World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseIn 1895, Bernhard W. Riedmann started up the small shipyard on 18,300 acres of land in the lower Bremerhaven area in Germany, building coastal vessels, barges, and sailing ships. Merely years later, he began enlarging and modernizing all facets of his shipyard. In 1903, the company Delphin Riedemann und Co. was formed to manage the shipyard. Between 1908 and 1910, the shipyard expanded one of the existing slips to include a 50-meter by 15-meter awning and electric cranes. In 1910, the shipyard was renamed Schiffbau Gesellschaft Unterweser GmbH. Between 1910 and 1914, a second modernization effort took place in order to build newer vessels, especially for the German Navy. Bewteen 1914 and 1918, Unterweser built tankers, trawlers, patrol boats, and cargo ships, mainly for the navy. In 1918, a small shipyard was opened in the Geestemünde area of Bremerhaven, on the eastern shore of Fishing Port I, for repairing trawlers; three small slips were in operation at the new shipyard. Between 1920 and 1923, Unterweser underwent a major upgrade and modernization which included a 2,000 square meter shipbuilding hall, new coppersmiths, paint shops, improved roads and railroad tracks, and improved slips. In 1921, the company was transformed into a joint stock company. In 1939, Unterweser received its first naval orders in the WW2 era, and for the next several years the majority of work was building minesweepers, patrol boats, and trawlers for the German Navy. After WW2, Unterweser underwent two major mergers, and the resulting company operates in shipbuilding and steel industries at the time of this writing in 2022.

Ships Constructed at Schiffbau Gesellschaft Unterweser Gmbh

Schiffbau Gesellschaft Unterweser Gmbh Interactive Map

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