KMS Prinz Eugen - Guide 081

The KM Prinz Eugen, a heavy cruiser of the Kriegsmarine is today's subject.
Next on the list:
-Yamato class
-Italia class
-Tsesarevich
-Βασίλισσα Ολγα (Basilissa Olga)
-Nagato class
-Monitor Parnaiba
-G-class destroyer
-HMS Glowworm
-Town class cruisers
-USS Wichita
-Lord Nelson class
-Essex class
-Slava (Pre-dreadnought)
-USS Massachusetts
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-HIJMS Oyodo
-Riachuelo (NB)
-I-19
-HMS Ark Royal
-ORP Błyskawica
-USS West Virginia
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-Derfflinger class
-Yorktown class
-Tre Kronor class
-Nelson class
-Gato class
-Admiralen class
-H class (NB)
-Greek 'Monarch' class destroyers
-'Habbakuk' project
-USS Texas
-USS Olympia
-HIJMS Mikasa
-County class
-KMS Tirpitz
-Montana class
-Florida class
-USS Salt Lake City
-Storozhevoy
-Flower class
-USS San Juan
-HMS Sheffield
-USS Johnston
-Dido class
-Hunt class
-HMS Vanguard
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-Almirante Grau
-Surcouf
-Von der Tann
-Massena
-HMCS Magnificent
-HMCS Bonaventure
-HMCS Ontario
-HMCS Quebec
-Lion class BC
-USS Wasp
-HMS Blake
-HMS Romala/Ramola
-South Dakota (1930's)
-SMS Emden
-Väinämöinen and Ilmarinen
-Destroyer Velos
-U.S.S. John R. Craig
-C class
-HMS Caroline
-HMS Hermes
-Iron Duke
-Kronprinz Erzerzorg Rudolph.
-HMS Eagle
-Ise class
-18 inch monitor
-Mogami
-Vanguard
-De Zeven Provinciën
-South American Dreadnoughts
-Fletcher class
-USS Langley
-Kongo class
-Grom class
-St Louis class
-H class special
-All-big-gun designs
-USS Oregon
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-USS Indianapolis
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-USS Helena
-USS Tennesse
-Von der Tann
-HMNZS New Zealand
-HMS Queen Mary
-USS Marblehead
-New York class
-L-20e
-Abdiel class
Specials:
-Fire Control Systems
-Protected Cruisers
-Scout Cruisers
-Naval Artillery
-Tirpitz (damage history)
-Treaty Battleship comparison
-Warrior to Pre-dreadnought
-British BC Ammo Handling
-Naval AA Special
-Plan Z

[@stevidente]

Interesting thing about Prince Eugene is that 4 different countries built warships after him - the British with a WW1 monitor, the Austro-Hungarians with a dreadnought, also WW1, the Italians with a light cruiser in WW2, and the Germans with a WW2 heavy cruiser. This was awarded to the US as a war prize and became the USS Prince Eugen so a total of 5 countries had ships named after Prince Eugene.

[@luked7525]

The Austro-Hungarian Prinz Eugen was ultimately handed to the French, who from what I can tell, officially commissioned her into their navy for a short period, bringing the total up to six nations.

[@chrisbeer5685]

Kind of fits the international flavour of the Prince, who was from the independent principality of Savoy in modern day Italy, studied in the french military academy and then joined Austrian service. He signed his name with the Eugenio von Savoye, so the Italian version of his first name, the German for "of" and the French version of his native Savoy.

[@tricap1542]

Designing the heavy cruisers to have the same silhouette as battleships didn't hurt either.

[@dr.johannesmunch891]

Makes rangefinding difficult, especially when the Bismarck is near...

[@dr.johannesmunch891]

I should correct myself: rangefinding on british ships of that Time is done by triangulation. But to have a constant firing solution, you'd have to know the heading and for that, you compare the "projected size" to the "known size" . For example if the Bismarck (Loa 250 metres) appears to be 125 metres long, you know its on a 45 degrees course referenced to your own Position. Based on this you can develope a continiously recalculated firing solution. So having the wrong ship in your rangefinder can absolutely spoil your acuracy.

[@hugonubario]

from what I've heard the german naval architects gave the same silhouette on purpose to fool the ennemies about what type of ship it was

[@NashmanNash]

@@hugonubario That may have been,or it was simply german design at the time...Don´t forget that the Bismarck was originaly supposed to look like a 4 turret Scharnhorst,with the same catapult arangement and all

[@hugonubario]

@@NashmanNash I never heard of it but thanks for sharing!

