After her exploits with
Bismarck,
Prinz Eugen returned to Brest, joining
Scharnhorst and
Gneisenau. Of course, the British did notice the arrival of the cruiser and added her to their target list, which already included the two battleships. With further expeditions into the Atlantic becoming impossible and the increased air raids from Britain, it was decided to move the ships home to the German ports.
Hitler decided to move the ships through the channel, relying purely on the moment of surprise. On Februrary 11th, 1942, the three capital ships left for their famous 'Channel Dash'. Under heavy guard of destroyers, s-boats and aircraft, all of them managed to get through, mostly due to bad coincidences and simple luck. Only
Gneisenau hit some mines, but was able to reach German ports in the end.
Prinz Eugen during Operation Cerberus, this time with new camo scheme and enclosed forward rangefinders. Several 20mm quads had been added and the onboard planes removed (Those were transported over land):
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