Imperial Shipyard Gdansk

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The Kaiserliche Werft Danzig (1871–1918), formerly the Königliche Werft Danzig (1854–1871), was one of three state shipyards for the construction, maintenance and repair of warships for the German Imperial Navy , alongside the Kaiserliche Werft Kiel and the Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven . It was the only one of the three imperial shipyards to build submarines . After Danzig was removed from the Reich territory after the end of the war, it was continued as a Danzig shipyard and railway workshop from 1919 .

history

The checkered history of the Danzig shipyard began in 1844 as a corvette depot (1844–1849) under the Prussian Ministry of Finance. From 1849 it became a naval depot (1849-1854) under the direction of the War Ministry and later under the Technical Department of the Admiralty. At the end of 1853 it was renamed the Royal Shipyard Danzig (1854–1871), with the proclamation of the German Empire in 1871 it then became the Imperial Shipyard Danzig (1871–1918).

Compared to the powerful imperial shipyards in Kiel and Wilhelmshaven, the Danziger Werft always had the disadvantage that the expansion of the shipyard was hindered by the difficult access through the narrow and shallow fairway of the Dead Vistula as well as by urban restrictions. The construction of larger warships was completed in 1909 with the small cruiser Emden . The ships had already reached dimensions at this time, for which the slipways shipyard was no longer sufficient. To make matters worse, the shipyard did not have production facilities for steam turbines , which were increasingly used from around 1910. From 1910 to 1917 Franz von Holleben (1863-1938) was employed as chief shipyard director . At the end of the First World War, the Kaiserliche Werft Danzig therefore only employed around 7,000 people, while the Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven employed around 21,000 at the same time.

After 1909, the shipyard therefore limited itself to building smaller auxiliary ships as well as repair work on cruisers and looking after the reserve fleet .

Larger activities and increased investments were made again for the construction of submarines from 1908 to 1915. In total, however, only 23 boats were delivered by the shipyard, making the proportion of total submarine production comparatively low compared to other shipyards.

During the First World War, as in the other imperial shipyards, seaplanes were built, maintained and repaired to a small extent for the Imperial Navy ( naval numbers: 404-405, 467-470, 1105-1106 and 1650).

Ships of the Imperial Shipyard Gdansk (selection)

Gdańsk shipyard

The Imperial Shipyard Danzig employed around 7,000 workers at the end of the First World War and in the post-war period it became a communal enterprise under the leadership of the victorious powers. With 30 per cent participation of Britain and France and less than 20 percent share of Poland and Danzig became Gdansk Shipyard - The International Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Limited founded. In November 1919 Ludwig Noé took over the management of the shipyard, which still had 2,500 employees; 1924 there were 3368 people and 1933 after the global economic crisis Until 1937 were led by Noé over 100 ships in the Gdansk Shipyard, as she was from 1919 to 1945, built only 817th. For the construction of larger ships of up to 150 meters in length, the new slipway 3 was built next to the dock basin. On September 1, 1939, the Free City of Danzig took over the shipyard with its 5000 employees.

On August 30, 1940, the shipyard became a stock corporation under German law; The owner was the German Reich . From 1942 to 1944, a total of 42 submarines of the types VII C and VII C / 41 were delivered to the navy . After the further construction of these conventional types at the shipyard was stopped in autumn 1943, the company only produced sections for the new class XXI submarines , which were assembled at the neighboring Schichau shipyard .

After the breakthrough of the Red Army on the Vistula in January 1945, most of the workforce was evacuated to Hamburg in order to equip and repair submarines in the Fink II bunker of the Deutsche Werft . The shipyards in Gdansk were partially dismantled after 1945 and later became part of the Lenin shipyard .

literature

  • Günter Stavorinus: The history of the royal / imperial shipyard Danzig 1844-1918, publications from the archives of Prussian cultural heritage . Vol. 27, Böhlau Verlag GmbH Cie., Cologne 1990, ISBN 3-412-16889-0 .
  • Eberhard Rössler: The German submarines and their shipyards Bernard & Graefe Verlag Koblenz 1990, ISBN 3-7637-5879-8 .
  • Siegfried Breyer: Everyday life in the Kriegsmarine 1933–1945 in: Marine-Arsenal Special Volume 9 . Wölfersheim-Berstedt 1998

Web links

Commons : Imperial Shipyard Gdansk  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dermot Bradley (ed.), Hans H. Hildebrand, Ernest Henriot: Deutschlands Admirale 1849-1945. The military careers of naval, engineering, medical, weapons and administrative officers with admiral rank. Volume 3: P-Z, Biblio Verlag. Osnabrück 1988. ISBN 3-7648-1499-3 . P. 488f.