World War II Database

Contributor: Al Griffis

ww2dbaseIn 1867, a group of British and German financiers including Lloyd Foster, along with the Prussian Navy, took over an existing shipyard in Gaarden near Kiel, Germany and modernized it for the construction of warships; it was named the Norddeutsche Schiffbau-Gesellschaft. In 1876, the company built the personal yacht of Kaiser Wilhelm II, the SMY Hohenzollern. In 1879, it became bankrupt and was sold to the Märkisch-Schlesischen Maschinenbau und Hütten-Aktiengesellschaft of Berlin. In late 1882, the Märkisch-Schlesischen also underwent financial trouble, and the Kiel-based operations were restructured and was renamed as Schiff- und Maschinenbau-Actien-Gesellschaft Germania. In Aug 1896, German industrialist Friedrich Krupp signed a 25-year lease on the property; in 1902, he would place his own name upon the shipyard, creating Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft. In 1899, a fire destroyed many buildings and all slips. Later in the year, on 1 Oct 1899, work began to rebuild and modernize Germaniawerft. Shipyard plans were for ten slips. Most existing shipyard shops and existing machinery were either upgraded or replaced. Shipyard area increased from 14.8 acres to 22 acres. The pier, mainly used as the equipping pier, doubled in length to over 860 yards. Slips I to IV were built in an enclosed building, with ample glass panes, allowing year-round construction with natural lighting. Slips V to VIII were designed with the latest construction arrangements. Slips IX and X were to be built later but never started. Seven of the slips were completed by 1907. In 1908, it launched the schooner Germania for Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, Friedrich Krupp's son-in-law, based on a design by Max Oertz; the schooner was the first of its size built in Germany. Between 1908 and 1910, torpedo boat slips were constructed; these were classified as an open slip like the Elbing torpedo boat slips, with room to build up to 4 boats of 500 to 600 tons (Note: Shipyard photographs showed these torpedo boat slips to still be there through the early 1930s although there was no reference to any torpedo boats being built since WW1). In the period preceding WW1, it also built a number of battleships for the Germany Navy, including SMS Posen, SMS Prinzregent Luitpold, SMS Kronprinz Wilhelm, and SMS Sachsen. During WW1, the company launched 84 submarines for the German Navy. In 1920, Germaniawerft began building yachts and sailing boats to keep employees working during the inter-war period. In 1934, the shipyard was awarded contracts for small experimental submarines. In the late 1930s, it launched a number of Type 1934A and Type 1936A (Mob) destroyers that would be used in WW2. Its greatest contribution to the WW2-era German Navy, however, was in its launching of 131 submarines. In 1944, the shipyard occupied 244,834 square meters and employed as many as 10,000 (about 1,100 of whom were forced laborers) at one time; on average, it employed about 5,000 workers during the WW2 years. The shipyard launched its last submarine in Apr 1945, U-4714, although this submarine would not be commissioned into service before the German surrender. After the end of the European War, Germaniawerft was dismantled by the Allies, much to the frustration of the civilian population of Kiel. In the late 1960s, Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft purchased the grounds formerly occupied by Germaniawerft, resuming shipbuilding activities that would last through the date of this writing in 2020.

Ships Constructed at Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft

* Projected dates; not actual

Slip/Drydock Utilization

[Con]: Construction; [FO]: Fitting Out

Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft Interactive Map

Photographs

Maps

Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft Timeline