Book Review

Warship Pictorial #21 Kriegsmarine Prince Eugen by Steve Wiper of Classic Warships reviewed by Timothy Dike
The Prince Eugen was the third unit of the Hipper Class of heavy cruisers and is perhaps the most famous of the German Cruisers of World War Two. Best known for his sortie with the Bismarck. The Prince Eugen survived that engagement and went on to participate in many more before she was transferred to the US Navy after the war. As far as Heavy Cruisers go, she was a monster weighing in at almost 20,000 tons loaded when built. The Germans made no attempts to design a ship within the confines of the Washington Treaty that limited other nations and instead went all out to build the perfect fighting ship.
As with his other books Steve Wiper has arranged the photo's from beginning to end. The Eugen is shown from his launching and fitting out to his shakedown cruise in a series of photos that show many different areas of the ship. There are a number of in action pictures showing not only the ship during gunnery exercises but also during such famous actions such as the daring Channel Dash. The operations in the high sea's of the North Atlantic are worth noting as well.	click to enlarge images


A large color illustration is featured in the centerfold of the book. It is drawn in 1/400 scale and show the Prince Eugen in 1942. The drawing is a full 8-1/4" x 22". Throughout the book camouflage colors are noted and special details such as turret top colors are discussed.

A nice touch in this book is the labeling of the important features in some of the photo's. These identify the radar types and director types, as well as weapons and other fittings.

When the Prince Eugen was transferred to the United States, it was recommissioned as the IX-300. She spent time in the Philadelphia Naval Ship yard and was photographed extensively. This once mighty warship then sailed for the Pacific to participate in the Atomic bomb testing at Bikini Atoll. Before and after photo's are included as the US Navy assessed the effects of this new weapon on Naval vessels.


Conclusions: A great book for anyone interested in this famous German Warship. This book is 74 pages with 133 black & white photos, and a 1/400 scale centerfold. A history and record of movement for the ship, and general statistics throughout the years in a 8-1/4" x 11" soft book format. With a retail price of $15.95 US this book is an excellent value and a great addition to your Warship reference library. Links: More Classic Warships books