North Sea naval station

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The naval station of the North Sea was an office of the Imperial Navy , the Reichsmarine and the Kriegsmarine in Wilhelmshaven . In addition to the naval station in the Baltic Sea, it was one of two permanent marine stations . In addition, there were temporarily several foreign stations in the period before the First World War . The North Sea naval station was set up on May 19, 1870 and converted into the Naval High Command North in 1943 , which was disbanded at the end of the Second World War .

organization

Navy of the North German Confederation and Imperial Navy

Adalbertplatz in Wilhelmshaven with the station building in the background

After Prussia had acquired the jade area from the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg with the Jade Treaty in 1854 , the construction of the port for the Prussian Navy began . This required extensive work, so that the port could only be used from 1870. The Prussian Navy was transferred to the Navy of the North German Confederation after the German War in 1867 .

In the course of the commissioning of the naval base , which was designated as the Imperial War Port in 1871 , a command organization was created with the establishment of the command of the naval station of the North Sea, as it had existed on the Baltic Sea in Kiel since 1865. The task of the naval stations was to manage the fortresses and training facilities in the command area. In addition, they initially led all naval forces in their area of ​​responsibility until a separate command for commanding the fleet was created in 1891.

In 1914, the North Sea station command:

  • Ships lying in the home port that were not assigned to an active squadron .
  • a number of vehicles at overseas stations
  • Command offices in Wilhelmshaven, Geestemünde , Cuxhaven and Helgoland
  • Harbor master and pilot command in Wilhelmshaven
  • Processing office North Sea
  • II. Naval inspection
  • Inspection of coastal artillery and mines ( Cuxhaven )
    • Mine test commission ( Kiel )
      • Mine department with I., II., III. Minesweeping Division and I., II., III. Reserve minesweeping division
      • I.–V. Sailor Artillery Department and Sailor Artillery Department Kiautschou
    • Fuhlsbüttel naval airship department
    • Navy Aviation Department Putzig
    • Naval Telegraph School ( Lehe )
  • Marine depot inspection Wilhelmshaven
    • Artillery depots Cuxhaven, Friedrichsort , Geestemünde, Wilhelmshaven, Heligoland
    • Ammunition depot Dietrichsdorf
    • Mine depots in Cuxhaven, Friedrichsort, Geestemünde, Wilhelmshaven
  • II. And II. Sea battalion

The inspections corresponded to the brigade level of the army and were led by a rear admiral . Your technical responsibility was not limited to the regional area of ​​the naval station.

Imperial Navy

After the First World War, the Reichswehr Ministry in Berlin was created as the highest Reich authority for the Reichswehr . In the ministry, in addition to the army command, there was also the naval command as the highest command post of the Reichsmarine. At their head was the chief of naval command. The naval station of the North Sea was subordinate to him, which in turn was subordinate to the following departments (status 1930/31):

  • Command of the North Sea Naval Station (Wilhelmshaven)
    • Coastal defense of the North Sea
      • Naval artillery departments
        • II. Marine Artillery Department (Wilhelmshaven)
        • IV. Marine Artillery Department (Cuxhaven)
        • VI. Marine Artillery Department (Emden)
    • Ship master division of the North Sea (SDN) in Wilhelmshaven
    • Coastal communications of the North Sea
    • Naval Artillery Inspection (AI)
      • Artillery Test Command for Ships (AVKS) in Wilhelmshaven
      • Ship Artillery School (SAS) in Kiel with school boats Drache , Hay , Delphin
      • Coastal Artillery School (KAS) in Schillig and Wilhelmshaven with an experimental unit and a Fuchs school boat
    • Naval depot inspection (DI) in Wilhelmshaven

Navy

After the start of German armament in preparation for World War II , the North Sea naval station grew up in the 1930s. In August 1940 she was placed under the Naval Group Command North together with the naval station of the Baltic Sea .

In June 1939 the North Sea naval station was structured as follows:

The station area also included the following departments, which are subordinate to the Navy High Command :

  • Ship engine inspection
  • Inspection of the naval artillery witness offices
  • Admiral of the Navy Service Hamburg
  • Navy Service in Bremen
  • Medical Office North Sea
  • Psychological testing center Wilhelmshaven
  • Seamark and pilot office of the Jade

In addition, the following technical and administrative authorities were assigned to the North Sea naval station:

In November 1941, the German Naval Command Italy was set up and subordinated to the North Sea naval station. In terms of use, it was directly subordinate to the Naval War Command .

Station bosses

The military leaders of the North Sea Naval Station were named Chief of the North Sea Naval Station, from 1935 Commanding Admiral of the North Sea Naval Station and from 1943 Commander-in-Chief of the Naval High Command North.

List of station chiefs

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Walter Lohmann , Hans H. Hildebrand: The German Navy 1939-1945 . Compilation in three volumes. OO 1956. Volume I, main chapter IX, chapter 1, p. 1 f.
  2. ↑ a b Wilhelmshavener Heimatlexikon. Volume 2, p. 231, Wilhelmshaven 1987.
  3. ↑ a b c Konrad Ehrensberger; 100 years of organization of the German Navy 1890 - 1990 ; Bonn 1993; ISBN 3-7637-5913-1
  4. ↑ Marine station of the North Sea at deutsche-schutzgebiete.de , accessed on February 17, 2019
  5. ^ Wilhelm Köhler, collaboration with Max Plüddemann. Illustrated German fleet calendar for 1932 (Koehler's fleet calendar), 30th year, Minden
  6. ↑ Walter Lohmann, Hans H. Hildebrand: The German Navy 1939-1945. Collected work in three volumes, OO 1956, Volume I, Chapter 4, p. 3 f.
  7. ↑ Walter Lohmann, Hans H. Hildebrand: The German Navy 1939-1945. Collected work in three volumes, OO 1956, Volume I, Chapter 3, p. 13 f.
  8. ↑ Walter Lohmann, Hans H. Hildebrand: The German Navy 1939-1945. Compilation in three volumes, OO 1956, Volume II, Chapter 17, p. 1 f.
  9. ↑ Wilhelmshavener Heimatlexikon. Volume 2, p. 269, Wilhelmshaven 1987.

Remarks

  1. ↑ Released after the Kapp Putsch in March 1920 and briefly replaced by upper deck officer Arthur Grunewald .