World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseIn 1850, the Rostock Steamboat Ride Society was established, providing passenger transportation from Rostock, Germany to Sankt-Peterburg, Russia. In 1851, it renamed itself Maschinenbauanstalt und Schiffswerftand began building its first iron steamship. By 1857, it had grown to more than 400 employees. In 1890, it was reorganized as Neptun Schiffswerft und Maschinenfabrik. In 1903, it completed the construction of dry docks. In 1914, the German Navy Department added Neptun to its list of preferred shipyards for warship construction during WW1. Starting in 1920, it fell on hard times due to lack of orders. In 1924, the city of Rostock loaned the company more than four million Reichsmark in an effort to keep the shipyard solvent, leading to the company re-hiring 1,000 workers who had previously been laid off in 1925. In 1926, Russia placed orders for various ships which kept Neptun solvent through 1927. Later in the same year, Neptun joined the Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau (Deschimag), a cooperation of various German shipyards. In 1931, Neptun continued to perform poorly, and by the end of the year the company only had 90 employees. In 1934, the company nearly became bankrupt, but the German Navy's expansion starting in 1939 reinvigorated the company. During WW2, it launched several minesweepers and submarines. Germany was divided into two countries after WW2, and, situated in East Germany, Schiffswerft Neptun Rostock became a state-owned shipyard that focused on building ships for Eastern European markets. After the reunification of Germany in 1991, it was no longer allowed to build ocean-going vessels due to it not being up to western European standards, and thus it changed its focus on the overhaul and repair of ships, construction of ship components, steel construction, hydraulic engineering, and roll-on/roll-off facilities. In 1997, by this time known as Neptun Werft, it became part of the Meyer Neptun Group. The company remains in operations at the time of this writing in 2023.

Ships Constructed at Neptun Schiffswerft und Maschinenfabrik Gmbh

* Projected dates; not actual

Neptun Schiffswerft und Maschinenfabrik Gmbh Interactive Map

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Neptun Schiffswerft und Maschinenfabrik Gmbh Timeline