[@loydgravitt7733]

Many warship fans consider the Prinz Eugen the most handsome warship ever. It definitely has fine sleek lines. I remember building a model of the ship as a teenager.

[@fredtedstedman]

Got to agree with you there . Wales UK

[@thewaywardwind548]

Can't agree that Prinz Eugen was the most handsome warship EVER. She was a good looking ship, but my vote for the most handsome warship EVER goes to another cruiser -- three ships, actually. The Des Moines class heavy cruiser in the US Navy is beautiful.

[@Dilophi]

The Des Moines class is of course beautiful and i like its 3x3 gun configuration like the US-Battleships. But what makes Prinz eugen so beautiful might be its symetry. US-Ships tend to have "bottle" or "drop" shaped fuselage if you look from above. While german ships like Prinz Eugen or Bismarck have "pointy" bow and stern. The 4x2 gun configuration makes it also appear symetry. Symetry is a key feature of beauty.

[@thewaywardwind548]

This is why the famous football coach Bum Phillips used to say, "That's why they make chocolate AND vanilla."

[@thewaywardwind548]

I love the Texas, but have always believed she would be more attractive with a clipper bow like the New Mexico and Colorado class ships had. The clipper bow would have made for a dryer main deck in bad weather as well. But Texas is a treasure that needs to be protected and saved.

[@dungeonrat]

The Prinz Eugen is located at the Kwajalien Atoll in the South Pacific and it is not so radioactivity "hot " as you would have us believe. The wreck is visited by tourist Scuba Divers on almost a daily basis.

[@VayleGW]

the most dangerous thing about an Abomb is not the radiation, it's the fact it will vaporize you. (- neil degrasse tyson)

[@themanformerlyknownascomme777]

@@VayleGW ya, compared to nuclear reactor accidents, Atom Bombs get all their radiation out at once, and this radiation quickly disappears.

[@websterwb]

@@mkaestn 8 degrees North :)

[@websterwb]

@@mkaestn You can se the Southern Cross from Kwajalein

[@T3hderk87]

@@websterwb "when you see the southern cross for the first time ... "

[@sarjim4381]

I'm sure you were just being ironic about the wreck, but it's no longer radioactive...or at least that's what we were told when our party dived on it. This was in 1990, and I'm still alive at age 72, so I don't think effects were two bad. There are so many wrecks to dive on within five miles of Kwajalein that it would take months to dive on them all. In addition to the Prinz Eugen, we dove on a couple of good sized Japanese transport ships, a subchaser, and a number of aircraft, including a group of B-25's and a remarkably intact PBM Mariner. We only had seven dive days although we spent eleven days in the islands. It wasn't cheap, but it was the trip of a lifetime.

[@Drachinifel]

Sar Jim yes mostly a bit of fun but from what I'm given to understand parts of the interior are still contaminated, but the intervening water and steel form sufficient protection from the alpha and beta particles that divers aren't at risk unless they go into the interior of the wreck.

[@sarjim4381]

We could go in some of the interior spaces without a problem. They were marked with green circles while the prohibited ares were marked with a big red X. I think the "safe" areas were exposed to the air and rain long enough before she sank to disperse at least the radioactive dust particles.The divemaster always had a geiger counter with him just in case. There are a lot of compartments that aren't accessible due to structural collapse anyway so most of the dive is hull and deck. Still quite an amazing dive. We were down for less than an hour so I don't think we could have had much exposure. I was able to get into the radio shack (I"m also a ham radio operator) and, to my surprise, it looks like most of the German radios were left in the ship before the Bikini blasts. They are, of course, completely encrusted in marine growth now, but I sure would have heisted a couple of them if I was a sailor preparing the ship for the tests.

[@Drachinifel]

Sar Jim that's a great bit of information, many thanks for sharing!

[@russg1801]

What shipwreck? Last time I checked, Atlanta wasn't anywhere near an ocean.

[@sarjim4381]

Russ G, is there a joke there I missed?

[@ANTHONYWMITCHELL]

I went to see this ship yesterday , what's left of it anyway . I took my Gieiger counter of course and was surprised to see that the radiation level was no higher than any where else . 15 cpm was the highest reading I got at about 12 meters all around the ship .

