World War II Database

Contributor: Al Griffis

ww2dbaseIn 1916, a new shipyard named Hamburger Werft AG was established in the Finkenwerder section of Hamburg, Germany. Shipping magnate Albert Ballin, the leading figure of the new shipyard, used his influence with Kaiser Wilhelm II for Hamburger Werft to build merchant ships to replace shipping lost during the war thus far, and he promised short build times and reasonable prices. Major investors of the shipyard included Gutehoffnungshütte (GHH), Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG), and Hamburg Amerikanische Packetfahrt Actien Gesellschaft (HAPAG). The lease of the land was signed by AEG for the duration of 20 years. In 1917, work began on the construction of six slips. For various reasons, time being the most pressing, the slip foundations were given only a wood-pile base which limited the weight that each slip could hold to only 4,000 tons. In addition to the six slips a double horizontal slip was built mainly for construction of floating dry docks. Almost immediately the choice of Vorland I to build on became apparent. The narrowness of land precluded the building of satisfactory building halls near the slips, and the width of Kohlfleet channel, which is between the peninsula and Waltershof, precluded the placement of the floating dry dock, which was a necessity. Four of the six slips were completed during 1918. In Jun 1918, the shipyard was renamed Deutsche Werke AG. In the early years of the shipyard, it struggled for survival due to the lack of qualified workers, most of whom were in the service already, energy restrictions, and monumental material shortages. Much of the work completed between 1918 and 1920 were direct and indirect military business, although HAPAG did placed orders for 12 ships. In Nov 1918, Ballin committed suicide in response to the abdication of Wilhelm II. In 1919, the shipyard closed during the summer for three weeks due to lack of business. Around the same time, plans were drawn up and approved for a new shipyard further to the west, which had much more room, for another six slips of greater size. During the month of Jul 1919, deliveries of 150 to 200 tons of building materials arrived daily. Up until this time the Finkelwerder peninsula was a solid mass of land. Dredging work started on two channels to break Finkelwerder into three sections, Vorland I, II, and III, with the original 1917 shipyard located on the eastern-most Vorland I. The work on four of the slips on Vorland II began in Aug 1919, this time concrete was used as the foundation. There were to be three sets of two slips per section and each section was 50 meters in width and 182 meters in length. It was planned that ships exceeding 18,000 deadweight tonnage would be built on these slips. Additionally, the cable crane system would be used instead of the standard ground based cranes. 24 cables, 4 per slip, were used. Each cable was 280 meters in length and each slip was supported by cranes (cats as they were known) hanging from the four cables. Each cat could support 4 tons and up to 10 cats could be supported for a 40-ton lift if needed. Concurrently, the shipbuilding halls, warehouses and other support facilities were started as well. Meanwhile, the shipyard also received orders to build two 4.2K floating dry docks; they were launched in Dec 1919 and were completed in 1920. In 1920, work started on the dredging and widening channel A to a depth of 20 meters and a width of 40 meters. Special attention was paid to the construction of the equipping pier with the concrete being reinforced. Houses were built for the workforce and civil servants. A total of 146 houses were eventually built. By Jun 1920, all six slips on Vorland II were completed. The first orders to be laid down on the new slips were four Dutch motor tankers. From this point on all new orders were built on these slips. The slips on Vorland I were used for small ships and this section of the shipyard was used for repair work. The workforce grew quickly during this period. In Nov 1918, the shipyard had employed 300 men. This grew to 1,000 by the start of 1919 and to 6,000 by the end of 1921. In Jun 1923, the shipyard was renamed AEG-Deutsche Werft AG. In 1927, the company acquired Reiherstieg Werft, a Hamburg shipyard dating back to 1706 and had built three submarines during WW1, to bolster repair work business. In 1928, the company was reorganized to streamline work and purchased new machines and tools to increase performance. In 1928, the Reiherstieg shipyard added a new 100-meter dry dock, increased slips by three, and increased floating dry docks by five. In 1935, space was given to build additional repair shops, build additional warehouses, and increase pre-assembly space, all at the cost of a dry dock, which was filled in. During WW2, beginning in 1943, Vorland II was modified to add submarine bunkers and a horizontal launching area for construction of submarine sections. Between 1943 and 1944, the shipyard built 113 Type IX and Type XXIII submarines for the war effort. After the war, in 1968, the shipyard became a part of Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW). The former Deutsche Werft shipyard closed in 1985.

Ships Constructed at Deutsche Werft Hamburg

* Projected dates; not actual

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