KMS Prince Albert

KMS *Prinz Albert* (or Prince Albert) is one of the most powerful battleships on the planet owing to her exceptional speed and powerful armaments as well as her armour. She is the last battleship made by the Kriegsmarine, as they continue to focus more so on heavy cruisers. Her personification is heavily featured in the arc itself.

## Design

Her actual design is that of a super-battleship, one the Kriegsmarine was not particularly shy about using a lot. She was built with the mindset that she would be the last of the battleship type and as such the era would bid farewell with a bang (as well as make it impossible to surpass her). Her length is 269 meters long; 37 meters wide; and 11 meters deep with a total tonnage of around 100,000 tons- 30,000 larger than the *Yamato* and 50,000 than the *Friedrich der Grosse* (her "sister").

She was equipped with 12 450mm (17.5 in) main battery guns complemented by 30 150mm (5.9 in) secondaries (6 in triple mounts; the rest in double dual-purpose mounts) and 12 132 mm (5.5 in) tertiary mounts. She was additionally armed with numerous 40mm anti-air guns and two quadruple torpedo mounts.

Her armour consisted of a main belt of 450mm (with a small 500mm belt in the centre) with the remaining armour ranging from 100 to 300mm. Ultimately, her max speed was roughly 32 knots given the right conditions.

## Appearance

Her personification appears in a dark blue double-breasted *waffenrock*. She wears a red and white sash around her waist, but there is a belt underneath it. The *waffenrock* itself has two golden epaulets with braids going down to several buttons on the right side; however the left epaulet is hidden behind her royal cloak. The buttons themselves are a silver color. She wears a red royal cloak that is pushed to her left side and nearly covers her entire left torso, in many of her poses at least. (During battle, the cloak is often pushed behind her to allow for more movement.) She wears a combination cap similar to *Bismarck* and *Tirpitz* but it is inverted in its color scheme. She wears long boots up to her knees and black leggings.

Her main weapon is a zweihander, which she carries with her left hand above the hilt. During battle the sword can light on fire, especially when she enters into a blood rage. She also comes with a hidden revolver, but this is hardly ever seen (and for good reason).

Her hair is long but is braided and put on her left side. The length while braided appears to come up before her hips, but when not it is seen as really long, going down to her knees. She also has two coloured eyes.

## Personality

Similar to her namesake, she can be quite stoic while also being a bit of a mess. In this sense, she is seen as extremely self-conscious almost to the point of collapsing in front of a large group, and instead has someone else (usually *Freddy* or *Bismarck*) say the speech instead. She is also prone to mental breakdowns that cripple her and can last for seemingly an eternity. However, during battles, she is very reliable and a capable tactician. Occasionally she can slip into blood rages that similar to her breakdowns, are very hard to slip out of and only seem to end after a long quiet or big injury.

## History

The ship itself was a part of a battleship building program known as Project 4789 "Bellona". This included a plan to add 5 super-battleships of 100,000 tons as well as new aircraft carriers and cruisers. However, the plan in its entirety was deemed to expensive and with more resources needed for the *Heer* and *Luftwaffe*, three of the five ships in the class were immediately cancelled upon authorization. The last two left were given the names *Prinz Albert* and *Remus* (supposedly her name was to be *Siegfried*, referenced by some of her lines). However, as time went on, it was found that Rheimetall as well as Blohm and Vloss were unable to make enough parts for both ships so *Remus* was cancelled and broken up, her hull was then transferred to the *Prince Albert*.

For the next several years, construction would be occasionally paused and then resumed. Eventually the ship was launched in March 1941. Her commissioning was in February 1942; with her being sea worthy later in July. The ship itself was surprisingly comfortable and the crews remarked at how sturdy she was when firing her guns (even if they were a pain to reload and aim in rougher seas). Her entrance into the fleet was at first downplayed for security reasons, but was regarded unofficially as the Pride of the Nation. It wasn't until December of 1942 that she would see actual combat, where she was taken to the Bay of Biscay to raid Bordeaux. Fleet Admiral Wilbur Roetgen and Commodore Rachel Kasberger led the operation.

The mission was a success with *Prince Albert* able to lay down serious fire at the fortifications and docked ships while taking almost no damage in the process. From February to June 1943, she engaged numerous French warships, often aided only by *Lutzow* and a few destroyers earning her the nickname "Two-Eyed Devil". However, her reputation came largely from the Battle of Malta and the Battle of Gibraltar in June and July of 1943. In both of these battles, her extreme durability and firepower were expressed on levels not yet previously seen. Even though heavily damaged at Gibraltar, she made it to a friendly port in Portsmouth where she was repaired and back in service by October of 1943.

## Quotes

"If you are to be Remus, then surely I shall be Romulus." -originally *Prince Albert*, but repeated a lot by the ghost of *Remus*.

## Trivia

* She has a lot of similarities with her namesake:
	+ The two colored eyes (although this is more a reference to her being constructed with the parts built onto her sister *Remus*);
	+ She is asocial to pretty much everyone and makes attempts to stay in her apartment;
	+ Her uniform is similar to that of *Friedrich der Grosse*, but is noticeably different (referencing Prince Albert's Austrian background);
	+ Her mental breakdowns are triggered over similar circumstances
		- The mental breakdowns expressed by her are far more extreme than those of her namesake (his could be fixed relatively quickly by his officers);
	+ She seems to lose her sanity and get overconfident during battles.
* Considering her standing, she is very humble and doesn't like talking about her achievements
* Her revolver is a reference to her torpedo armaments
* Her sister's namesake is ironic