[@pinkyandbrain123]

Just met Drachifinel in WoWs battles and had him on my team. Thanks for keeping the enemy Tirpitz pinned down mate 😊

[@Drachinifel]

BrainzZzZz just a shame I ate one of that DD's torps.:)

[@hajoos.8360]

Which server please?

[@horatiuscocles3399]

@@hajoos.8360 Therefore Drachinifel is British, i would assume EU :)

[@badpossum440]

The Germans built pretty ships.I like the shape of break deck ships, to me , flush decks leave something to be desired.

[@FRAGIORGIO1]

Thank you so much. My father worked on the electricity of this ship before she was sent to the Bikini nucllar tests,. My father was working in the then Long Beach, California, naval shipyard in 1946. He was obviously impressed by the ship.

[@kreol1q1q]

The desired point was to name her after na Austrian hero, as a sort of PR scheme to show the newly annexed Austrians that Germany was truly their country now, and that their history and heroes were respected. And Prinz Eugen was perhaps Austria's most successful general, even though he wasn't ethnically Austrian (then again, in those pre-national times, it mattered less). Still, I'd have liked for Tegetthoff to have been honoured by a ship name again. His thrashing of the Italians at Lissa was truly legendary. Oh and as a side note, both Prinz Eugen and Tegetthoff were ship names that were used for the Imperial and Royal Austro-Hungarian Navy's dreadnought battleships of the Tegetthoff class. So that's a nice bit of naming continuation as well, or so the Germans thought.

[@Drachinifel]

I wonder if people would like some specials on the more interesting naval battles?

[@kreol1q1q]

I'd love it!

[@brianprice544]

Krešimir Koržinek ŷ

[@akessel92train]

I heard that Austrian-Hungarian naval commander turned ruler of Hungary was at the christening of Prinz Eugen and his wife smashed the bottle.

[@tubemarionelh.4079]

@@Drachinifel Prince Eugene of Savoy

[@noobster4779]

Correction: The bombs did in fact NOT sink the "Lützow"/"Deutschland", they made it immobile and beached it. The Lützow would continue to support the german army during the battle of Stettin with its remaining main guns as artllery support until it ran out of ammo and then was prepared to be scuttled by the crew on the 4th of Mai. DO to a fire breaking out this happened prematurely nearly killing the scuttling officer and resulting in it not beeing scuttled properly, so she hit the ground floor basically intact, just flooded. Post war the soviets liftet the ship with pumps and used it for arms testing after they got it as a war prize. The ship would then be finally properly sunk after the Lützow was hit by several bombs, which failed to destroy it compleatly, but the soviets turned of the water pumps keeping it afloat so it went down in the baltic see. So the ship finally sank on July 22th of 1947. It is often mixed up with its sister ship, the original Lützow, that the soviets got from germany in an unfinished state in 1940 and that they never finished.

[@donaldhill3823]

I just realized this is the first time I ever heard the fate of this ship. :-)

[@ddjohnstonbetween2brests639]

The US really should have preserved the eugen and the nagato for later generations

[@thomaswilloughby9901]

The US Navy didn't preserve many of it's own famous ships. Why would they save enemy combatants. Right after the war I am sure there was still quite a bit of hard feelings.

[@genericpersonx333]

Sadly, Navy leadership generally places far less emotional or historical value on ships than civilians or even sailors. They generally see them as tools to be used, and an intact battleship or cruiser that you don't require for your own force structure is something naval researchers adore because they can perform practical tests on them like the atomic weapons test that claimed Prinz Eugen. We also cannot deny the simple fact that these ships are expensive to keep up even as non-functioning museums. A ship has to have a lot of special reverence and public support to be spared the chopping block. While I wish the USN hadn't destroyed Prinz Eugen, at least she got to prove her quality by taking two a-bombs at less than a mile. A far better fate than being turned into razor blades.

[@andrewphillips8341]

The cost would have been too high

[@s.31.l50]

US didn’t even save the Enterprise, why would they save Nagato or Eugen

[@Don_Camillo]

It would be expensive to conserve such war heroes of steel.....but i was more than one time astonished how cool the Royal Navy scuttled their own honoured ships like the warspite.

[@michaelfuller2153]

My uncle saw the Prinz Eugen in Hawaii, before the Bikini Island blast. He said there was a hump in the deck where she had been torpedoed & patched up. There was a rope to grab, and the deck hump worn smooth from all of those German bottoms sliding over it.

[@Halorulez24]

I had no idea that the Prinz Eugen had survived the war. Great video as always!

