US evaluation of Prinz Eugen, comments on radars etc.

Discussions about the history of the ship, technical details, etc.

Moderator: Bill Jurens

TTTT
Member
Posts: 72
Joined: Thu Sep 02, 2021 9:02 pm

US evaluation of Prinz Eugen, comments on radars etc.

Post by TTTT »

The cruiser Prinz Eugen was the largest and most modern German surface ship to survive WWII intact. Allocated to the United States, the ship briefly served as USS Prinz Eugen (IX-300), having some equipment stripped off for study and then being expended as an atomic bomb target.

Here are some comments from the americans on radar etc.

The FuMo 25 radar
This rectangular antenna was carried on the aft mast. It was just a general-purpose radar with a range of about 10NM.
FuMo25This system was already obsolete even when compared to WWII-era American radars, let alone the first postwar models, and little was done in the way of exploiting it’s technology.

The FuMo 26 radar
This was the most visible of Prinz Eugen‘s radars, being carried on the rangefinder atop the conning tower. It was a ship-to-ship gunnery radar. The basic model had a range of 13 NM.
The German sailors told the Americans that their ship’s FuMo 26 was an upgraded, even more advanced model with a short 4 microsecond pulse and a range of 21NM. This upgraded model had accuracy of ±55 yards and the Germans considered it sufficient for “blind” targeting of enemy cruisers or battleships. Perhaps due to it’s sophisticated nature, the US Navy personnel never quite mastered the FuMo 26 in the short time the cruiser was on the East Coast. It was decided to leave it aboard to witness the effects of a nuclear blast upon a high-end foreign radar.

The FuMo 27 radar
This radar was carried on the aft rangefinder. It’s only function was to measure the distance to a targeted ship.
This radar had constant technical problems when the cruiser was in American service. Little was done to study it.

The FuMo 81 Berlin-S radar
This small antenna was carried atop the main mast. It was a high-frequency radar used to localize targets detected by other radars. It was judged inferior to existing US Navy radars.

The FuMB 4 Sumatra ESM system
These small antennas on the conning tower intercepted enemy radar transmissions and warned the captain if Prinz Eugen was “being painted” (targeted by an enemy gunnery radar). The US Navy personnel considered it of average abilities.

Other equipment

The GHG sonar system
For certain, this was the greatest prize of all taken off the German cruiser. The GHG sonar was, by WWII standards, very advanced. It had a spaced array of multiple crystal hydrophones with electric signal delays. This radar could detect a ship out to 10NM in quiet conditions, and because of the signal delaying, it was possible to determine a contact’s bearing and course.

The americans were impressed with the main guns, and viewed the AA guns as comparable with their own.

Comments?

https://wwiiafterwwii.wordpress.com/201 ... inz-eugen/
Byron Angel
Senior Member
Posts: 1655
Joined: Sun Mar 06, 2011 1:06 am

Re: US evaluation of Prinz Eugen, comments on radars etc.

Post by Byron Angel »

Well done, TTTT! Excellent find and thank you for sharing.

Byron
TTTT
Member
Posts: 72
Joined: Thu Sep 02, 2021 9:02 pm

Re: US evaluation of Prinz Eugen, comments on radars etc.

Post by TTTT »

Thanks, would be interesting to hear from the radar experts on this forum what they think about the US viewpoint - are they on target or are they off? They probably did not have much time with the ship and some of the evaluation may have been somewhat superficial?
Steve Crandell
Senior Member
Posts: 954
Joined: Wed Feb 05, 2014 7:05 pm

Re: US evaluation of Prinz Eugen, comments on radars etc.

Post by Steve Crandell »

I think Prinz Eugen's conformal sonar was the one removed and installed on a US submarine. If not Prinz Eugen, it came from another German ship or submarine. It was impressive in testing and became the basis for the BQR series of USN submarine passive sonars, and AFAIK it still is today, although of course it has undergone many iterations of new and improved versions over the years.
Post Reply