Windhoek (ship, 1906)
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The Windhoek of the Hamburg-American Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft (Hapag) was the first ship of the Hamburg shipping company to be used on the African Reichspostdampfer line. It was built by Blohm & Voss for the Woermann line as Gertrud Woermann and came to Hapag in April 1907 when Woermann got into trouble and Hapag bought eight Woermann ships and received a 25% stake in the West Africa business for a joint venture was agreed. This joint venture was expanded in November to include the Reichspostdampfer line operated by the German East Africa Line , on which the Windhoek was the first Hapag ship to operate.
When the First World War broke out, the Windhoek was in Hamburg. In 1919 she was delivered to Great Britain, where she was used as the City of Genoa in the Africa service of Ellerman Lines . In 1928 she was sold to an Angola- based shipping company that used the ship under the new name of João Belo until 1950.
Takeover of the ship
In 1907, the Woermann Line ran into considerable difficulties when it entered into a rate battle with this shipping company, supported by the North German Lloyd (NDL), in order to defend itself against the Hamburg-Bremen Africa Line (HBAL) . British lines also intensified their competitive pressure.
The German East Africa Line and the Woermann Line then accepted an offer from Albert Ballin to establish a joint venture with the Hamburg-American Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft (Hapag). Hapag had previously concluded similar agreements with the Hamburg shipping companies Hamburg Südamerikanische Dampfschifffahrts-Gesellschaft (HSDG) and Deutsche Dampfschiffahrtsgesellschaft Kosmos (DDG Kosmos), which thereby secured their shipping areas. At the same time, Hapag acquired eight Woermann Line ships, as the line had significantly expanded its fleet as a result of the execution of imperial orders as part of the Herero uprising . The ships sold were of different ages and sizes and were a reflection of the Woermann fleet.
Through the agreement, HAPAG and Woermann participated in the operation of the German East Africa Line and hired ships for an extension of the Reichspostdampfer line, which now also regularly called at German South West Africa .
Hapag participated in the Reichspostdampfer line with the Windhoek , the largest and most modern ship of the ships it took over. It was delivered to the Woermann line by Blohm & Voss in 1906 as Gertrud Woermann . The Woermann-Linie kept its sister ship Adolph Woermann , which was built at the Reiherstieg shipyard , and in 1907 received another replica from the Reiherstieg shipyard, which was again named Gertrud Woermann . These two ships and the Windhoek participated in the Reichspostdampfer service, which was managed by the DOAL. The Woermann Line managed freight traffic to West and South West Africa. In addition to the ships taken over from Woermann, Hapag also hired other ships for Africa services as required.
History of construction and use
The Gertrud Woermann , built by Blohm & Voss in 1906, was the third ship in the Woermann line to receive this name. The first ship of this name was the 1743 GRT type ship of a series of four ships that was delivered to the Hamburg shipping company by Vulcan from Stettin in 1885 and was the largest ship at the time. It was lost on August 24, 1903 when it was stranded off Port Nolloth . The immediate name predecessor came into service with the line on July 21, 1904. It was the Palatinate of now 4603 GRT, which was bought by NDL, built in England and extended by Blohm & Voss , which was used as a troop transport but was lost due to stranding off Swakopmund on November 19, 1904 . The 400 soldiers and 375 horses on board could be rescued with rafts, with the help of the large cruiser SMS Vineta .
The third Gertrud Woermann was the type ship of the second series of full-fledged passenger and cargo ships of the line with twin screw propulsion after the 4600 GRT sister ships Eleonore Woermann and Lucie Woermann , which Blohm & Voss had built for Woermann in 1902.
The new ship was a two-masted steamship with a chimney of 125 m in length and a service speed of 12 knots. In terms of size and speed, it roughly corresponded to the Reichspost steamers of the DOAL delivered at the same time and the combination ships of the DDG Kosmos for the South American west coast service. It had space for 96 passengers in first class, 62 passengers in second class and 80 in third class. After its delivery in January 1906, the new ship was mainly used on the express line to South West Africa, which on the outward journey led via Madeira , Tenerife and Grand Bassa to Swakopmund and called at the most important ports in West Africa on the way home to accommodate sufficient freight.
As Windhoek in the service of Hapag
The takeover of the ship by Hapag changed for after the capital of German Southwest Africa in Windhoek renamed ship initially nothing. Like the other seven ships that were taken over, she was given a new name, changed the funnel livery and carried a different shipping company flag, but all ships taken over between April 25 and June 7, 1907 remained in the same service.
It was not until the DOAL joined the Community Service Agreement in autumn 1907 that the Windhoek changed , as the express line to South West Africa was discontinued and she and her two sister ships, which remained with the Woermann line, were now used on the Reichspostdampfer line, the round led to Africa service alternately in both directions around Africa. In addition to the Windhoek , Hapag's Rhenania (1904, 6414 GRT) was also used here from April 4, 1911 . Both ships remained in service until the beginning of the war in 1914, as did the two mail steamers of the Woermann Line and nine ships of the DOAL ( Crown Prince , Mayor , Prince Regent , Field Marshal , Admiral , Princess , General , Tabora and) built for the Reich Mail Steamship Service Kigoma ).
When the First World War broke out, the Windhoek was in Hamburg and was not used during the war.
Under other flags
In 1919 the mail steamer Windhoek was delivered to Great Britain, where it was initially managed by the Elder Dempster Lines and then purchased by Ellerman Lines (Ellerman Hall Ltd.), who used it as the City of Genoa in the Africa service.