[@deborahschell5722]

Thank you so much for this video. My great great uncle served aboard her during the war. She is such a beautiful ship.

[@ThomasAffoltertevis]

Always a ship that's caught my interest.

[@igninis]

"a fish recovered near by was able to perform its own X-ray" purely epic

[@jjayyoung7335]

An Absolutely beautiful ship, the lines of this man-o-war are outstandingly handsome

[@BrettonFerguson]

I'm very happy he pronounces Eugen properly. I get annoyed listening to people say you-gene when talking about this ship.

[@falanglao01]

It's not too bad but the emphasis is in the last E - Prinz Eu-Gen with a long E.

[@Shuttlelover101]

Thats why I call her prinz

[@jonathanryan4497]

Nice to hear the names of the German ships - with the exception of Tir-PITZ - being pronounced correctly for a change!!

[@Drachinifel]

I try :)

[@Einfallsreicher]

Und trotzdem wird Eugen nicht "Äugen" ausgesprochen,sondern "Eugeen".

[@m0nkEz]

Which means that the name of her namesake is being pronounced very much incorrectly. I guess such is the dilemma of naming a German ship after a Frenchman.

[@krzysztofkolodziejczyk4335]

"Tejetsof" crack me up though

[@1258-Eckhart]

@@Einfallsreicher Ansichtsache

[@tovarishchlexykaze3285]

Awesome videos, keep up the good work.

[@richardsleep2045]

Amazing the prinz Eugen is still around - er kind of.. glows in the dark... great videos thanks

[@TheRealJohnux]

As is the Bismarck, only 5000 Meters below surface level. There is a Video of a dive to the Bismarcks Shipwreck on KZbin. Pretty interesting.

[@gma729]

DAMIT DRACHINIFEL !!!! I REALLY TRULY !! LOVE THIS DAM CHANNEL !!!! 🥰🥰🥰🥰 DON'T CHANGE A THING !!!! SUPER INFORMATIVE/EDUCATIONAL !!! And your Suttle humor at times is Absolutely Refreshing !!! DON'T CHANGE A THING !!! GREAT WORK !!!! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👍👍

[@ZhengIsRight]

Prinz Eugen 1946: "NOW I'M RADIOACTIVE! THAT CAN'T BE GOOD!"

[@DODO-vy6sf]

ZhengIsRight Der PRINZ: Hold my brew! Now I’m radioactive, the scrapyard is a no!no! So I’ve outlived the monkeys who did that to me!

[@whateverthisis389]

"OH NO,I HAVE CANCER!"

[@Stripedbottom]

In a parallel universe, that would just cause her to become to the superhero of ships.

[@andrewzheng4038]

@@whateverthisis389 *grows an extra turret*

[@greglucas1497]

Interesting video. My dad raided those two ships He always said they were a beautiful pair Thanks Drach

[@somerival930]

I hope that someday, this beautiful beast will be raised and restored. It would be a very splendid museum

[@TheRealJohnux]

Not gonna happen any time soon. The German Government doesn't really care and for all I know, don't even want to raise the thought that they do. The US probably sits in the same boat.

[@theduck3876]

the problem with that is that steel has been sitting there for decades so even if the desire was there chances are a large portion of the wreck would disintegrate

[@73Trident]

Put the bong down. It is of no use to anyone.

[@arthurhassall2607]

My father, who was a WW2 USN veteran, used to tell a story about Prinz Eugen. The measurements published for this class were readily available to the Allies even during the war. When the European war ended and the remains of the Kriegsmarine were divvied up between powers, Prinz Eugen went to the US. USN reserved a berth for the ship in New York harbor, specified according to the published information on the ship. When she arrived, however, she stuck out 50' into the river beyond where she would supposedly have fit. After substantial research, and not a little arithmetic, the USN arrived at the conclusion that the Prinz Eugen and her sisters were indeed 10,000 ton "treaty" cruisers - provided that all measurements were derived from a 13" foot. The published dimensions (length, beam, draft, tonnage) all resulted in a 10,000 ton ship if a 13" foot was used to produce them. I do not know how true it is, but it would explain quite a bit about this class.

[@delurkor]

Minor quibble, the sinking ship @5:48 is USS Pennsylvania BB38. Sank more to torpedo damage than the two a-bombs.

[@marleegould542]

I didnt know it was one of the ships they tested the atomic bombs on after the war. Guess you learn something new every day, that's why I love these videos.

