DHM1242. Prinz Eugen by Ivan
Berryman. The German Heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen is depicted in a quiet moment
at Gotenhaven in April 1941 whilst engaged in exercises with her
consort, the mighty Bismarck that would eventually lead to Operation
Rheinubung,. Bismarck herself is alongside in the distance, where final
preparations for their foray into the North sea and beyond are being
made.
DHM1258. Admiral Graf Spee
enters Montevideo by
Ivan Berryman. Showing visible signs of her tangle with British cruisers at the
Battle of the River Plate, the German pocket battleship Graf Spee slips
into the neutral waters of the Montevideo roadstead accompanied by the
Uruguayan gunboat Rio Negro for light repairs. (Damage can be seen on
the hull and behind the Conning tower ) . This was to be the last haven for the Graf Spee which was
later scuttled at the harbour mouth, her commander Kapitan zur See
Langsdorff believing a large British fleet to be waiting for attempted
escape into the South Atlantic.
B0113. Admiral Graf Spee by
Ivan Berryman. Showing visible signs of her tangle with British cruisers at the
Battle of the River Plate, the German pocket battleship Graf Spee slips
into the neutral waters of the Montevideo roadstead for light
repairs. This was to be the last haven for the Graf Spee which was
later scuttled at the harbour mouth, her commander Kapitan zur See
Langsdorff believing a large British fleet to be waiting for attempted
escape into the South Atlantic.
DHM9004. U-269 by Ivan Berryman. Type VIIC U-Boat U269 during an
engagement in the English Channel with a B24 Liberator from 224 Squadron
based at St Eval in Cornwall.
U-269 U269 had been commissioned in July 1942 and now belonged to the 6th
U-Boat Flotilla based at the occupied French port of St Nazaire. Sea
trials of new equipment during April and May 1944 had resulted in U269
moving to the port of Brest and it was from here that her commander
Oberleutnant Georg Uhl, began a patrol on 6th June. In the early hours of
the morning of 11th June U269 was detected on the surface by Liberators
radar approximately six miles away. The aircraft, commanded by F/L J
Posnett, made visual contact shortly afterwards and began a depth charge
attack during which time she wasa engaged by 20mm and 37mm anti-aircraft
fire from the submarine. The Liberator's outer starboard engine was hit as
was the fuselage and some control surfaces. The damage was sufficient to
prevent all but one of the depth charges from releasing and the U-Boat
sustained no damage. The Liberators crew dealt with an onboard fire and jettisoned the
remaining depth charges and the aircraft slowly regained height and
eventually returned safely to base. Having survived this attack U269 was attacked and sunk by the
Frigate HMS Bickerton two weeks later. Thirty three of the crew were saved
but the casualties included the commander.
DHM1180.
Bismarck at Hamburg by Ivan
Berryman. Bismarck, now complete and newly painted in
full Baltic camouflage, returns to Hamburg for the last time as the harsh
winter of 1940/41 relents and the pride of the German Kriegsmarine
prepares for real action. In the distance, the pre-Dreadnought Schleswig-Holstein
awaits her next commission, the old ship alternating between vital
ice-breaker and air defence duties at this time.
DHM1270. Bismarck
Replies to HMS Hood by Ivan Berryman. The mighty Bismarck
returns fire to the fast-approaching HMS Hood a the start of a battle
that would see both adversaries tragically sunk.
B0109. Bismarck Entering Hamburg
Harbour by Ivan Berryman.
B0116. Bismarck
Replies to HMS Hood by Ivan Berryman. The mighty Bismarck
returns fire to the fast-approaching HMS Hood a the start of a battle
that would see both adversaries tragically sunk.
DHM0933. Bismarck by Ivan Berryman. Fairey Swordfish I, L9726 4M of 818
Sqn, HMS Ark Royal pulls a tight,
climbing turn through a hail of anti-aircraft fire as its torpedo strikes
home, jamming the steering gear of the mighty Bismarck and setting in
motion the beginning of her dramatic end.
Built by Blohm und Voss of Hamburg and launched on the 14th February
1939, The Bismarck spent the following 18 months fitting out, and
receiving of main Officers. On the 24th of August 1940 the Bismarck was
handed over to the German navy
The main Officers of the Bismarck were.
KMS Prinz Eugen
in naval art prints and naval paintings by naval artist Ivan berryman. The
heavy Cruiser Prinz Eugen, part of the Hipper class (second group.)
it was intended to have two sister ships Seydlitz and Lutzow both never
completed. The Prinz Eugen built at Germaniawerft at Kiel and
launched on the 22nd August 1936 and commissioned 1st August 1940.
