The Prince Imposter - Der Schein-Prinz

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Ulrich Rudofsky
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The Prince Imposter - Der Schein-Prinz

Post by Ulrich Rudofsky »

I ran across some interesting photos of a dummy of “PRINZ EUGEN” . The photos are entitled: “Schein-Prinz” ie, “Prince Imposter” . It shows the mock-up under construction in Brest (not Nantes) in November 1941, using three French coasters and a lot of wood and sail cloth. It is not known if the dummy PG actually fooled the enemy. In the background is the new ship building hall of the French arsenal in the Laninon shipyard area according to Lars Hellwinkel ; I paraphrased and translated his information. (see below)
http://www.wlb-stuttgart.de/seekrieg/41-08.htm
http://www.wlb-stuttgart.de/seekrieg/41 ... nprinz.htm
Image
Image
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“Die beiden Bilder entstanden im November 1941 in Brest. Hier ist der "Schein-Prinz" zu sehen, eine aus drei in französischen Häfen vorgefundenen Küstenschiffen unter Verwendung von viel Holz und Segeltuch zusammengebaute Attrappe des Kreuzers Prinz Eugen, mit der man den Gegner täuschen wollte; ob diese Attrappe einen wirklichen Nutzen erbrachte, ist nicht bekannt geworden.
Aus Kiel sendet uns Herr Lars Hellwinkel dankenswerter Weise dazu die folgenden Informationen:
Es handelt sich bei dem "Schein-Prinz" um Bilder aus Brest, nicht aus Nantes (wie wir zuvor - einer entsprechenden Bildunterschrift folgend - behauptet haben). Im Hintergrund sieht man die neue Schiffbauhalle des französischen Arsenals im Werftgebiet Laninon von Brest. Das Photo muß das Scheinschiff noch in der Ausrüstung zeigen.”
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Legend
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Re: The Prince Imposter - Der Schein-Prinz

Post by Legend »

You know... If I was an Allied interpreter and some planes brought back a photo of that dummy, I would have thought the Germans had invited the Japanese (Who brought a cruiser) to visit and tried to hide it. The "Padoga" looking superstructure would have given me that notion... Very tall and square...
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Ulrich Rudofsky
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Re: The Prince Imposter - Der Schein-Prinz

Post by Ulrich Rudofsky »

To me it looks a lot more like the Admiral Scheer.

http://www.german-navy.de/kriegsmarine/ ... photo.html
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RF
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Re: The Prince Imposter - Der Schein-Prinz

Post by RF »

But still enough to fool attacking or even reconnaisance aircraft.

Was this construction anything to do with Thunderbolt/Cerebus?
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