[@Zarcondeegrissom]

a nearby fish was able to take its own x-ray. Nice! lol.

[@GM-fh5jp]

If you read the excellent book "Forgotten Soldier" written by a German infantryman it makes reference to Prinz Eugen saving the day when it's main battery guns held off the advancing Russians as the German army and civilians tried to make their escape from a Baltic port under heavy fire from Russian tanks and infantry divisions. A very nice warship that had a pretty decent career. Thanks for posting Drach.

[@raygiordano1045]

"Forgotten Soldier" is a very good book, first hand historical accounts is one of my favorite choices for reading, and his experiences were very interesting. I loaned the book out and never got it back, unfortunately, or I'd have read it again by now.

[@Mustang_Dan]

Been meaning to pick this book up for YEARS now but it's not the most common at the store and a little pricey as well.

[@mbkb96]

My Grandfather Horst O Schneider (RIP) was Sgt. of Arms.on Prinz Eugen at end of war. When he returned to Berlin, became a police officer for many years. Immigrated to US in late 60"s as a tool maker. The stories told to me about the Bismarch getting full credit for sinking the Hood was for pure political reasons. My grandfather claims the Prinz Eugen was the 1st to strike the Hood. Also stories about seeking help for safe passage back to Berlin, due to the Russians killing every German soldier found. OPA never talked about WWII until his later years of life.

[@jimkeats891]

Great video about the ship (per usual). However, the comments about radiation are a bit naive. Most people don't understand the difference between "radiation", "radioactive" and "contamination" . During my education in Nuclear Engineering and my work experience as a Cyclotron Chemist and, later, a Nuclear Engineer...let me summarize the BEST explanation...it's not mine (I wish it was, b/c it is PERFECT!). Picture 0 - a cow Picture 1 - a "cow pie" (pile of cow manure): - the "cow pie" is "radioactive", - the "radiation" is the smell from the cow pie, - the farmer has a "radiation detector" (nose), Picture 2 - farmer steps on the "cow pie" - the farmer is now "contaminated" - the famer, b/c of stepping in/on "radioactive" material...is NOT "radioactive" now!

[@steeltrap3800]

Many years ago I had a book written by the 2nd gunnery officer of the PE. Great read. Always like this ship's lines, but your comments about her displacement v competitors' are interesting to consider. Cheers

[@molnarandrassandor3448]

What was the book's name?

[@steeltrap3800]

@@molnarandrassandor3448 From memory it was simply "Prinz Eugen". If it's not in a box in the garage then I gave it away to a charity; will have a look tomorrow.

[@erikhalvorseth3950]

Lovely lines on the Prinz.

[@SeanFication]

Some great ships were destroyed in Operation Crossroads, the nuclear tests at Bikiki Atoll. Besides the Prinz Eugen there was the US carrier Saratoga and the Japanese battleship Nagato. If you had a navel museum today with those three vessels in it it would be the best museum in the world.

[@grievousexpandeduniverse1830]

I also wish new york and Pennsylvania survived

[@michaelmize1155]

I lived on Kwajalein in the '80s and diving on the wreck was safe at that time.

[@michaelmize1155]

Yep that has been dived on for decades as I worked the Western Missile Test Range on Kwajalien,M.I. for 3 years and it was visited by hobbyist divers on a regular basis.

[@PilotScooper]

I also did two eighteen month tours on Kwaj in the late 60s/early 70s. I was a telemetry tech living on Ennylabegan and made several dives on Prinz Eugen.

[@darylsmith9155]

Great video.

[@Kwolfx]

When time permits, you should definitely do several videos on the Yamato class of battleships and the contemplated successor to Yamato which was planned to have 20 inch guns. I suppose all three of the Yamato's deserve there own separate episodes, even though Yamato and Musashi suffered similar fates. What I'd most like to see is a video on the Shinano seeing as she was finished as an aircraft carrier. Her projected organic complement of aircraft was only 47, but she had space to carry up to 100 or 120 planes. These other planes were meant to replenish other aircraft carriers or air bases. I don't know if all these planes could be kept in ready condition or if some of them had to be kept in storage, perhaps not fully assembled. Any details you might find out would be greatly appreciated. Other suggestions: The IJN Kongo and her sisters, but specifically Kongo as she was built in Britain. Also, I'd love to see you do a video on the American Fletcher class of destroyers. When I was about eight or nine we had a neighbor who served on a Fletcher class DD during WW2. He said it was much better than previous destroyers he had served on. I asked him what made it better and he tried to explain the engineering improvements and built in redundancies designed to make it more difficult to knock out the Fletcher's engines and electrical systems. Most of his explanations went over my head, but this gentleman's conviction about how well his ship was designed is something I'll never forget.