She accompanied the Bismarck on the Bismarck's breakout into the Atlantic,
but escaped, later she returned to the Atlantic with the Scharnhorst and
Gneisenau from Brest to Germany. After Germany's surrender the Prinz
Eugen was ceded to the USA at the Potsdam agreement. The Us Navy crew
although trained by Kriegsmarine personnel, were unable to maintain the
Prinz Eugen's machinery and a complete breakdown occurred with the
ship needing to be towed the rest of the way to Pearl harbor. She was used
as a target in the A bomb tests during operation Crossroads. being the
target in two tests, "Able" and "Baker". The
Prinz Eugen survived both tests without structural damage but being
contaminated. She was towed to Kwajalein and decommissioned. On the 21st
December due to damage she started to list, unable to correct the
situation the Prinz Eugen was towed to Enunuj reef where she
capsized and sank at position 167 Degrees 41 East and 8 degrees 44 south
where she remains to this day.
Displacement: 16974 standard, fully loaded 19,050 tons.
Speed: 32.5 knots Compliment 1600 Armament: eight 203mm 60 calibre guns in four pairs.
twelve 105mm in six pairs. twelve 37mm in six pairs
Eight 20mm and twelve 533mm Torpedo Tubes in four groups of three
tubes. also carried three aircraft.
DHM1242. Prinz Eugen by Ivan
Berryman. The German Heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen is depicted in a quiet moment
at Gotenhaven in April 1941 whilst engaged in exercises with her
consort, the mighty Bismarck that would eventually lead to Operation
Rheinubung,. Bismarck herself is alongside in the distance, where final
preparations for their foray into the North sea and beyond are being
made.
B0206. Prinz Eugen by Ivan Berryman.
The heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen slips quietly through
the waters of Kiel Harbour as one of her own Arado Ar.196s flies
overhead. In the background, Bismarck, wearing her Baltic camouflage, is
alongside taking on supplies.
The Scharnhorst
The
design was a compromise between a Battleship and the a heavy armament
Pocket battleship. Built at Wilhelmshaven and laid down on the 16th May
1935, launched 3rd October 1936 and completed 7th January
1939. (refitted just after completion with a clipper
bow so called a Atlantic Bow increasing the length by 33 feet, (to 770
ft 8 inches) this took until September 1939. Scharnhorst was
torpedoed by a Royal Naval Submarine during the Norwegian campaign,
repairs took until October 1940. After repairs she acted with her
sister ship attacking allied shipping between January and March1 1941.
During the "Channel dash" on the 12th February 1942 the
Scharnhorst (along with Gneisenau) was mined but managed to reach the
safety of the German Port. Her repairs took place at Kiel and were
completed in October 1942. In March 1943 she was transferred to
Northern Norway to continue her commerce raiding on Allied shipping, but
on the 26th December 1943, while attempting to intercept convoy JW-55B, she encountered a large British Force of the battleship
HMS Duke of York and the cruisers HMS Belfast, HMS Jamaica and HMS
Norfolk. Initially HMS Norfolk engaged the Scharnhorst and a lucky
hit knocked out the radar systems of the Scharnhorst. soon after
the Scharnhorst was engaged by the Battleship HMS Duke of York along
with the cruisers and was sunk with the loss of 1,803 crew (she had been
hit by a number of shells and 14 torpedoes. This engagement took place
north east of the North Cape.
DHM1188. The Channel Dash by Ivan Berryman. February 1942 and Viz. Admiral Ciliaxs
mighty Scharnhorst leads her sister Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen up the
English Channel during Operation Cerberus, their daring breakout from
the port of Brest on the French Atlantic coast to the relative safety of
Wilhelmshaven and Brunsbuttel. All three ships survived what became
known as the Channel Dash, not without damage, but the operation proved
a huge propaganda success for Germany and a crushing embarrassment for
the British. A number of torpedo boats are in attendance, including
Kondor and Falke and the Z class destroyer Friedrich Ihn in the
distance.
DHM1004. Atlantic Comrades by Ivan Berryman. The Scharnhorst is pictured in 1939 when she and her sister ship Gneisenau
menacingly prowled the North Atlantic. She is shown at dawn as two type VII
U-Boats glide towards her for a friendly rendezvous and to take on much needed
supplies, as well as a few of the luxuries that the tiny u-boats were simply too
small to carry.
B0117. Operation
Cerberus, Channel Dash by Ivan Berryman. February 1942 and Viz. Admiral
Ciliax's mighty Scharnhorst leads her sister Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen
up the English Channel during 'Operation Cerberus', their daring
breakout from the port of Brest on the French Atlantic coast to the
relative safety of Wilhelmshaven and Brunsbuttel. All three ships
survived what became known as the Channel Dash, not without damage, but
the operation proved a huge propaganda success for Germany and a
crushing embarrassment for the British. A number of torpedo boats are in
attendance, including Kondor and Falke and the Z class destroyer
Friedrich Ihn in the distance.
