Germania II (ship)
| Germania II | ||
|---|---|---|
| Technical data (overview) | ||
| Rigging : | Sloop | |
| Sail class: | 8mR | |
| Sail number: | 8 G5 | |
| Constructor: | Henry Rasmussen | |
| Construction year: | 1934 | |
| Shipyard: | Abeking & Rasmussen | |
| Shipyard location: | Lemwerder | |
| Build number: | 2856 | |
| Hull material / deck: | Mahogany on oak / oregon pine | |
| Hull color: | High gloss natural lacquered | |
| Construction costs and equipment: | 28,992.24 RM | |
| Length over all Lüa : | 15.05 m | |
| Waterline length : | 9.20 m | |
| Width over all Büa : | 2.50 m | |
| Draft : | 1.99 m | |
| Displacement : | 9 tons | |
| Ballast: | 5.0 t | |
| Mast height: | 17 m | |
| Sail area close to the wind : | 91 m² | |
| Mainsail : | 63.60 m² | |
| Jib / staysail / staysail II: | 27.40 m² / 22.85 m² | |
| large balloon : | 51.0 m² | |
| Cross balloon I / Cross balloon II: | 43.0 m² / 33.0 m² | |
| large balloon : | 51.0 m² | |
| Spinnaker : | 73.30 m² | |
| Sailmaker: | Mählitz, Berlin and Ratsey, England | |
| Flag: | Germany | |
| Yacht Club: | Imperial Yacht Club , Kiel | |
| Use: | Regatta yacht | |
| Owner: | Gustav Krupp von Bohlen and Halbach | |
| Skipper : | Edgar Beyn | |
| Team strength (crew): | 6 persons | |
The Germania II is the second of six sailing yachts that were built for the Krupp family .
history
After the First World War , the Krupp company had to be steered through difficult business times. After the loss of Germania , the Krupp family could not afford a yacht of this size again. After the economic situation improved at the beginning of the 1930s, a profit of 6.65 million Reichsmarks was reported again in the 1933/1934 annual report. Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach therefore ordered a new Germania II on March 9, 1934 based on a cost estimate of 26,000 RM , payable in two installments .
The yacht was after a design by Henry Rasmussen to the shipyard Abeking & Rasmussen in Lemwerder at the Weser in Bremen built as 8mR racing yacht (hull number 2856). The designation "8mR" means 8 meters and says nothing about the length of the boat, but rather describes the boat class (also as a class symbol in the mainsail ). 8mR yachts are a construction class . In order to remain comparable, the boats are built in a certain meter class to be adhered to, within which - unlike the standard classes - the most varied of constructions are possible.
The contract for the construction of the second Germania was only given when it was clear that the 8mR class would become the Olympic boat class at the 1936 Summer Games off Kiel . The construction supervision and the organizational matters were taken care of by the Germania shipyard in Kiel. On June 8, 1934, the new Germania II arrived in Kiel by rail and was immediately put into the water, rigged and towed to its berth at the Imperial Yacht Club (KYC). Almost exactly 26 years earlier, on June 9, 1908, the first Germania had been sailed for the first time in Kiel.
Gustav Krupp performed more of his role as the owner of Germania II than as an active sailor. His children Alfried , Claus and Irmgard took on this role . In particular, the eldest son Alfried von Bohlen and Halbach took an active part in regattas with the Germania II . With the skipper Dr. Edgar Beyn , who had applied to Krupp himself, was to start Germania II in the sailing competitions of the 1936 Summer Olympics off Kiel and win a gold medal.
Design features
The Germania II was made of wood. German oak was used for the keel , stem , frames and rudder stock . The outer skin, the low deckhouse , the interior and the three transverse bulkheads and some special components were made of mahogany . The deck was laid in narrow planks made of Oregon pine, the floor made of the light African wood Gabon. The ballast keel was cast in one piece from lead and weighed 5000 kg.
The building regulations for the Germania II had 60 items in detail. Examples:
- Crew cab for the boatman : with Klappkoje and a locker for shackle
- Salon: with two sofa beds and spacious wardrobes
- Toilet: with folding washbasin and underwater pump toilet "newest construction"
- The cockpit for the crew (six men) was divided into two parts. In the rear part the skipper acted on the tiller , in the front part there were the winches for operating the sails.
- The mast and the logs were made of Spruce (an American pine wood) hollow.
