Dive Site - Prinz Eugen
| Dive Site - Prinz Eugen | |||
| Dive Location: | City / Island: | ||
| Prinz Eugen | Kwajalein Atoll | ||
| Country: | Rating: | Max. Depth: | Difficulty: |
| Marshall Islands |  |
38 m | Advanced Open Water plus Deep |
| Aquatic Name: | Water: | Altitude: | |
| - | Salt | 0 m | |
| GPS Latitude: | GPS Longitude: | GPS Datum: | |
| 8° 45.133′ N 8.752217° N 8° 45′ 7.98″ N |
167° 40.996′ E 167.683267° E 167° 40′ 59.76″ E |
Google Map | WGS84 |
| 3 dives at this location: | |||
| 360 | 361 | 409 | |||
| Map: | |||
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| Comments: | |||
| The German heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen saw extensive action during World War II and attempted a breakout into the Atlantic Ocean with the battleship Bismarck in May 1941. The two ships engaged the British battle cruiser Hood and battleship Prince of Wales in the Battle of the Denmark Strait, during which Hood was destroyed and Prince of Wales was severely damaged. After World War II, the Prinz Eugen was the largest surviving German ship. She was awarded as a war prize to the United States and brought across the Atlantic from Bremen as the USS IX-300 to dock in South Boston. The skeleton crew of American sailors was outnumbered by the ship's crew of 574 Germans. She was later taken to Bikini Atoll in 1946 to join the target fleet for Operation Crossroads. Her American captain marvelled at the ship's modern electrical systems and many compartments, and crewmen aboard her said they would rather have served on her than any other U.S. ship. The Prinz Eugen was perhaps the most graceful, resplendent and advanced ship of World War II. More than 75 mm (three inches) of steel armour protected the ship, and up to 150 mm (six inches) protected the turrets. High-pressure steam turbines, generating 80,000 horsepower, produced speeds up to 60 kph (33 knots). She survived the "Able" and "Baker" atomic bomb blasts of Operation Crossroads at Bikini Atoll. She was towed to Kwajalein Atoll, where a small leak went unrepaired because the radiation levels were too dangerous. On 22 December 1946, Prinz Eugen capsized and sank within a few hundred metres of a nearby island. She now sits upside down with one of her massive stern propellers protruding out of the sea and her bow at around 38 metres. With a length of 208 metres, a beam of 22 metres, and a displacement of 16,970 tons, this is a big boat! GPS: 8° 45.133' N, 167° 40.996' E See also: Prinz Eugen - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_cruiser_Prinz_Eugen Operation Crossroads - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Crossroads |
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