B0138. Attack on the Scharnhorst by Ivan Berryman.
Swordfish of 825 Sqn led by Lt-Cdr Esmonde begin their heroic
attack on the battlescruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and the heavy
cruiser Prinz Eugen as they make their way up the English Channel from
Brest during Operation Cerberus on 12th February 1942. Although
all the aircraft were lost and no significant damage was done to the
German fleet, all the pilots were decorated for their bravery and Lt-Cdr
Esmonde received the first Fleet Air Arm VC to be awarded, albeit
posthumously.
B0107. HMS Glowworm's Attack on the
Admiral Hipper by Ivan Berryman. HMS Glowworm, burning severely after receiving hits
from the mighty Admiral Hipper, is depicted turning to begin her heroic
sacrifice off the Norwegian coast on 8th April 1940. Hugely out-gunned
and already crippled, Glowworm's captain, Lieutenant-Commander Roope
rammed his destroyer into the side of the Admiral Hipper, inflicting a
40 metre rip in its armour belt before drifting away and exploding. 38
British sailors were rescued from the sea and Roope was awarded a
posthumous VC for his bravery, the first earned by the Royal Navy in
WWII.
B0205. The attack on the Admiral
Hipper by HMS Glowworm by Ivan Berryman.
KMS
Admiral Hippers first and uneventful operation (Nordmark) was to hunt
down allied merchantmen off Scandinavia, along with the battlecruisers Scharnhorst
and Gneisenau in late February 1940.
In April 1940, she participated in Operation Weser (the invasion
of Norway). During the capture of Trondheim, Admiral Hipper and her
destroyer escort attacked the British destroyer HMS Glowworm.
Damaged, Glowworm rammed the Hipper before she blew up and
sank. The 40-metre hole
torn in Hippers hull did not prevent her from completing her mission
before repairs were carried out at Wilhelmshaven.
On
the 4th June 1940, Admiral Hipper joined the battlecruisers
Scharnhorst,
Gneisenau and four destroyers to take part in Operation Juno (strike
against allied forces in the Harstadt region).
The group sank the tanker Oil Pioneer, the troop
transporter Orama and the trawler Juniper before Hipper
withdrew to Trondheim. The
following two months saw the Hipper operating in the arctic region
without the aid of the two battlecruisers (withdrawn due to torpedo
damage). She returned to
Wilhelmshaven for repairs after sinking the small steamer Ester Thorsen. She remained
in port but at constant readiness to take part in Operation Sealion
(invasion of England), which never materialised.
On
27th November 1940 she participated in Operation Nordseetour
(North Atlantic Raid). She
located convoy WS-5A on the 24th December 1940 and sank the
merchant cruiser Jumna on Christmas day.
She later damaged another merchantman and scored four hits on the
Kent Class cruiser HMS Berwick before withdrawing.
Hipper arrived at the port of Brest (France) on the 27th
December. She left for the
Atlantic again on 1st February 1941, being past information
on the whereabouts of convoy HG-35 by the shadowing U-Boat U37.
On route, U-37 lost the convoy but Hipper came across the
unescorted convoy SLS-64 instead. Hipper
had no trouble in sinking seven out of the nineteen ships in this
convoy. Yet again her
thirsty engines forced a re-fuel, this time at Brest (France), after
which she sailed for Kiel via the Denmark straits, arriving on 28th
March 1941.
Admiral
Hipper spent the next months at Kiel under refit, which included the
conversion of water tanks into fuel tanks to improve her range.
On the 21st March 1942 she sailed for Trondheim with
an escort of three destroyers and three torpedo boats.
She next set sail in early July 1942 (Operation Rösselsprung,
the attempt to hunt down the ill-fated convoy PQ-17) in company with the
battleship Tirpitz and the pocket battleship Admiral Scheer.
This battle group never sited the convoy but its mere presents in
the area forced the convoy to scatter, allowing U-Boats to sink two
thirds of the convoy’s number. Between
24th and the 28th September the Hipper escorted by
four destroyers, laid mines off Novoya Zemelya.
On
the 31st December 1942 Admiral Hipper, the pocket battleship Lützow
and six destroyers attacked the convoy JW-51B (which later became known
as the battle of the Barents Sea).
During the battle, the British destroyers Orwell, Onslow
and Achates defended their convoy admirably by engaging Admiral
Hipper. HMS Achates
was badly damaged by the heavy cruiser and later sank.
Admiral Hipper next came under fire from the advancing cruisers
HMS Jamaica and HMS Sheffield; the serious damage she
received below the waterline forced her withdrawal Kaafjord.
When Hitler heard of the outcome of the battle, he uttered the
famous orders to scrap all his capital ships!
