Herman the German (crane vessel)
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''Titan'', better known by its former nickname Herman the German (US Navy designation ''YD-171''), is a large floating crane currently serving in the
Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...
performing heavy lifts for lock maintenance. Prior to its move to Panama in 1996, the crane was based at the
Long Beach Naval Shipyard The Long Beach Naval Shipyard (Long Beach NSY or LBNSY), which closed in 1997, was located on Terminal Island between the city of Long Beach and the San Pedro district of Los Angeles, approximately 23 miles south of the Los Angeles Internation ...
from the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
until the yard's closure in 1995. It was seized from the German Kriegsmarine following the end of World War II as part of war reparations. The crane was built by Demag Cranes AG as ''Schwimmkran nr. 1'' in 1941 for the Kriegsmarine, where it had served in the Baltic Sea tending German U-boats. The crane was one of four sister ships, two of which are still afloat and in service.


History


Origins

''Schwimmkran nr. 1'' (Floating crane no. 1) was built by Demag AG in
Bremerhaven Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...
for the Kriegsmarine. It was captured along with a sister ship by British forces at
Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...
.


Herman the German (''YD-171'')

"Herman the German" was seized as a
war prize A prize of war is a piece of enemy property or land seized by a belligerent party during or after a war or battle, typically at sea. This term was used nearly exclusively in terms of captured ships during the 18th and 19th centuries. Basis in inte ...
following the end of World War II. "Herman" was dismantled and transported across the Atlantic through the Panama Canal to Long Beach, where it subsequently served at the Long Beach Navy Yard from 1946 (following its reassembly) to 1994 (when the shipyard was closed). ''YD-171'' was reassembled on-site by ex-''Kearsarge'', a former battleship converted to a large floating crane.


Panama ''Titan''

Following the closure of the shipyard, the crane was sold to the Panama Canal Commission and it was transported on the semi-submersible ship ''Sea Swan'' () in 1996 to the
Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...
, where it currently serves as the floating crane ''Titan''. ''Titan'' retired '' Ajax and Hercules'' that had served the Panama Canal since its construction in 1914.


Selected service history

Over the years, "Herman the German" performed numerous notable heavy lifts, including: * Refitting of the battleships USS ''Missouri'' and ''New Jersey'' in the 1980s * Lifting the Hughes H-4 ("Spruce Goose") from its original hangar in Long Beach when it was relocated to its geodesic dome from 1980 to 1982 for tourist display by the Wrather Corporation.


Design

The jib is equipped with a level luffing linkage which keeps the main hook at approximately the same horizontal level through its operating radius.


Capacity

''Titan'' is a large self-propelled crane vessel with the tip of its main boom standing at above the typical water line and a lifting capacity of . In 1957, it was claimed to be the largest floating crane in operation. Its rated capacity is at up to from the center of rotation; the lift capacity drops to at from center, and a single rotation about its pedestal takes 10 minutes.


Sister ships

Of the four ''Schwimmkräne'' built by Demag, one was destroyed during World War II by bombs, and the remaining three were seized by the Allies as war reparations. One went to the Americans, and was transported to the
Long Beach Naval Shipyard The Long Beach Naval Shipyard (Long Beach NSY or LBNSY), which closed in 1997, was located on Terminal Island between the city of Long Beach and the San Pedro district of Los Angeles, approximately 23 miles south of the Los Angeles Internation ...
.


Hamburg ''Schwimmkran''

The crane stationed at Hamburg served in the Blohm & Voss shipyards and was presumed to be damaged beyond repair during the July 1943 ''Operation Gomorrah'' bombing raids. It was reportedly raised after the war and rebuilt with a lower capacity, eventually serving Hamburger Hafen & Logistik AG (HHLA) as ''HHLA III'' ().


British ''Schwimmkran''

The crane eventually seized by the British was initially stationed at
Gdynia Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in th ...
, then moved to Denmark in 1943–44 to raise Danish Navy ships scuttled during
Operation Safari Operation Safari (german: Unternehmen Safari) was a German military operation during World War II aimed at disarming the Danish military. It led to the scuttling of the Royal Danish Navy and the internment of all Danish soldiers. Danish forces s ...
on August 29, 1943. It was subsequently moved back to Gdynia, then Kiel, where it was seized by the British Army at the conclusion of the war. Later, it was sold to France, but it capsized and sank in the North Sea approximately off the coast of Denmark while under tow on 25 June 1951. It was being towed without disassembling the heavy mast structures.


Soviet ''Schwimmkran''

A partially-assembled crane was sent to the Soviet Union. It had been ordered by the Soviet government when the governments of Germany and the Soviet Union were friendly, and was reportedly sent to
Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, where the Demag technicians sent with the crane to help assemble it were recalled before it could be completed. The partially-assembled structure served as an artillery spotting tower. It was presumed lost after the war until it was spotted in 2015 working in the
Admiralty Shipyard The JSC Admiralty Shipyards (russian: link=no, Адмиралтейские верфи) (''formerly Soviet Shipyard No. 194'') is one of the oldest and largest shipyards in Russia, located in Saint Petersburg. The shipyard's building ways can ac ...
at
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
().


References


External links

* * * * * * * The Russian sister ship to ''Titan'' appears in the center of this picture. * * {{YD Cranes Crane vessels Floating cranes Individual cranes (machines) 1941 ships Crane ships of the United States Navy