Bremen (ship, 1931)
_FHB5149.jpg) Trial cruiser Bremen in Vegesack Harbor (2014)
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The Bremen was an experimental cruiser for sea rescue of the German Society for the Rescue of Shipwrecked People (DGzRS), which for the first time carried a separate daughter boat (TB). The extensive conversion of an existing motor rescue boat (MRB) into a first rescue cruiser , which began in 1951, was intended to provide evidence that the concept of a TB that had been developed has proven its worth in emergency operations.
Deployment as consul Kleyenstüber
The ship was in 1931 originally as MRB from the Lürssen - Werft in Bremen-Vegesack under the shipyard no. 12290 built and put into service by the DGzRS under the name Konsul Kleyenstüber . The DGzRS internal designation was KR D 424 (KR for coastal lifeboat; D special series). Her sister ship Bremen II, completed in 1930, followed .
The steel hull was 16.17 meters long and 4.20 meters wide when it was built and had a draft of 1.25 meters. Two diesel engines with an output of 75 hp each provided the drive. With the two propellers, the boat reached a top speed of about 9 knots . The following are noted as stationing:
- 1931 to 1940 on the Baltic Sea in Pillau (today Baltijsk )
- 1940 to 1944 on the North Sea island of Borkum
- Not in service from 1944 to 1946
- 1946 to 1949 on the North Sea island of Amrum
The stay on Borkum had been ordered by the military because the Luftwaffe needed boats in the North Sea to fish crashed crews of bombers in the Battle of Britain from the North Sea. After it was returned to the DGzRS in 1944, the boat was given the name of the Hanseatic City of Bremen - as the third ship of this name. It was decommissioned on October 9, 1949 on Amrum.
Trial cruiser Bremen III
At the beginning of the 1950s, the DGzRS developed requirements for an MRB of the future that should be able to be used significantly faster than the previous ones and in all swell and weather. In addition, and in view of the conditions in German coastal waters, the boat should also be able to operate in shallow water. For these special areas of operation, the nautical inspector of the DGzRS Captain John Schuhmacher had the idea of constantly carrying a smaller boat than the TB, which would be quickly operational.
Since there was no experience of operating with TB, it was decided to convert the MRB Bremen as a test vehicle for TB operation. The contract was again awarded to the experienced Lürssen shipyard, which carried out all the renovation work on the hull from 1951 onwards . The ship was fitted with a trough in the stern to store the TB, which was closed by a hydraulically operated tailgate. After opening the flap and loosening the anchorages, the TB could slide quickly into the water on the rollers in the rear tub.
The old steel hull was given a new, characteristic line, developed through model tests , which can also be found in all subsequent constructions. To strengthen the hull, a double-walled structure was introduced again, in which the tanks for water, fuel and ballast were housed. On the vaulted deck elevation (whale deck) a closed, high tower structure was placed in the middle. Both components were made of light metal and, thanks to their round shape, should allow smooth waves to run off better. Half-open towers had already received the last units built during the war. The towers allow the boat operator a better overview even in heavy waves and protect against the swirling spray . Inside the tower was a secure steering position, which was supplemented by a second, open one at the top of the tower. All functions and the motors could be controlled from both locations without the need for a separate machinist.
Two new diesel engines, each with 125 HP, were now sufficient for a speed of 10 knots, which was, however, nowhere near sufficient. However, given the given hull shape as a displacer, an increase would hardly have been possible even with a more powerful engine.
Due to the closed tower structure and the whale deck, the Bremen became the first self-righting device at the DGzRS. A lifeboat constructed in this way automatically returns to its normal swimming position with the keel down after capsizing. The boats of the Dutch KNRM have had this quality since the 1930s. The entire renovation increased the length of the MRB by 130 centimeters and the draft by 15 centimeters to 1.40 meters. The newly built TB was 5.08 meters long and received two VW engines of 34 hp. It didn't get a name.
From 1952, the technical interior work was carried out in the DGzRS shipyard in Bremen, so that the extensive test phase could begin in 1953. As a result, it showed the expectations placed in it. The TB could be lowered into the water from the rear tub in a short time so that assistance could also be carried out in significantly shallower water. On return, the TB drove into the rear mount and could be pulled back into the rear hull. This technology became the prototype for all subsequent rescue cruisers (SRK). The whale deck with a closed tower structure as a self-erecting device can also be found in the other constructions of the DGzRS in the years up to 2000.
After the trial phase, the Bremen had to continue to prove itself in the sea rescue service - as a motor rescue boat with daughter boat, as the DGzRS called it internally. The stationings were until the decommissioning in May 1965:
- 11/1953 to 03/1960 in Bremerhaven
- 04/1960 to 09/1961 in Hörnum on the island of Sylt
- 10/1961 to 04/1965 on the island of Amrum
The knowledge gained was then used to build the first new-generation rescue cruiser . With its new fuselage construction, it should achieve a significantly higher speed.
Remaining and repatriation to Bremen
The Bremen was sold to Friedrich von Essen (Colkrete Wasserbau) in 1965 and was then used as a tug and tour boat on the Weser under the name Oeltjen . In 1972 the Hamburg building contractor Horst Voss bought it without a daughter boat, which has since disappeared. The Oelkers shipyard converted the ship into a private yacht by removing the tailgate, which was then under the name of Wal on the Elbe .
In 2013, Dr. Klaus Hübotter bought the ship for the Speicher XI harbor museum in Bremen to save it from being scrapped. On May 5th of that year it came back to its port of origin in Vegesack. The ship was completely sandblasted at a shipyard there in 2014 and then repainted in the original color scheme of the 1950s. The museum and the German Foundation for Monument Protection and companies in the sector participated financially or through donations in kind in these activities. Many citizens and companies in the area have helped with the restoration through further donations or through personal commitment ( sea retirees ).
It is planned to restore the ship as much as possible to the original condition of the time as an active rescue cruiser (1953-1965). In the meantime, the rear hull with the locking mechanism for the TB could be restored.
The great importance of the experimental cruiser in shipping history was recognized by the Bremen State Office for the Preservation of Monuments , which on November 28, 2013 placed Bremen under monument protection as a technical monument . This makes it possible to apply for funds for further renovation.
In September 2014, the forefather of the rescue cruiser was christened back to its original name Bremen as part of the Maritime Week on the Weser in the former European port of Bremen (today, among other things, the sports boat port) .
literature
- Experimental lifeboat "Bremen". Forerunner of the fast rescue cruiser . In: German Society for the Rescue of Shipwrecked People: Yearbook 1953 . Pp. 29-35.
Web links
- Homepage of the test cruiser Bremen
- Maritime technology: Experimental sea rescue cruiser Bremen , August 2013
Footnotes
- ↑ KR D 418 Bremen II on luftwaffe-zur-see.de
- ↑ Hans Knarr: Typenkompass Seenotkreuzer Pietsch Verlag (2013) ISBN 978-3-613-50743-2
- ↑ Hans Wirtz: distress - victims - victories. A century of the German Society for the Rescue of Shipwrecked People. Bremen 1965, p. 256.
- ↑ 10 knots: From rowing boats to sea rescue cruisers , DGzRS, 1990, p. 26. 11 knots: Experimental rescue boat "Bremen". Forerunner of the fast rescue cruiser . In: German Society for the Rescue of Shipwrecked People: Yearbook 1953 . P. 32.
- ↑ Test cruiser Bremen on volker-koelling.de (PDF), accessed on March 16, 2020
- ↑ Test cruiser Bremen on deutsche-leuchtfeuer.de
- ^ Monument database of the LfD