Admiral Hipper - class cruiser The " Admiral Hipper " - class was a group of five heavy cruiser s built by the German Kriegsmarine in the mid - 1930s . The class comprised " Admiral Hipper " , the lead ship , " Blücher " , " Prinz Eugen " , " Seydlitz " , and " Lützow " . Only the first three ships of the class were completed to see action during World War II . Work on " Seydlitz " stopped when she was approximately 95 percent complete ; it was decided to convert her into an aircraft carrier , but this was not completed either . " Lützow " was sold incomplete to the Soviet Union in 1940 . " Admiral Hipper " and " Blücher " took part in Operation " Weserübung " , the invasion of Norway in April 1940 . " Blücher " was sunk by Norwegian coastal defenses outside Oslo while " Admiral Hipper " led the attack on Trondheim . She then conducted sorties into the Atlantic to attack Allied merchant shipping . In 1942 , she was deployed to northern Norway to attack shipping to the Soviet Union , culminating in the Battle of the Barents Sea in December 1942 , where she was damaged by British cruisers . " Prinz Eugen " saw her first action during Operation " Rheinübung " with the battleship " Bismarck " . She eventually returned to Germany during the Channel Dash in 1942 , after which she too went to Norway . After being torpedoed by a British submarine , she returned to Germany for repairs . " Admiral Hipper " while decommissioned after returning to Germany in early 1943 , was partially repaired and recommissioned in the fall of 1944 for a refugee transport mission in 1945 . Only " Prinz Eugen " continued to serve in full commission and stayed in the Baltic until the end of the war . " Admiral Hipper " was scuttled in Kiel in May 1945 , leaving " Prinz Eugen " as the only member of the class to survive the war . She was ceded to the US Navy , which ultimately expended the ship in the Operation Crossroads nuclear tests in 1946 . " Seydlitz " was towed to Königsberg and scuttled before the advancing Soviet Army could seize the ship . She was ultimately raised and broken up for scrap . " Lützow " , renamed " Petropavlovsk " , remained unfinished when the Germans invaded the Soviet Union . The ship provided artillery support against advancing German forces until she was sunk in September 1941 . She was raised a year later and repaired enough to participate in the campaign to relieve the Siege of Leningrad in 1944 . She served on in secondary roles until the 1950s , when she was broken up . Design . Development . Article 181 of the Treaty of Versailles limited the German Reichsmarine to six battleships of the " or types " and six old light cruiser s . These obsolete ships could not be replaced until they were at least twenty years old , and their replacements could displace no more than and , respectively . In February 1922 , the major naval powers signed the Washington Naval Treaty ; Germany was not invited to attend , but she would be held to the same qualitative limitations as the signatories . By the early 1920s , the cruisers of the Reichsmarine were old enough to permit replacement ; the three " Königsberg " class cruisers and " Leipzig " were built in the middle of the decade . The 1930 London Naval Treaty formally divided cruiser types into two categories : heavy cruisers , armed with guns , and light cruisers , armed with guns . The Treaty of Versailles still prohibited Germany from building heavy cruisers , but the rise of Adolf Hitler ' s Nazi Party to power in 1933 led to the formal rejection of the Treaty of Versailles . After pulling out of the Geneva Conference in 1933 , Hitler argued that if the other European powers did not disarm to parity with Germany , they should accept German rearmament . The German navy , renamed the Kriegsmarine on 21 May 1935 , was now free to pursue rearmament . Germany concluded the Anglo - German Naval Agreement with Great Britain , which set German naval strength at a ratio of 35 % of the size of the Royal Navy . This permitted Germany to build of heavy cruisers , enough for five 10 , 000 - ton ships . The design for the first three of the five " Admiral Hipper " class ships was prepared in 1934 – 1935 . " Seydlitz " and " Lützow " were initially designed as light cruisers ; their design was prepared in 1934 – 1936 . These last two ships were to be armed with four triple turrets housing guns , as opposed to the four twin guns on the first three ships . The " light cruisers " were otherwise planned to follow the same particulars as their three " heavy " half - sisters . On 14 November 1936 , the Navy decided to complete the final two ships identically to the other members of the class . General characteristics . The ships of the " Admiral Hipper " class varied slightly in size . " Admiral Hipper " was long at the waterline and overall . After the installation of a clipper bow during fitting out , her overall length increased to . The ship had a beam of . " Blücher " was long at the waterline and overall ; with the clipper bow , her overall length was . Her beam was . Both ships had a designed draft of and a full load draft of . " Prinz Eugen " was at the waterline and long overall , with a beam of and a draft of standard and 7 . 