PRINZ EUGEN to be salvaged

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Ulrich Rudofsky
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PRINZ EUGEN to be salvaged

Post by Ulrich Rudofsky »

There is a note in the new Schiffahrt International (a magazine that had been defunct for several years) about the raising of the Heavy Cruiser PRINZ EUGEN. It states that a "Near East" person of some means has an interest in raising the ship and making it into a museum. As you know the "Prince" has survived two atom blasts, but then slowly leaked an sank in shallow waters at the Kwajalein Atoll where it came to rest like a giant turtle, rusting and breaking up slowly. Several years ago Bernd Brandes, a wealthy environmental engineer, had a dream of raising the PG, but nothing more than a dream it seems, to make the PG into a convention center and museum for peace. It will be interesting to see what happens this time around.

http://www.schiffahrt-international.de/ ... tional.pdf
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RF
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Post by RF »

I wonder what the motivation for making the proposal is?

Why can't these wrecks just be left alone, not become people's playthings just to make a fast buck?
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Gary
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Post by Gary »

Great News :clap:
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tommy303
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Post by tommy303 »

it would probably be cheaper to get the plans for the ship and have a shipyard make you a new one, considering the condition of the wreck now, and how much it would take to stabilize the ship from further corrosion even if you did manage to raise it in one piece.

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They stood and Earth's foundations stay;
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And saved the sum of things for pay.
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Gary
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Post by Gary »

Then of course it's in quite a rather remote corner of the globe :(
God created the world in 6 days.........and on the 7th day he built the Scharnhorst
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Post by Lutscha »

Be very carefeul with Schiffahrt International... It even claimed that the British files regarding the Baralong Affair are still classified. But what to expect from an editor who tried to make the sinking of the Cap Arcona a British war crime, while denying that all it´s "passengers" were to be drowned at sea by the Germans...

As far as raising the Prinz Eugen is conerned, it´s a story, no more.
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RF
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Post by RF »

Lutscha wrote: As far as raising the Prinz Eugen is conerned, it´s a story, no more.
Very Good.
''Give me a Ping and one Ping only'' - Sean Connery.
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Post by Rheinübung »

It is, it is... :silenced:
When Rheinübung started, Hood was doomed... or was she?
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RF
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Post by RF »

I note the signature in the above post. Would it not be applicable to Bismarck itself?
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Ulrich Rudofsky
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Post by Ulrich Rudofsky »

After years of contemplation of the record, I think the BISMARCK was doomed from the start. Why would anyone think that you could play hide-and-seek with a fleet the size and know-how of the Royal Navy. I still can't figure out what the Kriegsmarine admirals tried to accomplish or prove with Rheinübung. Commerce raids with only two capital ships and no carriers? U-Boots did a good job by themselves. Wasn't even Hitler opposed to the idea of sacrificing capital ships?
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Ulrich Rudofsky
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Post by Ulrich Rudofsky »

As to the PRINZ EUGEN.......let her rest and rust where she lies..... http://maps.pomocnik.com/satellite-maps/?map=1543

No one in his right mind would raise that ship anyway. Remember Bernd Brandes? What ever happend to Bernd Brandes' book proposal "Frieden durch Verstehen (peace through understanding): das Projekt Prinz Eugen "? http://www.brandes.de/ Wasn't he going to raise her and bring her to New York as a convention center for peace meetings? I think he had ruled out Germany as a homeport based on political considerations?????
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Gary
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Post by Gary »

Hi Ulrich
After years of contemplation of the record, I think the BISMARCK was doomed from the start. Why would anyone think that you could play hide-and-seek with a fleet the size and know-how of the Royal Navy. I still can't figure out what the Kriegsmarine admirals tried to accomplish or prove with Rheinübung. Commerce raids with only two capital ships and no carriers? U-Boots did a good job by themselves. Wasn't even Hitler opposed to the idea of sacrificing capital ships?
I pretty much agree with what you've said but the Germans had a multi-million riechsmarks battleship.
They could hardly NOT use it.
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God created the world in 6 days.........and on the 7th day he built the Scharnhorst
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Karl Heidenreich
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Post by Karl Heidenreich »

Ulrich and Gary,

Both arguments are true. The Germans were in a laberinth built by themselves. Whatever they did was doomed from the start... except, maybe, the U-boat force.
An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.
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Ulrich Rudofsky
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Post by Ulrich Rudofsky »

Karl: Hindsight is always 100% perfect.
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Ulrich Rudofsky
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Post by Ulrich Rudofsky »

Interesting photo of the PRINZ EUGEN wreck. You can see how close to shore she really is. Year is before removal of the port screw in 1978; tip of the blade is showing. (Man and woman look ca. 1950's?)
http://www.williamson-labs.com/kwaja-pics.htm

The propeller of the PG is at the Laboe Memorial in Germany
http://xahlee.org/Whirlwheel_dir/boat/P ... ugen01.jpg
Ulrich
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