| The most modern unit of this
class, the short-lived Blücher, had her foretop rangefinder
tower crowned by an additional radar tower carrying the 2m x 6m mattress
of FuMO 22, but no battle-observer's post.
Admiral Hipper
had similar equipment, but probably during her refit of late 1941 to early
1942, she received battle-observer's post atop the forward radar tower
and a Timor frame on its rear. The after rangefinder was also topped
by a radar tower for a FuMO27. There are astonishingly few photographs
showing this ship after her recommissioning in March 1944, and little information
is therefore available on her final radar fit. After February 1945 she
docked at Deutsche Werke Kiel, where she was scuttled by her crew in May
1945.
Two postwar photographs taken during an
examination by high ranking British officers immediately after the German
capitulation, show that Admiral Hipper was to have been equipped
with a FuMO 25 similar to Prinz Eugen (as picture 7.2), the scaffolding
and the central revolving pole being clearly visible.
|
| Prinz Eugen,
which did not commission before August 1940, was, in contrast to Bismarck,
fitted with enlarged rangefinder towers, one aft and one on the foretop,
for FuMO 27 sets with 2m x 4m mattresses. Probably during her refit after
the dash, her foretop rangefinder was crowned by an additional radar office,
the equipment fitted being in some way very similar to that of Tirpitz:
above the 2m x 4m mattress of FuMO 26, below the slightly smaller Timor
frame, both bearing in the same direction, while passive Sumatra
antennas, bearing in all four directions, were situated on the screen of
the foretop platform. She was, however unique in having a special hightfinder
set with an aerial consisting of two rectangular frames which could be
switched in elevation. The left one carried the active dipoles, the right
the passive 'butterfly' dipoles with vertical polarisation.This may have
been an experimental set for air search and/or for AA fire control. It
was removed at the same time as Tirpitz received her superior Würzburg.
In her fnal configuration Prinz Eugen
carried a huge 3m x 6m mattress for FuMO 26 on the face of her radar tower
and an antenna on the foremast for the most sophisticated German radar
set of the war - a FuMO 81 Berlin-S panoramic reconnaissance radar
working on a wavelength of 6cm. The passive equipment consisted of the
standard Sumatra, and the cone-shaped FuME 2 Wespe-G (2)
atop the forward radar tower. It may be assumed that there were also Bali
dipoles, but these are too small to be detected in photographs.
From August 1944 the Prinz Eugen
carried a FuMO 25 (as fitted in destroyers) on her mainmast yardarm. Due
to its position, this set could only be used on bearings from 35º
to 325º, although it had 360º training. |
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