In 1928 she was sold to an Angola- based shipping company, which named the ship after the Portuguese Colonial Minister João Belo , who died in the same year and who had done a lot for the independent development of the colonies. The ship served as a passenger and cargo ship from Portugal via the African colonies to Mozambique . It was not until 1950 that the João Belo was decommissioned and scrapped in Great Britain from July.
| Fate of the sister ships | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surname | Shipyard | GRT | in service | 1914 | further fate |
| Adolph Woermann | Heron climb | 6268 | 11.1906 | Rotterdam | 1921 Westminster Abbey , 1921 Venezuela the Koninklijke Nederlandsche Stoomboot Maatschappij , 1938 demolition |
| Gertrud Woermann | Heron climb | 6465 | 8.1907 | Rio de Janeiro | 1917 confiscated Curvello , 1927 Cantuaria Guimaraes , 1931 Siqueira Campos , sunk in 1943 |
The Hapag ships taken over by Woermann
|
Launched in service WL |
Surname | tonnage | B.No. | fate |
| 28.11.1903 15.10.1904 |
Swakopmund Prof. Woermann Florida |
5638 GRT |
Volcano 453 |
122.9 m long, 44/20 passengers I / II class, 638 tween deck spaces built for DG Argo , taken over and renamed on May 17, 1907, also used on Atlantic branch lines, delivered in 1919, 1920 Arafura of the Eastern & Australian SS, demolished in 1929 |
| 11/28/1904 12/28/1904 |
Otavi Lulu Bohlen Den of Mains |
5173 GRT | Russel & Co 532 |
115.5 m long, 1300 tween deck spaces possible purchased by Woermann in England after being launched, taken over and renamed on May 2, 1907, also used on Atlantic lines, 1914 Pernambuco, launched in Las Palmas in January 1915 , delivered in 1919, bought back in 1922 and again as Otavi deployed to Africa, demolished in 1924 |
| August 14, 1900 October 2, 1900 |
Cameroon Ernst Woermann |
4065 GRT | Dunlop & Co 246 |
103.9 m long, up to 100 cabin seats in three classes April 25, 1907 and renamed, September 11, 1912 stranded off Grand-Bassam, Liberia, crew and passengers recovered from Anna Woermann , loss |
| April 15, 1893 October 25, 1904 |
Togo Erich Woerm. ex Rosario |
3,184 GRT | Blohm & Voss 93 |
96.3 m long, 16 cabin spaces, 112 tween deck spaces possible originally in service with Hamburg-Süd, taken over and renamed on May 2, 1907, 1914 Sao Vicente , confiscated by Portugal in 1916: Brava , sunk by UB 125 on September 3, 1918 |
| 08/08/1888 07/05/1898 |
Lome Helene Woerm. Montevideo |
2583 GRT | Blohm & Voss 58 |
98.5 m long, 68 cabin spaces, 244 tween deck spaces possible originally in service with Hamburg-Süd, taken over and renamed on April 30, 1907, sunk in Douala in 1914 as a block ship, lifted in 1915 and used by the British, most recently as Africshore , in 1923 Turkey sold: Sakariya , sunk in 1943 |
| 5.06.1903 4.08.1903 |
Edea Emilie Woerm. |
2486 GRT | Reiherstieg 411 |
91.8 m long, 18 cabin seats, taken over and renamed on May 1, 1907, delivered to Belgium in 1919: Maroc , demolished in 1933 |
| October 28, 1890 December 6, 1890 |
Duala Gretchen planks |
1294 GRT | Wigham Richardson 257 |
69.9 m long, 4 cabin seats , taken over and renamed June 7, 1907, sold to Italy in 1908: Nina V , 1911 Japigia , sunk by Austrian torpedo boats in 1916 |
literature
- Arnold Kludas : The History of German Passenger Shipping. Volume 3: Rapid growth 1900 to 1914. Ernst Kabel Verlag, Hamburg 1988, ISBN 3-8225-0039-9 ( writings of the German Maritime Museum 20).
- Arnold Kludas : The History of German Passenger Shipping. Volume 4: Destruction and rebirth 1914 to 1930. Ernst Kabel Verlag, Hamburg 1989, ISBN 3-8225-0047-X ( writings of the German Maritime Museum 21).
- Arnold Kludas : The ships of the German Africa Lines 1880-1945 , Verlag Gerhard Stalling, Oldenburg / Hamburg 1975, ISBN 3-7979-1867-4 .
- Hans Georg Prager : Blohm & Voss , Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft , Herford 1977, ISBN 3-78220-127-2 .
- Christine Reinke-Kunze: The history of the Reichspostdampfer , Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft, Herford 1994, ISBN 3-7822-0618-5
Web links
- Ship list DOAL / WL (Eng.)
- Image of the City of Genoa
- Pictures of the interiors of João Belo (port.)
- History of João Belo (port.)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Kludas, Passenger Shipping, Vol. III, pp. 150f.
- ↑ Kludas, Passenger Shipping, Vol. III, pp. 144f.
- ↑ Kludas, Afrika-Linien, p. 17
- ↑ Article on the stranding of Gertrud Woermann in the DAL-News ( Memento from November 16, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Kludas, Afrika-Linien, p. 46
- ^ Kludas, Afrika-Linien, p. 58
- ^ Kludas, Passenger Shipping, Vol. III, p. 143
- ↑ Reinke-Kunze, p. 71
- ↑ Reinke-Kunze, p. 174
- ↑ Kludas, Passenger Shipping, Vol. III, p. 32
- ↑ Kludas, Afrika-Linien, p. 54
- ↑ Kludas, Afrika-Linien, p. 56
- ↑ Kludas, Afrika-Linien, p. 45
- ↑ Kludas, Afrika-Linien, p. 55
- ↑ Kludas, Afrika-Linien, p. 30
- ↑ Kludas, Afrika-Linien, p. 37
- ^ Kludas, Afrika-Linien, p. 22