2 m at full load . " Seydlitz " and " Lützow " were long overall , with beams of and drafts of standard and at full load . " Admiral Hipper " and " Blücher " had a designed displacement of and a full load displacement of . " Prinz Eugen " s displacement increased slightly , to designed and full load . " Seydlitz " and " Lützow " grew heavier still , at designed and full load . The ships ' hulls were constructed from longitudinal steel frames . The hulls were divided into fourteen watertight compartments and a double bottom that extended for 72 percent of the length of the keel . The Kriegsmarine regarded the ships as good sea boats , with gentle motion . At low speed , however , they were affected unpredictably by wind and currents . The ships heeled up to fourteen degrees and lost up to 50 % speed with the rudder hard over at high speed . The ships had a standard complement of 42 officers and 1 , 340 enlisted men . Wartime modifications increased the crew to 51 officers and 1 , 548 sailors . The ships carried several smaller vessels , including two picket boats , two barges , one launch , one pinnace , and two dinghies . Machinery . The " Admiral Hipper " - class ships were powered by three sets of geared steam turbines . " Admiral Hipper " s and " Blücher " s engines were built by Blohm & Voss , while " Prinz Eugen " s turbines were built by Germaniawerft . The turbines installed on " Seydlitz " s and " Lützow " s engines were manufactured by Deschimag . Steam was provided in the first three ships by twelve ultra - high pressure boilers . " Seydlitz " and " Lützow " were equipped with nine double - ended high - pressure boilers . " Admiral Hipper " s and " Prinz Eugen " s boilers were manufactured by Wagner , while the boilers for the other three ships were built by La Mont . Each turbine drove a three - bladed screw in diameter . The ships ' engines were rated at for a top speed of . They carried of fuel oil as designed , though the ships could carry up to . At a cruising speed of , the ships had a maximum range of . Steering was controlled by a single rudder . " Admiral Hipper " and " Blücher " were equipped with three electricity plants with four diesel generators and six turbo - generators each ; the diesel generators supplied 150 kW apiece , four of the six turbo - generators provided 460 kW , and the final pair provided 230 kW . Total electrical output was 2900 kW . " Prinz Eugen " , " Seydlitz " , and " Lützow " were equipped with three 150 kW diesel generators , four 460 kW turbo - generators , one 230 kW turbo - generator , and one 150 kW AC generator , for a total of 2870 kW . All five ships ' electrical plants operated at 220 volts . Armament . The three completed ships were armed with eight SK C / 34 guns in four twin turrets . The ships were supplied with between 960 and 1 , 280 rounds of ammunition , or 120 to 160 rounds per gun . The guns were mounted in Drh LC / 34 turrets , which enabled depression to −10° and elevation to 37° . At maximum elevation , the gun could reach out to . It fired a projectile at a muzzle velocity of . The projectiles included armor piercing shells , base - fuzed and nose - fuzed high explosive ( HE ) warheads . Each ship was also supplied with 40 illumination rounds that weighed and had a muzzle velocity of . The four gun turrets built for " Seydlitz " were emplaced as coastal artillery pieces in the Atlantic Wall . Only the two forward turrets had been installed on " Lützow " when she was delivered to the Soviet Union . The ships ' heavy anti - aircraft battery consisted of twelve SK C / 33 guns in twin mountings . These guns were supplied with a total of 4 , 800 rounds of ammunition . The mounts were the Dopp LC / 31 type , originally designed for earlier SK C / 31 guns . The LC / 31 mounting was triaxially - stabilized and capable of elevating to 80° . This enabled the guns to engage targets up to a ceiling of . Against surface targets , the guns had a maximum range of . The guns fired fixed ammunition weighing ; the guns could fire HE and HE incendiary rounds , as well as illumination shells . Close - range anti - aircraft weaponry initially consisted of twelve SK C / 30 guns and eight Flak 38 guns . The 3 . 7 cm gun was a single - shot gun , with a rate of fire of around 30 rounds per minute . At its maximum elevation of 85° , the gun had a ceiling of . The 2 cm gun was a magazine - fed automatic weapon , firing at up to 500 rounds per minute . Twenty and forty - round magazines were supplied for the guns ; The guns were supplied with 16 , 000 rounds of ammunition . Later in the war , the light anti - aircraft batteries for " Admiral Hipper " and " Prinz Eugen " were modified . Four 3 . 7 cm guns were removed and the number of 2 cm guns had increased to twenty - eight . In 1944 , " Prinz Eugen " s 3 . 