After the German surrender in WW2 the vast country of Germany was occupied in every main town, city and centres of militarism by soldiers, sailors and airmen from many countries {including the Free French} who had been Allies to the main victors, namely Britain, the USA, and Russian. The navy were well represented with approximately 15 shore establishments all beginning with either HMS Princess or HMS Royal...... From these bases, usually existing close to large cities, the navy's job was to take surrenders, collect handed-in weapons and ammunition, conduct inspections, oversee and maintain military law, make arrests, check documents and control prison camps, etc etc. The navy were also present at the major German naval ports of Wilhelmshaven , Cuxhaven, Kiel, Bremerhaven, Hamburg, again, with a HMS Princess or a HMS Royal.....
On the 15th March 1946 Admiral Sir Harold Burrough, British Naval C-in-C Germany handed over to Vice Admiral Sir Harold 'Hooky' Walker [he lost his left hand in the Zeebrugge Raid in 1918] who became Vice Admiral Commanding British Naval Forces Germany.
In late 1946, a very large private yacht thought to have belonged to Goering was moved from Emden, a sea port in Northern Germany close to the three naval bases of Wilhelmshaven, Bremerhaven and Cuxhaven, inland to be based on the River Rhine. Its position was at Uerdingen am Rhein [Uerdingen on the Rhine] on the outskirts of the City of Krefeld in the West of Germany, quite close to the Dutch border and ten miles north of Dusseldorf. Men of the Rhine Squadron called Krefeld the 'Smoky Town' it being on the edge of the industrial Rhur.
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In 1946, this vessel was commissioned as HMS ROYAL PRINCE and it became the Headquarters Ship of the Royal Naval Rhine Squadron [RNRS] which remained operational until mid 1958 when it was paid off and decommissioned, although the vessel, sold off privately, remained at Uerdingen until 1960 no doubt re-christened with a German name. Its duties on the Rhine were passed over to the newly created Bundeswehr {Federal Defence Forces}. Additional buildings were created on the dockside of this mighty river but the vessel was used for the Commanding Officer' office and other administration plus inboard accommodation.
This picture shows HMS Royal Prince berthed alongside the Uerdingen shore facilities with patrol boats berthed outboard of her, with the White Ensign flying proudly from a mast rigged ashore.
HMS ROYAL PRINCE [International radio callsign GDRD} with an R.N.,
Captain in charge and a R.M. Major as his No2, was responsible for the safe and secure passage
of all waterborne traffic along the River Rhine between the Dutch border and the
French Zone south of
The main communication fit on these boats were the TCS Transmitter/Receiver and the 86M VHF Transceiver and each craft was complemented to have one operator who also did the necessary V/S work, colours/sunset, buoying, boarding party, lookout and i/c of the hailing system - etc.
The boats, and there were several of them, were timber-built and called RML'S [rescue motor launches] courtesy of the Luftwaffe, and had a petrol engine, so, volatile [wood and petrol!!] The Landing Craft were British vessels. The launches were named with Royal Names the same as the base HQ ship of the squadron, and the Landing Craft [Tanks] manned by the Royal Marines were numbered, e.g., LCT 1315*. Many months before the war started in 1939, the Germans had set up their SEENOTDIENST [Air Sea Rescue] organisation [the Brits and the Yanks copied later#] which utilised fixed wing aircraft [the Dornier and the Heinkel] fitted with floats plus fast patrol boats [or launches]. Their base was in the north, on the Island of Sylt part of the Schleswig-Holstein territory, due north of Cuxhaven, there ready to pick-up ditched pilots from the icy North Sea, the same sea that in WW1 they had called the German Sea.
*some of the ship's names
were HMS....Royal Albert - Royal Caroline - and this is what
they looked like
HMS ROYAL ALBERT- German built.
and the LCT's, manned by the Royal Marine, were of the LCT Type 4 Class. At the outbreak of WW2, all the navy had which could carry a tank were LCM's [Landing Craft Mechanised], a floating twin-screwed powered pontoon with bullet-proof bulkheads. It was replaced by LCT[1] designed to carry three of our heaviest tanks [40 tons] through open sea areas and to defend itself. Modifications to design and operation produced the LCT[4]. The '4' was a larger craft but more flimsy than the '1' to '3' types and the increase of beam, designed to improve deadweight, caused loss of speed so all armaments and amour was scarified. In 1943 they were strengthened and armed. The final models were the LCT [8's]designed specifically for the Far East. LCT 1's numbered from 1-99; LCT 2's 100-299; LCT 3's 300-499 first series and then 7001-7150 second series; LCT 4's 500-1364 with a crew of 12.; LCT 5's too many series to list here; LCT 6's just two No's 2627 and 2628; LCT 7's just one; and LTCT 8's 4001-4200 with a crew of 22. The Rhine Squadron was represented at the 1953 Coronation Fleet Review at Spit Head as this heavily cropped page article shows, but they have missed out the LCT's number after the LCT's type:-
# the British equivalent was the RML made by Fairmile Marine which was also powered by a petrol engine and made of timber. This is a picture of one
and in 1952, we still had six of these boats running - see this page 1952 RN SHIPS LETTERS RS which covers ships with a lead letter of 'R' and 'S' - also on this page. note the callsign of the Royal Prince.
By 1956 things has changed and the German boats had been replaced with British TRV's [Torpedo Recovery Vessels]. The major and minor landing craft, plus the TRV's were manned almost entirely by Royal Marines including Royal Marine Signallers supported by a small base staff of naval communicators totally 40 communicators overall, RN + RM. Although HMS Royal Prince was a base in an industrial area, the Squadron had two cruises each year, one up river to the pleasant scenery of the castles and vineyards of Southern Germany and one down river into the lovely country of Holland. HMS Royal Prince came under the wing of Commander Allied Naval Forces Central Europe at Fontainebleau and involved the Squadron in lots of NATO exercises. The shore base had excellent Married Quarters and good base facilities. The shore accommodation for unmarried or unaccompanied personnel was roomy and well laid out providing lots of sporting facilities and just as important, THE best NAAFI in Europe having its own cinema, theatre, skittle alley, rifle range, bars and club facilities. All in all, a cushy draft for all!