The German heavy cruiser PRINZ EUGEN was an enlarged version of the
Admiral Hipper class ships. The keel was laid on 23 April 1936, she was
launched on 22 August 1938, and commissioned on 1 August 1940. She took
part in the first mission of the battleship BISMARCK, during which they
sank the British battlecruiser HMS HOOD. Having split with BISMARCK,
PRINZ EUGEN was supposed to commence hunting the Allied convoys, but due
to engine failure she sailed back to France. Once repaired, she
participated in Operation "Cerberus" - the passage of German ships from
France to Germany through English Channel.