The electrically powered Heligoland started in 1939 with its home port of Hamburg for the seaside resort service of Hapag and was sunk in 1948.
history
At the F. Lindenau shipyard in Memel, the turbo-electric ship Helgoland was launched on May 6, 1939 and was delivered to the Hapag seaside resort service in autumn 1939 . The Helgoland was 2950 BRT the largest and most modern ship that had the Hapag for Helgoland service used. It was also the largest of the ships built up to that point with a Voith-Schneider drive , dispensing with a conventional rudder and having the advantage of good maneuverability. However, there were problems with the new drive on the Heligoland .
Therefore, at the beginning of the Second World War, it was not converted into a mine- layer , as originally planned by the Navy . It was relocated to the naval base in Cuxhaven as a naval accommodation ship . Here she was given a berth on Lenzkai, which was located in the eastern part of the American port. The headquarters for the minesweeping and other security forces stationed in Cuxhaven, which from 1942 onwards were combined in the 5th Security Division , was located on the Helgoland .
The Helgoland burned down at her berth in Cuxhaven in March 1946 and could not be delivered to Great Britain as a reparation payment as planned . It was taken to the German shipyard in Hamburg-Finkenwerder for repairs and sunk in 1948 with a load of gas ammunition and explosives.
literature
Erich Gröner: The German warships 1815-1945 , Volume 3, ISBN 3-7637-4802-4
Hans-Jürgen Abert: The German merchant fleet 1870-1990