[@folkestender2025]

When (West) Germany was rearmed after the war as part of NATO, were loaned 6 Fletcher destroyers from US Navy, until their own new german destroyers were finished. At that time, I lived in Kiel (Baltic Sea) as a child and still know her. They were stationed there. They were beautiful ships. A colleague (later in my job) drove in his millitary time on Fletcher and was thrilled by these ships. Here I found an old Classix video of the German Navy about the ex USS Dyson (DD-572)... regards from Germay: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4Sti31-pK-Sl5Y

[@tjstevens001]

Already saw this video

[@davedavis775]

The ship is no longer radio active. She is a frequent recreational diving location.

[@firestorm165]

Good to know, but I'm taking a Geiger counter just in case

[@markdavis2475]

If your ever near to Keil, try to visit the U-996, overlooking her is the Maritime memorial. One Prinz Eugens screws, recovered from the wreck is located there, along with a detailed model of her.

[@azau79]

My boyhood friend's dad was in command of two gun turrets on the Prinz Eugen. The story I was told is that one of the guns jammed in an adjacent turret. My friend's dad, being the senior in command, exchanged turrets so that he could enable repairs on the jammed gun. Moments later a shell or bomb slammed into the turret he in. He immigrated to the United States after the war and started a very successful business and a great family.

[@Jimmydb]

I studied at a German school in Peru there some of my friends' parents fought in the German army. One served in the Prinz Eugen! Other as pilot in the Luftwaffe in the Russian front

[@pixupload]

It appears that you have used a picture of the battleship USS Pennsylvania in your video at time stamp 5:48. You can tell by the stack, the superstructure and the triple gun turrets. The Pennsylvania was also used in the tests at Bikini Atoll, but should not be mistaken for the Prinz Eugen. EDIT: This was previously noted by commenter Ted Moreland 4 months ago. Did not see that before making my entry.

[@mepz4740]

Idk man i remember this differently in azur lane 😏😂

[@rashidahmad7830]

She and Bismarck were beautiful ships. Sleek and powerful.

[@trevorpollo]

5:54 You can find photos on the web of people not only standing on the Prinz Eugen's wreck, but also diving inside of her.

[@yates656]

I fell down a KZbin rabbit hole of WW2 warships and have been watching several videos on the Prinz Eugen. Apparently people go and dive the Eugen's wreck. Seems scary to me as I would imagine it is still highly radioactive almost 80 years later.

The radiation levels of the Prinz Eugen are low enough for safe exploration.

[@scottygdaman]

To my eye the best looking ship of war. Love that low menacing bridge . Plus makes for a great model. Was there an equal ?

[@FourThousandAndFive]

An equal?

[@spankthatdonkey]

The Prinz Eugen’s bell is in the US Navy Yard in Washington DC. I have been twice hoping to see it, but been thwarted by it not being on display both times. I will try a third time, and a fourth, and again until I finally see it!

[@davidjmorgan3890]

The Prinz Eugen was surveyed prior to the test by the Navy. They found many of the systems still functional, notably the gun mounts. I read somewhere they had used Magnetic Amplifiers to control them.

[@usethenoodle]

In 2014 I got a chance to make a dive on the Prinz Eugen in the lagoon near Kwajalein. The ship had been towed back from Bikini Atoll after the atomic testing. It was moored in the lagoon. A storm came in one night and the ship suffering leaks broke loose from her moorings and drifted with the winds across the lagoon where it capsized. I was invited to make a dive on it by members of the Kwajalein dive club. Radiation is no longer an issue with the ship and it is often dove. The stern and propellers are usually visible but as the ship rests inverted on a hill side, the bow is down just a bit below 100 feet of depth. It's an interesting dive with lots of things to see. The torpedo storage still has torpedos in racks. As the Island of Kwajalein is a working military base and part of the Pacific Missile Range, it is very difficult to dive there. A friend and I were guests of a couple who were civilian workers there and they gave us a place to stay and took us out to the wreck in one of the club's small dive boats. We also dove some Japanese war wrecks there. The number of Japanese wrecks there is mind boggling. Following that, We went out to Bikini Atoll for 10 days of diving many of the wrecks out there. That trip was an invite only mixed gas rebreather trip which is why were at Kwajalein in the first place. I was able to make repeated dives the USS Saratoga, IJN Nagato, USS Anderson, USS Arkansas, USS Lambson, and the USS Apogon which is a submarine. Quite a memorable dive trip. My favorite dive out there was the IJN Nagato.