- The rigging : galvanized steel wire rope
- The traps with which the sails are set: twisting rope
- The pods : cotton cordage
building-costs
The Germania II was billed to the owner Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach by the Germania shipyard in Kiel (excerpt):
| position | Cost in Reichsmarks |
|---|---|
| Abeking & Rasmussen shipyard | 24,933.00 |
| 12 flags, Bonn flag factory | 54.00 |
| Binoculars from Zeiss | 75.20 |
| Yacht clock in mahogany case | 35.00 |
| Tea service | 14.80 |
| 6 egg spoons | 1.20 |
| On-board clothing, boatman and assistant | 484.50 |
| Building supervision: Building Council Heldt | 500.00 |
| Expenses: Building Councilor Heldt | 138.10 |
Regatta successes
The Germania II was the first 8mR yacht designed and built in Germany. At the time of their appearance on the regatta scene, there were hardly more than two dozen boats of this type in Europe . In Germany, the yacht initially had only two opponents: the Maria of the Hamburg owner Mergell and the Lahn II of the owner Dr. Wallich, who also sailed under the stand of the KYC. Both yachts had been acquired abroad. At her first regatta participation at the Kieler Woche 1934, Germania II could not convince. The new Krupp yacht only won the third race, otherwise the Lahn II was always ahead. Once she also lagged behind the even older Maria . Germania II had problems with stronger winds. In light winds it could keep up to some extent.
Skipper Edgar Beyn put the owner off that the yacht had to be trimmed better . Maria , built in 1928, was the only opponent on the regatta course in front of Warnemünde and was able to beat Germania II again. The first regatta success finally came in the Öresund week before Copenhagen . Against the Maria and the new Swedish building Lissy , Germania II won the Danish King's Point Prize. Paired with the Mählitz spinnaker, it was able to fully exploit its light wind characteristics.
During the Sandhamn Week in the archipelago waters off Stockholm , Germania II met ten 8mR yachts, mostly designs by Gustav Estlander . The Swedish yachts were unbeatable, and Germania II crashed into an underwater rock. The accident had no consequences and Germania had no luck. Due to the lack of strong winds, a dispute broke out between skipper Edgar Beyn and designer Henry Rasmussen , as the existing situation was not a recommendation for an Olympic yacht, with the owner's ambitions for the gold medal in 1936. As a result, the mast position and the keel shape were changed during the winter break.
In the spring of 1935 Germania II took part in the regattas off Genoa to compete against the best 8mR yachts from Italy and France at the Coppa d'Italia (Italy Cup) and the Coppa Duca degli Abruzzi . The situation was unchanged: in light winds they won, in bad and changeable weather they lost. After the return transport on a special railroad car, Skipper Beyn wrote down his analysis: The yacht behaved better after the conversion in choppy seas, the cardinal error in the construction, the sharp lines in the foredeck and the somewhat small lateral plan had not been remedied.
At the Kieler Woche 1935 there was no foreign competition in the 8mR class and Germania II showed its changing performances again, but at the end of the seven races was able to finish tied with the new construction Vaterland . At that time, the 8mR yachts were considered the ultimate in Olympic sailing and Gustav Krupp had high performance demands on his yacht, which he did not trust the gold medal he had hoped for. That is why he ordered a new Germania III from Abeking & Rasmussen in the summer of 1935, just as his son Alfried wanted.
Remaining after the regatta career
Shortly after the Olympic Games in 1936, Gustav Krupp sold Germania II to Hans Howaldt , the Olympic skipper of Germania III , who lived in Berlin as a former naval officer and businessman . Abeking & Rasmussen converted the yacht into a touring sailor. The cabin superstructure was expanded and an additional berth was installed. Gustav Krupp insisted that the name Germania should be changed at the stern. Howaldt chose the new name Inga VIII and sailed the yacht on the Wannsee in Berlin. At the end of the war, the yacht was probably destroyed by arson in the winter camp in Potsdam .
Yachts with the name Germania
- Germania , 1908, Krupp Germania shipyard
- Germania II, 1934, A&R , 8mR yacht hull number 2856
- Germania III , 1935, A&R, 8mR yacht hull number 2974
- Germania IV , 1939, A&R, 8mR yacht hull number 3340
- Germania V , 1955, A&R, 13 KR-Yacht hull number 5025
- Germania VI , 1963, A&R, 16 KR-Yacht hull number 5895
literature
- Svante Domizlaff, Alexander Rost: Germania - The yachts of the house of Krupp . Delius-Klasing, 2007, ISBN 978-3-7688-1840-7
- Hella Peperkorn: Germania IV - The sailing legend awakes from a long slumber . In: Klassiker Heft 1, 2007, pp. 10–16.
Web links
- 8mR Association (Engl.)
- A&R shipyard
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Svante Domizlaff, Alexander Rost: Germania - Die Yachten des Haus Krupp , p. 164
- ↑ He was only allowed to use the name Krupp from the end of 1943 after taking over the company inheritance.
- ↑ Svante Domizlaff, Alexander Rost: Germania - The yachts of the house of Krupp , p. 170f
- ↑ Designer: Gustav Estländer (Sweden)
- ↑ What became of the "Germania" yachts . In: Hamburger Abendblatt , January 28, 2007