Langer Heinrich (ship, 1915)
Long Heinrich in the Kaiserhafen I
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Langer Heinrich is the name of a floating crane that wasput into service in1915 for the Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven and has beenbasedin Genoa since 1997.
history
Even before the outbreak of World War I , the Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven needed a high-performance, high crane for the ever-growing battleships , in order to be able to lift mainly the increasing weight of the turrets and individual components or even entire hulls. The crane was built by Demag in Duisburg in 1915 . In the same year the AG Weser built the float . With a length of 50.42 m and a width of 30.92 m, the crane had a draft of 3.05 m. In doing so, it displaced 3,898 t. It was powered by two triple expansion steam engines with 1,000 hp each. It had three lifts for 10, 20 and 50 tons and two for 125 tons . The two 125-tonne hoists could be coupled and thus lift 250 tons. He had the widest display at 42 m. The greatest height was 81.4 m. With these dimensions it was the largest floating crane in the world at the time.
Wilhelmshaven
After the end of the First World War , the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland claimed the crane as reparation. However, the transport across the North Sea turned out to be so difficult that the maneuver was broken off. In the "coastal gossip" it was said that the crane had overturned and sunk in the English Channel . The glee was great. When the crane reappeared in Wilhelmshaven , they didn't want to deprive themselves of this joy. So the rumor arose that the crane came from the Kaiserliche Werft Kiel . The fact was that two similar cranes were built to make amends, one in 1919/20 for the port in Portsmouth and one in 1935 for the arsenal in Brest . When the express steamer Bremen was being built, the "Lange Heinrich" had to lift the boiler system into the ship's hull in 1929. In 1944 it was used in Bremen for submarine construction at AG Weser. Damaged several times in the air raids on Bremen , it was brought to safety in Nordenham .
Bremerhaven
After the unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht , the United States Navy confiscated the crane in 1945. Under the designation BD-6000 it was used until November 1947 in Bremen and Bremerhaven for the American naval service group to lift sunken ships in the ports. Then he helped repair the port facilities. In 1950 he was taken over by the United States Army Transportation Corps and brought to Bremerhaven. According to the tradition of the stevedores , the largest crane was always called "Langer Heinrich". So the returned crane got its old name again. In 1956 the propulsion system was rebuilt in the Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven . The crane now had four six-cylinder diesel engines with 480 hp each. The 1920 hp drove eight generators with 105 kW each and four generators with 50 kW each. Two further diesel engines with 22 HP each and one diesel engine with 105 HP supplied the on-board network when the crane was in idle mode. The conversion cost 4 million German marks .
The crane was returned to the Federal Republic of Germany in 1958 , but remained in the care of the Ship-Repair Department , which had emerged from the former Labor Service Unit (B) , at the destroyer quay . The Federal Republic of Germany had to pay the symbolic price of $ 1 a year for the lease. The crane had to lift mine clearance boats and other small ships onto the quay for repair work. When heavy general cargo had to be lifted, it was requested by the Bremer Lagerhaus Gesellschaft . It was also used to assemble the container cranes at the newly emerging Bremerhaven container terminal . A Christmas tree shone every year at the top of the boom .
sale
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In 1982 the crane was sold to a Greek shipping company ; however, the transport across the open sea to Greece posed major technical problems and risks. The shipowner was happy to be able to sell the crane to MWB Motorenwerke Bremerhaven . Two disadvantages became increasingly noticeable: the very slow rotation and the weak drive power. When the Genoese Sa.Mo.Car SpA made an offer to buy in 1985, they were happy to get rid of the crane. It complied with the Italian safety standards.
transport
The transportation problem was difficult. The crane was too big for a heavy lift ship. Bad experiences had already been made with a tow in 1919. The decision was made to use a 10,000 t pontoon from Fairplay-Petersen & Alpers . Loading took several weeks and was a technical masterpiece. To store the crane, 8 cm thick wooden planks were laid on the deck of the heavy-duty pontoon, and upright and stiffened iron girders were arranged as props. Then the pontoon was flooded and the crane was maneuvered between the supports with the help of a tug. After pumping he floated up again with the crane. A 46 meter high lattice tower supported the crane boom. On Sunday, June 30, 1985, the tug expert from Hapag-Lloyd AG hooked the pontoon. The trip to Sardinia lasted 18 days. In the port of Cagliari in Sardinia, he now had the task of putting the loading gear for bulk carriers on the ships.
Genoa
In the 1990s it was sold to the Maestrale Genova . In the port of Genoa he is lifting heavy items of cargo again . In 2005 the Lange Heinrich underwent a general overhaul, which was completed by 2008, whereby the load-bearing capacity was increased to 275 tons. With the expiry of the operating license in 2015, it is 100 years old. In 2018 the crane is still available in Genoa.
literature
- Markus Titsch: Langer Heinrich floating crane 1915–2013 . Sundwerbung, Martenshagen 2013. ISBN 978-3-939155-57-7 .
- Gerhard Koop, Kurt Galle, Fritz Klein: From the Imperial Shipyard to the Naval Arsenal. Wilhelmshaven as the center of marine technology since 1870 . Bernard & Graefe, Munich.
- Hugo Stockter: The "Lange Heinrich": In search of traces of this top-class work of technology. Deutsche Maschinenfabrik AG Duisburg built a landmark between 1913 and 1915 . Wilhelmshavener Zeitung No. 2/2000 of January 29, 2000, pp. 5-6.
- Peter Raap : It was a landmark in Bremerhaven. 20 years ago: The "Lange Heinrich" left Bremerhaven . Low German Heimatblatt 08/2005.
- La gru gallegiante Langer Heinrich dal 1915 a oggi. Story, technology e conservazione . Sagep Editori Srl, Genoa 2012. ISBN 978-88-6373-201-6 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ "Langer Heinrich" as a deck cargo in the Mediterranean . Nordsee-Zeitung of June 29, 1985.
- ↑ Giovanni Panella, The rebirth of the large floating crane Langer Heinrich , in http://european-maritime-heritage.org/newsletter/EMH25.pdf