MontyB,
dont get me wrong, PE was a Good ships,Ande yes sher made it to Brest, when Bismarck didnt. But IF Hans know she was going to the US, He or her first CO Helmuth Brinkmann, would not have given her up so openly.. that was my only pouint im making here ok.. im not tryiong to be Smartass ok.. Also what did you mean on this: They wouldn't have towed it back to Germany if the crew had refused to sail it back under its own steam they would have sunk it on the spot, had it decided to turn itself in at the first Swedish port rather than surrender the crew would have been interned and the ship turned over to an allied crew who would have taken it back to Germany more than likely with the German crew (certainly its officers) under arrest for disobeying Donetz's order to surrender.
Nikki

I meant that the Prinz Eugen had no option but surrender, be sunk by the allies or scuttle (as the Graf Spee had done), in the end the captain of the ship decided he would rather his crew go home than die in a futile attempt to avoid the inevitable.

MontyB,
dont get me wrong, PE was a good crusier, i was talking to another friend about this., and her mentioned they could pin her, in between the two crusiers and the Distroyers, and take her to scapa flow that way, But what do you thing, is that a possable or no?
NIKKI

The captains are not going to hazard their vessels to pen her in.

Originally Posted by 03USMC

The captains are not going to hazard their vessels to pen her in.

Absolutely.

As I mentioned previously, by 1945, everyone was sick of war including the officers and crew of Prinz Eugen. All they wanted to do was get home and carry on with their lives.

Guys, you thing im crazy dont you all? that fine if you do, But look, IF PE had the opening she need, do thing twice that she wouldnt make a break for it!
NIKKI

The thing is that we have answers to this question already as there was nothing forcing the ship to surrender she could have decided to fight it out to the bitter end or make a run for neutral Sweden (and given the distances involved probably would have made it) but the Captain and crew decided that it would be a futile and ultimately unsuccessful venture.

They chose the only real course of action open to them, I think to some degree you are still under estimating the achievement of this ship in just surviving the war, the fact that it sailed into captivity under its own steam and that its crew got to survive the war was an amazing feat by comparison to the rest of the German surface fleet.

Guys,
this is going a little off this topic: If Renown and Repulse went up against PE, could they handle her, and get a tow line on her to keep her from helping her brother Bismarck in his last fight against KGV, Rondey, Norfolk and Dorsetshire? I guess what i was trying to ask is could they hold on to her with the towlines til, bismarck got sank, then when KGV and Rondey, when back to scapa flow, the four of them take her back with them, but if they able to get a prize crew on board, they dont have to two her, but say in a net around her, so she can run for freedom, that what i ment ok..
Nikki

Umm the Prinz Eugen wasn't there when the Bismark was sunk and had it been there it would have been sunk as well.

The Prinz Eugen and in fact any warship built in the last 200 years is not something you just sail up to and throw tow lines on or board with grappling hooks and cutlasses especially if it is firing at you I would go as far as to say that the only ships in the last 600 years that have been taken in combat were first beaten to the point that they could no longer remain in action and then struck their colours.

The thing is that had the Prinz Eugen chosen not to surrender the allies would not have risked life and limb to take the vessel undamaged they would have hunted it down and sunk it with overwhelming firepower, there are no other options or scenarios for it.

Guys not if they knocked her guns out and i mean all her guys! then could they do it? this is an idea i had so the US could keep her before 1945! What do you guys thing??
NIKKI