7 cm guns were replaced by fifteen Flak 28 guns . By 1945 , the ship ' s light anti - aircraft battery comprised twenty 4 cm guns and eighteen 2 cm guns ; " Admiral Hipper " mounted sixteen 4 cm guns and fourteen 2 cm guns . The ships ' armament was rounded out by twelve torpedo tubes ; they were mounted in four triple launchers on the ships ' main deck . The ships carried twenty - four G7a torpedo es , twelve loaded in the tubes and one reload for each . The G7a torpedo carried a warhead . It had three speed settings ; in 1939 , it could reach at , at , and at , its maximum speed setting . The radial engine was improved during the war , which improved performance . The ranges increased to , , and , respectively . " Admiral Hipper " also carried 96 EMC mines ; these mines were contact mines and had a 300 kg explosive charge . Armor . The five " Admiral Hipper " class ships were protected by Krupp steel armor , of both " Wotan Hart " and " Wotan Weich " types . The ships had two armored decks to protect the ship from vertical attacks . The upper deck was thick amidships to protect the ships ' vitals . At either end , the deck was reduced to thickness . The bow and stern was not protected by deck armor . The main armored deck was thick . Both decks were " Wotan Hart " steel . The main armored belt was thick amidships and reduced to thick aft . An interior 20 mm thick torpedo bulkhead protected the ships ' vitals from underwater attack . The ships ' main battery turrets were protected with thick faces and 70 mm thick sides . Their roofs were also 70 mm thick . The 10 . 5 cm guns were equipped with thick gun shields . The forward conning tower had thick sides and a thick roof . The rear conning tower was significantly less well armored , with only splinter protection . Their sides were 30 mm thick with a 20 mm thick roof . The anti - aircraft fire directors were also given splinter protection , with thick shields . Construction . " Admiral Hipper " ordered as " H " , as a replacement for the light cruiser . She was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg under construction number 501 , on 6 July 1935 . She was launched on 6 February 1937 and fitting out work was completed two years later in April 1939 ; the ship was commissioned into the Kriegsmarine on 29 April 1939 . " Blücher " , ordered as " G " to replace , was built by the Deutsche Werke shipyard in Kiel , under construction number 246 . Her keel was laid on 15 August 1936 and launched 8 June 1937 . Work on the ship was finished by 20 September 1939 , the day she was commissioned into the Kriegsmarine . " Prinz Eugen " , the last ship of the class to be completed , was ordered from the Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel as " J " under construction number 564 . She was laid down on 23 April 1936 and launched on 22 August 1938 . She was commissioned into the Kriegsmarine on 1 August 1940 . " Seydlitz " and " Lützow " were both built by the Deutsche Schiff - und Maschinenbau shipyard in Bremen ; " Seydlitz " was ordered as " K " , under construction number 940 , and " Lützow " was ordered as " L " under construction number 941 . " Seydlitz " was laid down on 29 December 1936 and " Lützow " followed her on 2 August 1937 . The ships were launched on 19 January 1939 and 1 July 1939 , respectively . Work ceased on " Seydlitz " when she was approximately 95 percent complete . In October 1939 , the Soviet Union approached Germany with a request to purchase the then unfinished " Prinz Eugen " , " Seydlitz " , and " Lützow " , along with plans for German capital ships , naval artillery , and other naval technology . The Kriegsmarine denied the request for " Seydlitz " and " Prinz Eugen " , but agreed to sell " Lützow " . Service history . " Admiral Hipper " . " Admiral Hipper " led the assault on Trondheim during Operation " Weserübung " ; while en route to her objective , she sank the British destroyer . In December 1940 , she broke out into the Atlantic Ocean to operate against Allied merchant shipping , though this operation ended without significant success . In February 1941 , " Admiral Hipper " sortied again , sinking several merchant vessels before eventually returning to Germany via the Denmark Strait . The ship was then transferred to northern Norway to participate in operations against convoys to the Soviet Union , culminating in the Battle of the Barents Sea on 31 December 1942 , where she was damaged and forced to withdraw by the light cruisers and . Enraged by the defeat at the battle , Adolf Hitler ordered the majority of the surface warships scrapped , though Admiral Karl Dönitz was able to convince Hitler to retain the surface fleet . As a result , " Admiral Hipper " was returned to Germany and decommissioned for repairs . The ship was never restored to operational status , however , and on 3 May 1945 , Royal Air Force bombers severely damaged " Admiral Hipper " while she was in Kiel . Her crew scuttled the ship at her moorings , and in July 1945 , she was raised and towed to Heikendorfer Bay . She was ultimately broken up for scrap in 1948 – 1952 ; her bell resides in the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich . " Blücher " . Following her commissioning in November 1939 , " Blücher " conducted a series of sea trials and training exercises in the Baltic , which lasted until March 1940 . She was pronounced ready for service with the fleet on 5 April 1940 . Assigned to Group 5 during the invasion of Norway in April 1940 , the ship served as " Konteradmiral " Oskar Kummetz ' s flagship . The ship led the flotilla of warships into the Oslofjord