[@donaldlamkin1305]

Cool video! I always wondered what happened to that ship.

[@WoTCAcademy]

I recently became more interested in learning about this ship, and after learning how it was used in nuclear testing. I grew curious to know if the Prinz Eugen could've been made serviceable in the post-war period seeing as how it was one of the few surviving axis ships after the war. or was it deemed too obsolete or expensive to keep in service after the allies examined it?

[@BHuang92]

In the Admiral Hipper video, Drachinifel explains that the design was odd with many redundant features that were not improved on over the careers. It would be too expensive to upgrade and keep in service which by that point it would've been too obsolete for the Cold War.

[@sugarsaint]

amazing ship

[@martinsearle714]

You can see one of the props from Prinz Eugen at the German Navy Memorial at Laboe, nr Kiel in Germany

[@user-ih2ch2ue5x]

Majestic

[@davidmichaels8934]

Tri Cap, yes, she was a handsome ship, and at first glance looked like a battleship!

[@tombartram6842]

My late Uncle was top turret gunner in a Halifax with 502 Sqn based in Stornoway in the last winter of the war & was sent to attack Prinz Eugen in the first South East corner of the Baltic sea. It turned out rather well for him as he was shot down and picked by a Swedish ship.

[@CritterCamSoCal]

After the A Bomb tests she was towed to the Kawajulen Atoll. While there a storm came up and she broke free of her mooring sprung a leak and capsized on the island adjacent to Kawajulen Island. I have flown over her several times. She also had some of her torpedos and other arms on board when she sank and caution is advised by the folks I have met who dover her. Some of her parts and pieces have been salvaged. I think one of her props has been repatriated to Germany.

[@georgeking6356]

The capsizing pic of Prinz Eugen is actually the battleship Pennsylvania...not especially pretty but as an interesting sidelight was manned by, among many others, Johnny Carson of Tonight Show fame.

[@dave8599]

A video on the wrecks at Bikini is a subject that would be very interesting.

[@MK-rr7cg]

German Ships had no prefix's, it was just Prinz Eugen, 'KMS' and 'DKM' were just used to make thing easier to identify them from WW1 vessels.

[@jimbob9714]

0:25 And the British commander he fought with at Blenheim was John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough. A fact I am sure the British Prime Minster was more than well aware of as the Royal Navy chased her and Bismarck around the North Sea. On that topic, have you done HMS Marlborough, the ship that evacuated the remaining Russian Royal Family from Crimea?

[@republique4248]

I had my volume a little down and heard, Prinz Hipper.

[@victorfrankenstein8005]

Where is the anime disliked Jk I know you put a lot of work into these videos and for your work it's really appreciated especially if it gets you next to nothing

[@randomobserver8168]

Prinz Eugen was an inspired name choice. A member of the Italian royal house who served in the army of the Holy Roman Empire, not exclusively but most famously against France, but who also grew up in France, so could serve as both an anti-French and pan-European heroic figure. And even the British could grow fond of it.

[@99IronDuke]

Please do the British County Class Heavy Cruisers.

[@damianousley8833]

Any cobalt 60 produced would be produced by neutron activation would have almost have decayed away by now. Co 60 has a half life of 5 years approximately. So 12 half lives only about 1/ 4000 th of any Co 60 would remain. The other main radioactive contaminant would have been Cs 137 with a 30 year half life which is water soluble so much of it would have leached away in the exposure to sea water and the corrosion of the hull. And as time passes becomes less of a radiological hazard. Most of the german fleet including the remaining U boats were scuttled or used as range or weapons targets, All british battleships were scrapped for their steel or scuttled. Apt description of battleship at end of ww2 was potentially 30,000 tonnes or more of scrap steel or iron.

[@clearingbaffles]

The US Navy seems to forget my 2nd submarine US Guitarro SSN-665 ¿built? by Mare Island Naval Shipyard Thanx Gene Murphy

[@TDavis-ml6kl]

Prinz Eugen.................................sank the HMS Hood with a 4" magazine hit..............Awesome!

