Boris Prikril

Boris Prikril (Zagreb, 4 May 1915 – Rijeka, 29 December 1995) was a Croatian electrical engineer, traffic expert and one of the most prolific publicists on maritime history and naval warfare in Croatia.

He graduated in electrical engineering and mechanical engineering from the Faculty of Engineering in Zagreb in 1941, and received his doctorate in 1946 with his dissertation Planned construction of Yugoslavia in two five-year plans. During his career, he held a number of important positions: he led the development of the first five-year plan of Yugoslavia (1946–1948), was an assistant to the Minister of National Defense, and managed the development of Yugoslav shipbuilding from 1948. In Rijeka, he was the General Engineer of the General Directorate of the Shipbuilding Industry (1951–1953), an advisor to the Ethiopian government for planning and economic development (1957–1961), a regional advisor for Africa and head of the Energy Department of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (1961–1965), and headed the development sector of the Port of Rijeka (1970–1974).

As an author, Prikril distinguished himself with numerous works on maritime history and warfare. Among his most famous books are The Hell of the Pacific (1954), The Battle for the Mediterranean (1956), The Invisible Enemy in the Atlantic (1958), and the three-part series Three Thousand Years of Naval Wars (1985). His works are characterized by detailed analysis of naval battles and strategic insights, which significantly contributed to the understanding of maritime history.