William Scholz

William Scholz (born March 7, 1884 in Erfurt , † January 25, 1967 in Hamburg ) was a German shipbuilding and mechanical engineer . Under Albert Ballin , he planned the Deutsche Werft , which he was instrumental in building up and which he then managed for around 40 years.

Plan of the Deutsche Werft

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1902 studies at the Technical University of Berlin-Charlottenburg

He studied from 1902 to 1906 at the Technische Hochschule Berlin-Charlottenburg (today TU Berlin) and received the silver medal from the Prussian Minister of Culture for the best examination paper of the year. From 1906 he worked at the Imperial Shipyard Kiel , received his doctorate at this time at the University of Kiel Dr. phil and was appointed to the technical staff of the Hamburg-America Line in 1908 . Albert Ballin, who had bought the Danish Fiona , a sister of Selandia , built by B&W in 1912 , was convinced of the advantages of the motor drive.

1916 planning of the German shipyard

Ballin gave Scholz the task of drawing up a plan for the construction of motor ships in a new shipyard to be built. This was intended to quickly compensate for the German merchant fleet's war losses . In 1916 Scholz presented his elaborations in a memorandum which he based on the rational series shipbuilding of motor cargo ships with 7,000 - 8,000 dwt. In 1917, as the technical manager of the Hamburg America Line, he signed a license agreement with B&W for the sole construction of B&W marine diesel engines in Germany.

1918 Board member of Deutsche Werft

Scholz was appointed to the board of the newly founded Deutsche Werft in 1918 and was involved in the successful development of the new shipyard in Hamburg-Finkenwerder . He decisively advanced welding technology in shipbuilding and influenced decisive technical solutions in tanker series construction. In the 1950s, the Deutsche Werft developed into the largest shipyard in the world under the direction of Scholz.

Appreciations

William Scholz enjoyed the highest reputation in shipbuilding circles. In 1958 the Shipbuilding Society awarded him the golden medal. In 1954 he was awarded a Dr.-Ing. From the Technical University of Berlin-Charlottenburg . E. h. appointed. The Federal President awarded him the Grand Cross of Merit in 1963 .

William Scholz died in 1967, one year before the 50th anniversary of Deutsche Werft.

literature

Kurt Wagner: German shipyard. Hausschild Verlag, Bremen 2008 ISBN 978-3-89757-412-0