. Navy photo 80-G-627445 from the U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons Plate — IX-300 USS Prinz Eugen (IX-300), a former German heavy cruiser, ready for target duty in the operation Crossroads a-bomb tests, 14 June 1946.

Service

  1. Kriegsmarine as Prinz Eugen1 August 1940 — 7 May 19451,740 days of the war
  2. United States Navy as USS Prinz Eugen5 January 1946 — 29 August 1946
Admiral Hipper-class cruiser Particulars
Name
Prinz Eugen
Pennant / hull number
IX-300
Namesake
Prince Eugene of Savoy
Builder
Germaniawerft
Laid down
23 April 1936
Launched
22 August 1938
Commissioned
1 August 1940
Decommissioned
7 May 1945
Fate
Towed to Kwajalein Atoll after Operation Crossroads nuclear weapons tests; capsized 22 December 1946 (1946)
Status
Wreck

Specifications

Displacement, standard
16,702 long tons (16,970 t)
Displacement, full load
18,750 long tons (19,051 t)
Length
212.5 m (697.2 ft) OA
Beam
21.7 m (71.2 ft)
Draught
7.2 m (23.6 ft)
Speed
32 knots (59.3 km/h, 36.8 mph)
Complement
1,382
Main gun
203 mm (8 in)

Prinz Eugen was a Admiral Hipper-class cruiser in service with the Kriegsmarine. She carried the pennant number IX-300. The ship was named after Prince Eugene of Savoy. Germaniawerft laid her keel on 23 April 1936. Launched on 22 August 1938, she entered service on 1 August 1940.

She was one of four ships of her class. The class followed the Deutschland-class cruiser and was succeeded by the P-class cruiser.

She displaced 16,702 long tons standard and 18,750 long tons at full load. She measured 212.5 m (697 ft) long with a beam of 21.7 m (71 ft). Her designed speed was 32 knots, and she carried a complement of 1,382.

Her main battery was eight 203 mm (8.0 in) guns. She carried three aircraft. Her machinery developed 132,000 shp.

She served with the Kriegsmarine as Prinz Eugen until 7 May 1945. She then passed to the United States Navy, serving as USS Prinz Eugen from 5 January 1946. She was in commission for 1,740 days of the Second World War. She was decommissioned on 7 May 1945.

She was expended as a target on 22 December 1946. The wreck survives.

Written from the harvested record. Every figure above is sourced; the wording is this site's own.

Armament and machinery

Armament and machinery
Propulsion
  • 3 × Blohm & Voss steam turbines
  • 3 × propellers
Power
  • 132000 shp
Armament
  • 8 × 20.3 cm guns
  • 12 × 10.5 cm SK C/33 guns
  • 12 × 3.7 cm SK C/30 guns
  • 8 × 2 cm C/30 guns
  • 12 × 53.3 cm torpedo tubes
Armour
  • Belt: 70 to 80 mm
  • Armor deck: 20 to 50 mm
  • Turret faces: 105 mm
Aircraft
  • 3 Arado Ar 196

Sister ships

Sources

  • Facts harvested from German cruiser Prinz Eugen on Wikipedia. Figures only — no wording is taken from it.
  • Photograph: U.S. Navy — Official U.S. Navy photo 80-G-627445 from the U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons