Kriegsmarinewerft (or, prior to 1935, Reichsmarinewerft ) Wilhelmshaven was, between 1918 and 1945, a naval shipyard in the German Navy ' s extensive base at Wilhelmshaven , (80 miles (130 km) west of Hamburg ).
11-746: The shipyard was founded on the site of the Wilhelmshaven Imperial Shipyard which had been closed down after World War I . In 1935, the name was changed to Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven (Wilhelmshaven Naval Shipyard) when the German navy ( Reichsmarine ) was renamed Kriegsmarine by the Nazi Third Reich . During 1939-1945 , the yard's main activities were in building warships, U-boats and repairing damaged warships. On 18 December 1939, 12 out of 22 RAF's Wellington bombers were shot down in an air battle over
22-485: A naval shipyard in the German Navy ' s extensive base at Wilhelmshaven , (80 miles (130 km) west of Hamburg ). The shipyard was founded on the site of the Wilhelmshaven Imperial Shipyard which had been closed down after World War I . In 1935, the name was changed to Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven (Wilhelmshaven Naval Shipyard) when the German navy ( Reichsmarine ) was renamed Kriegsmarine by
33-588: The Jade Treaty was signed about 3.10 km² of Oldenburgian territory at the Jade Bight was ceded to Prussia. The first years the naval base was only used as an arsenal, depot and repair facility for the developing Prussian fleet. Building up of necessary harbours, slipways, dockyards, workshops, etc. followed some years later. After the Prussian victory over Austria in the 1866 Austro-Prussian War ,
44-401: The Nazi Third Reich . During 1939-1945 , the yard's main activities were in building warships, U-boats and repairing damaged warships. On 18 December 1939, 12 out of 22 RAF's Wellington bombers were shot down in an air battle over the naval base. Personnel were often assigned to organizing naval facilities in occupied countries, e.g., in the ports of Lorient, Brest and St. Nazaire. At
55-706: The North German Confederation was founded and the shipyard was handed over from Prussia to this new confederation. The shipyard was officially opened 1869 by the Prussian King Wilhelm I . First known as Königliche Werft , the shipyard was now named Marinewerft des Norddeutschen Bundes ( Naval Shipyard of the North German Confederation ). With the proclamation of the German Empire in 1871 it received
66-625: The Preußische Marine and the following German Kaiserliche Marine . With the end of World War I all three imperial shipyards were closed, but the Wilhelmshaven shipyard was reopened in 1919, first as Reichsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven , and after 1935 named Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven . Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven was a German shipbuilding company in Wilhelmshaven, a coastal town in Lower Saxony - North Germany - on
77-496: The final name Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven . Forced by the needs of the rapidly growing German imperial navy it became necessary to enlarge shipbuilding capacities. Under the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II and his fleet commander Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz the shipyard was immediately extended. It soon became the greatest and most important of the three German imperial shipyards, beginning with about 3000 co-workers in 1880 and at last about 21,000 end of 1918, capable to build
88-494: The largest and strongest warships of that time. With the end of World War I the shipyard was closed for a short time, after that it was opened again, now named Reichsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven and at last, some years later Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven . Ships built by Kaiserliche Werft with laid down/commissioned data (selection): Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven Kriegsmarinewerft (or, prior to 1935, Reichsmarinewerft ) Wilhelmshaven was, between 1918 and 1945,
99-556: The naval base. Personnel were often assigned to organizing naval facilities in occupied countries, e.g., in the ports of Lorient, Brest and St. Nazaire. At the war's end there were about 17,000 workers. Polish and British troops reached Wilhelmshaven in May 1945. For a time, the yard refurbished ships to be sent to the Allies as war reparations but, from 1946, most buildings and equipment were either dismantled or blown up. Since 1957, part of
110-483: The site has housed an arsenal for the German Navy ( Deutsche Bundesmarine ). Wilhelmshaven Imperial Shipyard Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven (Wilhelmshaven Imperial Shipyard) was a German shipbuilding company in Wilhelmshaven , founded in 1871 and closed in 1918. Together with Kaiserliche Werft Danzig and Kaiserliche Werft Kiel it was one of three shipyards which solely produced warships for
121-708: The western side of the Jade Bight , a bay of the North Sea . The predecessor of the Kaiserliche Werft was founded 1853 under an agreement of the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg and the Kingdom of Prussia . The object of this agreement was a protection of Oldenburg's merchant fleet by Prussian navy on the one hand, on the other to enlarge the Prussian sphere of influence in the western part of Germany. When
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