on the night of 8 April , to seize Oslo , the capital of Norway . Three old coastal guns in the Oscarsborg Fortress engaged the ship at very close range , scoring several damaging hits . Two torpedoes fired by land - based torpedo batteries struck the ship , causing serious damage . A major fire broke out aboard " Blücher " , which could not be contained . After a magazine explosion , the ship slowly capsized and sank , with major loss of life . The wreck remains on the bottom of the Oslofjord ; several salvage attempts were considered after 1963 , but none were carried out . The ship ' s screws were removed in 1953 and divers removed over of fuel oil from the ship ' s bunkers in 1994 , though oil from unaccessible fuel tanks is still leaking from the sunken ship . At the time the divers removed the oil , they also recovered one of her Ar 196 floatplanes , which is preserved in Stavanger . " Prinz Eugen " . " Prinz Eugen " saw extensive action during Operation Rheinübung , an attempted breakout into the Atlantic Ocean with the battleship " Bismarck " in May 1941 . The two ships engaged the British battlecruiser and battleship in the Battle of Denmark Strait , during which " Hood " was destroyed and " Prince of Wales " was severely damaged . " Prinz Eugen " was detached from " Bismarck " during the operation to raid Allied merchant shipping , but this was cut short due to engine troubles . After putting into occupied France and undergoing repairs , the ship participated in Operation Cerberus , a daring daylight dash through the English Channel back to Germany . In February 1942 , " Prinz Eugen " was deployed to Norway , although her time stationed there was cut short when she was torpedoed by the British submarine days after arriving in Norwegian waters . The torpedo severely damaged the ship ' s stern , which necessitated repairs in Germany . Upon returning to active service , the ship spent several months training new officer cadet s in the Baltic before serving as artillery support to the retreating German Army on the Eastern Front . After the German collapse in May 1945 , the ship was surrendered to the British Royal Navy before being transferred to the US Navy as a war prize . After examining the ship in the United States , the US Navy assigned the cruiser to the Operation Crossroads nuclear tests in the Bikini Atoll . After surviving both atomic blasts , " Prinz Eugen " was towed to Kwajalein Atoll where she ultimately capsized and sank in December 1946 . The wreck remains partially visible above the water ; one of her screws was salvaged and is on display at the Laboe Naval Memorial in Germany . " Seydlitz " . At the time construction on " Seydlitz " was halted , she was approximately 95 percent complete . The unfinished ship remained inactive until March 1942 , when the Kriegsmarine decided to pursue aircraft carriers over surface combatants . " Seydlitz " was among the vessels chosen for conversion into auxiliary aircraft carriers . Renamed " Weser " , conversion work began on the ship in May 1942 . The majority of the superstructure was cut away , with the exception of the funnel , to prepare for the installation of a flight deck and an aircraft hangar . In total , approximately of material from the ship was removed . As a carrier , the ship was to have had a complement of ten Bf 109 fighters and ten Ju 87 dive - bombers . She would have been armed with an anti - aircraft battery of ten 10 . 5 cm SK C / 33 guns in dual mounts , ten 3 . 7 cm SK C / 30 guns in dual mounts , and twenty - four 2 cm Flak 38 guns in quadruple mounts . Conversion work was halted in June 1943 , however , and the incomplete vessel was towed to Königsberg where she was eventually scuttled on 29 January 1945 . The ship was seized by the advancing Soviet Army and was briefly considered for cannibalization for spare parts to complete her sistership " Lützow " , which had been purchased by the Soviet Navy before the war . This plan was also abandoned , and the ship was broken up for scrap . " Lützow " . In October 1939 , the Soviet Union requested the purchase of the incomplete " Lützow " in October 1939 . After a series of negotiations , the Kriegsmarine agreed to the sale in February 1940 , at the price of 150 million Reichsmarks . The transfer was completed on 15 April . The vessel was still incomplete when sold to the Soviet Union , with only half of her main battery of eight guns installed and much of the superstructure missing . Renamed " Petropavlovsk " in September 1940 , work on the ship was effected by a German - advised Soviet shipyard in Leningrad . Still unfinished when Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941 , the ship briefly took part in the defense of Leningrad by providing artillery support to the Soviet defenders . She was sunk by German artillery in September 1941 and raised a year later in September 1942 . After repairs were effected , the ship was renamed " Tallinn " and used in the Soviet counter - offensive that relieved Leningrad in 1944 . After the end of the war , the ship was used as a stationary training platform and as a floating barracks before being broken up for scrap sometime between 1953 and 1960 . Notes . Notes Citations