[@KatyushaLauncher]

No she didn't

[@z1az285]

​@@KatyushaLauncherno, but her gunnery was incredibly accurate and she was the first to hit the hood and cause a fire because of the AA ammunition igniting. However the Bismarck hit penetrated through the side deep into the ship and touched off the 4" magazine that spread rapidly

[@emphopho]

Hi!. would you consider making a video on the "Gotland" class cruisers?. very little info is to be found, but I really would like to know more about them!.

[@Drachinifel]

They're on my list to do eventually

[@TheBalto1925]

Just want to let you know that Von der Tann is on the list twice.

[@Drachinifel]

Péter I. Szabó thanks

[@nightcoreandmemes7754]

Dry dock question wat is your favourite ww2 carrier

[@jarrodyuki7081]

yes prince eugen.

[@martigrey5872]

That's a nice list you have. Really like your videos. But would it be possible for you to do some of the japanese ships before the other nations? They definetly need more vidoes

[@Drachinifel]

Simon Leichtmetall Yamato is this week :)

[@jessicawells5145]

That was the Pennsylvania sinking at the end of the video

[@GlassTopRX7]

You can safely dive around the ship. One water limits the range of ionizing radiation two it's not all that hot to begin with.

[@Comebackat2025]

This is mAh Favorite Ship

[@redbeard7654]

HMS Plym (K271)

[@mandoramirez1205]

Do you have any history on the general Belgrano's that was sunk during the Falkland's take back by British armed forces, thank you for sharing your videos, great stuff.

[@jannegrey593]

Newer version with Human Voice - kzbin.info/www/bejne/hIiWg2uMotZjZ6s

[@hallamhal]

Not only was Prince Eugen a British ally, he was allied with John Churchill, who we named the tank after

[@theREDdevilz22]

Question: do you play world of warships?

[@yoseipilot]

Yeah, a Pudding Cruiser looks like the Bismarck

[@gohibniugoh1668]

Radiation wouldnt be a significant issue. The primary radioactive species of concern after a short time is cesium 137, which has a half life of 30 years.

[@ferrousoxcide393]

The last part about staying away to avoid radiation poisoning isn't entirely correct, the wreck has been considered safe to dive on since the 80s.

[@robertoler3795]

I have dived on her and Saratoga :)

[@Ausf.D.A.K.]

I love Prinz Eugen in War Thunder !

[@bubbythecuck978]

do the USS Texas, or New York class superdreadnaughts

[@freebeerfordworkers]

3.40 Minor attack from 6 swordfish torpedo bombers. it was absolutely suicidal and one of the German pilots who shot them down was mystified writing, "Surely the British knew the attack was hopeless? They did. The Adml commanding the Dover area received the orders to send them in and immediately told the Admiralty they had absolutely no chance. It was suicide and pointless suicide at that but the first Sea Lord, said in effect the Navy must do its duty. Lt Cmdr Eugene Esmonde who led the attack was awarded a posthumous VC and very few of the air crew survived. The first Sea Lord Adml Dudley Pound was seriously ill and forced to retire on health grounds in 1943. He should have been fired over the PQ 17 fiasco and he could not survive another, so it required a heroic sacrifice by the Navy to save his own skin and the aircrew provided it.

[@rayslockish3114]

He thought he wud sink or damage the Prinz Eugen like the Bismarck, it backfired on him m he didn't get any glory like he imagined...to much ego

[@OsborneCox.69.420]

IMHO, Prinz Eugen and Scharnhorst were the two most beautiful warships in WWII. American Iowa class battleships are also drop dead gorgeous…

[@otakurt1149]

how about the 1934A Class German Destroyers?

[@leeoldershaw956]

Recreational divers from Kwajalein routinely dive on the Prince Eugen.

[@jasonbecraft2358]

They should've brought it to the state's use as a museum.

[@michaelgrenz932]

I recommend the book (Radioactive for all eternity the fate of Prince Eugene by Ingo Bauernfeind

[@bobtrask2217]

I have always loved the Eugen. I own two letters mailed from Her postmarked 1) Feb 11 1946 and 2) Jun 30 1946 same day She was in atomic blast Able. Both have USA stamps with ship canceling marks in German one (June 30 46) has the German eagle and a swastika

[@JohnJohansen2]

5:53 Actually not long ago I saw a documentary where divers went down to ships sunken by those nuclear tests. Even those nearest to the blasts. I believe it was on NatGeo.

[@themanformerlyknownascomme777]

ya, radiation from Atom Bombs dissipates quickly