A prize crew is the selected members of a
ship
A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...
chosen to take over the operations of a captured ship. Prize crews were required to take their prize to appropriate
prize court
A prize court is a court (or even a single individual, such as an ambassador or consul) authorized to consider whether prizes have been lawfully captured, typically whether a ship has been lawfully captured or seized in time of war or under the te ...
s, which would determine whether the ship's officers and crew had sufficient cause to have the value of the prize awarded to them.
In the
Age of Sail
The Age of Sail is a period that lasted at the latest from the mid-16th (or mid- 15th) to the mid- 19th centuries, in which the dominance of sailing ships in global trade and warfare culminated, particularly marked by the introduction of naval ...
and up into the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, capturing enemy ships was quite common. As a result,
warships
A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and ...
optimistically carried extra crew members for use as prize crews. More recently, as evidenced by results of sea battles during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, ships generally were sunk, not captured. If, however, a ship is captured, a prize crew would be selected from the winning ship's complement.
Examples
* See for prize crew and prize court example.
* in 1939,
SS ''City of Flint'' was captured by a German warship in the Atlantic and sailed to Norway. As Norway was neutral, the German prize crew were eventually interned and the vessel returned to her American owners.
* In 1941, a Royal Navy prize crew sailed the captured German U-boat ''
U-570 U57 or U-57 may refer to:
* German submarine ''U-57'', one of several German submarines
* Utah State Route 57
{{Letter-NumberCombDisambig ...
'' from Iceland to the United Kingdom.
* At the end of World War II, selected a prize crew to board the Japanese submarine .
* placed a prize crew on the Japanese ''
Tachibana Maru The term has at least two different meanings, and has been used in several contexts.
People
* – a clan of ''kuge'' (court nobles) prominent in the Nara and Heian periods (710–1185)
* – a clan of ''daimyō'' (feudal lords) prominent in the Mu ...
'' at the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
*
U.S. Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mul ...
cutters capture vessels during drug interdiction operations, and then bring them to port using prize crews.
See also
*
Boarding (attack)
Naval boarding action is an offensive tactic used in naval warfare to come up against (or alongside) an enemy marine vessel and attack by inserting combatants aboard that vessel. The goal of boarding is to invade and overrun the enemy personne ...
*
Prize (law)
In admiralty law prizes are equipment, vehicles, vessels, and cargo captured during armed conflict. The most common use of ''prize'' in this sense is the capture of an enemy ship and her cargo as a prize of war. In the past, the capturing force ...
*
Prize Court
A prize court is a court (or even a single individual, such as an ambassador or consul) authorized to consider whether prizes have been lawfully captured, typically whether a ship has been lawfully captured or seized in time of war or under the te ...
*
Prize of war
A prize of war is a piece of enemy property or land seized by a belligerent party during or after a war or battle, typically at sea. This term was used nearly exclusively in terms of captured ships during the 18th and 19th centuries. Basis in inte ...
*
Prize money
Prize money refers in particular to naval prize money, usually arising in naval warfare, but also in other circumstances. It was a monetary reward paid in accordance with the prize law of a belligerent state to the crew of a ship belonging to t ...
References
External links
German prize crew of 22 sailed the ship into Hampton Roads, Virginia
Nautical terminology
Prize warfare
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