Engine construction plant Kassel
The engine construction plant in Kassel ( MWK ) in Kassel was a branch of Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG Dessau during the Second World War and a supplier of high-tech assemblies that were important for the war effort, including the world's first series-ready turbojet engine Jumo 004B . When the plant was occupied by American troops in 1945, over 5000 people were working there. From 1948 the area and the buildings were used and taken over by AEG .
history
Originally the plant at Lilienthalstrasse 150 in Kassel was the location of Gerätebau GmbH , a subsidiary of Gebr. Thiel Seebach ( Thiel for short ). The establishment of this subsidiary was part of the order placed by the High Command of the Army (OKH) with Thiel on February 16, 1938, as was the conclusion of a lease agreement between the property owner, the Verwertungsgesellschaft für Montanindustrie GmbH ( Montan for short ), and Gerätebau GmbH . This procedure corresponded to the Montan scheme .
The scope of the order to Thiel consisted of the project planning, tendering and construction of a plant for the production of mechanical clockwork time fuzes ( Thiel system ). In the first half of 1940, the construction work was so far completed that the plant was equipped with plants, machines and equipment. But production did not start. Thiel had already hired around 100 employees . These kept the infrastructure functional.
As a result of a reduction in ammunition production, fewer mechanical time fuses were required and so the Reich Ministry for Armaments and Ammunition decided on July 12, 1940 that this plant should be ceded to Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG Dessau (JFM). This also included 8 residential buildings and the standby warehouse for 1000 employees at Forstbachweg 2. In order to relieve the Junkers aircraft engine series production, engine accessories and especially pumps and boost pressure regulators for the engines Jumo 205 , Jumo 211 and later for the Jumo 213 were to be manufactured. At the beginning of August 1940, JFM took over the new location with the existing Thiel workforce. MWK paid a lease to Montan for the entire property. At the same time , as contractually agreed, Thiel continued the outstanding construction and equipment work of the "Thiel project scope". At the end of the Junkers financial year on September 30, 1940, 800 people were already working in the plant; the production of the devices started. At the end of 1940 MWK began to further expand the factory. An investment sum of 33.5 million RM was set for this. In the Forstbachweg 2 readiness camp, 22 barracks for 1000 people were completed, as were the first 18 company apartments .
Further equipping the building with the necessary infrastructure such as B. compressed air, gas, electrical engineering etc. made progress in 1941 under the direction of Thiel . MWK was unable to meet the planned production program in the 1941 financial year. The start-up problems of the plant had apparently been underestimated. The pumps, boost pressure regulators, etc. produced were supplied to the Reich Aviation Ministry (RLM) and the JFM engine constructions. JFM was not satisfied with the lease of the Montan plant and on December 30, 1941 applied for the purchase of the plant. The construction activities commissioned by MWK progressed rapidly in 1942. On March 10, 1942, Thiel informed Montan that the "production site K" was closed for them. The production program for the 1942 financial year was almost completed.
The year 1943 was overshadowed by the heavy air raids on Kassel . MWK was not spared and was hit several times. The daytime raids on July 28 and 30, 1943, caused particularly severe damage. According to information provided by the plant management, the plant's performance level fell by 75% in August and by 50% in September. In response to the attacks in July, the commercial and, in some cases, the technical offices were outsourced to various locations in the city of Kassel.
Some areas of production outside of Kassel were also rebuilt, such as B. in Veckerhagen , Ziegenhain , highway bridge Söhrewald and Venusberg (Drebach) . The Kassel plant was again affected by the night raids on October 3 and 22, 1943. The total damage caused by the four air raids was estimated at around 20 million RM.
Despite the bomb damage, series production was in full swing in 1943. The value of the annual output had a considerable increase of 33% over the previous year. This year the first assemblies for the Jumo 004B turbojet engine were manufactured and delivered, which were used in the first operational military aircraft with jet engines, the Messerschmitt Me 262 and the first operational jet turbine-powered bomber, the Arado Ar 234 .
The restored armaments factories of Junkers, the Gerhard Fieseler works and the Henschel works were attacked on April 19, 1944 by the United States Army Air Forces with 213 bombers. As a result of the effects of the war on industry, fewer and fewer data were available for objective reporting on MWK in 1944. The financial data for the 1943/44 financial year ended on July 31, 1944. The analysis of these data showed that around 25% fewer devices were delivered in this financial year compared to the previous year. JFM acquired the factory premises and the areas with apartments in Lilienthalstrasse and Faulswiesenweg from Montan. The abandonment took place on September 8, 1944.
On April 5, 1945, Kassel-Bettenhausen was occupied by the 80th Infantry Division of the US Army, and with it the operations in Lilienthalstrasse. According to information from the responsible US military authorities, 5115 employees were employed at the MWK on January 31, 1945, these were divided between 4537 workers and 578 employees. The workers were divided into 649 permanent staff, 1074 assigned by the Wehrmacht, in 1824 mostly foreigners conscripted for service, and 990 prisoners of war, and the employees in 543 permanent staff and 35 foreigners.
At the end of 1946, the Americans left the factory premises. The former commercial director of the MWK took on the role of trustee this year to wind up the location. The former MWK buildings were rented to other companies. The engine manufacturing plant in Kassel is also listed on the dismantling plan announced by the American and British military governors on October 15, 1947.
The Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft - Central Administration West Zones ( AEG ) rented several of the MWK buildings in 1948 and employed 700 workers there at the beginning of 1950. By resolution of April 15, 1950, the Hessian state parliament approved the purchase agreement between the state of Hesse and AEG in Kassel for the Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG site in Dessau, located in Kassel, Lilienthalstrasse. The entry in the land register took place on April 19, 1950.
See also
More articles on the history of the aviation industry in Kassel :
- Gerhard Fieseler Works (GFW)
- Henschel Aircraft Works (HFW)
literature
- Rolf Nagel: Kassel, Lilienthalstrasse 150, history of an industrial site 1940–1950 , Schneidmüller, Wolfhagen 2007
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Chronicle of the City of Kassel 1900–1944
- ↑ Chronicle of the City of Kassel 1945–1989
- ↑ List of Reparation Plants from US Zone: Land Hesse , Weekly Information Bulletin, October 27, 1947, p. 17 (PDF; 1.5 MB)
Coordinates: 51 ° 17 ′ 49.4 " N , 9 ° 31 ′ 23.3" E