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The ''Reichsmarine'' ( en, Realm Navy) was the name of the
German Navy The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mari ...
during the
Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...
and first two years of
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. It was the naval branch of the ''
Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...
'', existing from 1919 to 1935. In 1935, it became known as the ''
Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...
'' (War Navy), a branch of the ''
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...
''; a change implemented by
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
. Many of the administrative and organizational tenets of the ''Reichsmarine'' were then carried over into the organization of the ''Kriegsmarine''.


''Vorläufige Reichsmarine''

The ''Vorläufige Reichsmarine'' ( en, Provisional Realm Navy) was formed after the end of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
from the
Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...
. The provisions of the
Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
restricted the German Navy to 15,000 men and no
submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
s, while the fleet was limited to six
pre-dreadnought battleship Pre-dreadnought battleships were sea-going battleships built between the mid- to late- 1880s and 1905, before the launch of in 1906. The pre-dreadnought ships replaced the ironclad battleships of the 1870s and 1880s. Built from steel, prote ...
s, six
light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...
s, twelve
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
s, and twelve
torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of se ...
s. Replacements for the outdated battleships were restricted to a maximum size of 10,000 tons.


''Reichsmarine''

The ''Reichsmarine'' was considered the armed naval force of the ''Reichswehrministerium'' (
Ministry of the Reichswehr The Ministry of the Reichswehr or Reich Ministry of Defence (german: Reichswehrministerium) was the defence ministry of the Weimar Republic and the early Third Reich. The 1919 Weimar Constitution provided for a unified, national ministry of defen ...
) which was headed by a civilian minister appointed by the government of the
Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...
. The senior most naval officer was known until 1920 as the ''Chef der Admiralität'' (Chief of the Admiralty), after which the title changed to ''Chef der Marineleitung'' (Chief of the Naval Command).


Naval headquarters

The naval commander oversaw a headquarters office known as the ''Marinekommandiertenabteilung'' which was headquartered in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
. The Naval Command also maintained a headquarters intelligence office (''Marinenachrichtenoffizier'') and a naval archives. Internal to the naval headquarters five offices known as the: * ''Marinekommandoamt'' (A) – Operations * ''Allgemeine Marineamt'' (B) – General Administration * ''Marineverwaltungsamt'' (C) – Personnel and Administration * ''Marinewaffenamt'' (''MWa'') – Naval War Office * ''Marinekonstruktionsamt'' (K) – Naval Construction Office The following officers served as head of the ''Reichsmarine'' from 1918 to 1935 ;Chief of the Admiralty (''Chef der Admiralität'') ;Heads of the Naval Command (''Chefs der Marineleitung'')


Fleet command

The fleet command of the Reichsmarine (''Flottenkommando'') was headquartered at Kiel and consisted of a flag staff and fleet commander embarked on board the flagship of the German fleet. During the 1920s, the German flagship was the ''
SMS Schleswig-Holstein SMS ''Schleswig-Holstein'' () was the last of the five pre-dreadnought s built by the German Kaiserliche Marine. The ship, named for the province of Schleswig-Holstein, was laid down in the Germaniawerft dockyard in Kiel in August 1905 and co ...
'' with two naval officers serving as fleet commander, ''Vizeadmiral''
Hans Zenker Hans Zenker (10 August 1870 in Bielitz – 18 August 1932 in Göttingen) was a German admiral. Biography Born in Bielitz (now Bielsko-Biała, Poland), he entered the Imperial German Navy on 13 April 1889. After serving as captain of several tor ...
and Konrad Mommsen, between 1923 and 1927. The fleet commander position was then left vacant, but the flag staff remained. The purpose of fleet command was to oversee the four major type commanders of German naval vessels. These commands were in turn responsible for the administration of various German ship classes to include equipment development, vessel deployments, and personnel assignment. Once at sea, operational control of the vessels switched to the commanders of the two main Naval Sea Stations. The four type commands were: * ''Befehlshaber der Linienschiffe'' –
Commander of Ships of the Line The Commander of Ships of the Line (''Befehlshaber der Linienschiffe'') was a naval command of the Reichsmarine, as well as briefly the Kriegsmarine, from 1930 through 1936. The commander of liners was an administrative posting assigned to overse ...
, headquartered at Kiel, the flagship in 1933 was the cruiser ''Deutschland'' * ''Befehlshaber der Aufklärungsstreitkräfte'' – Commander of Reconnaissance Craft, flagship was the cruiser ''Königsberg'' headquartered at Kiel * ''Führer der Torpedoboote'' – Leader of Torpedo-boats, headquartered at Swinemünde overseeing four
flotilla A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' (fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. Composition A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class ...
s of torpedo boats * ''Führer der Minsensuchboote'' – Leader of Minesweepers, headquartered at Kiel commanding two
minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...
flotillas and one ''Räumbooten'' ("
R boat The R boats (''Räumboote'' in German, meaning ''minesweeper'') were a group of small naval vessels built as minesweepers for the ''Kriegsmarine'' (German navy) before and during the Second World War. They were used for several purposes during th ...
") mine auxiliary unit.


Naval sea stations

The Reichsmarine did not maintain traditional at-sea fleets, but instead assigned two geographical areas (known as ''Marinestation'') which oversaw all vessels operationally deployed in the
North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...
and
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
s. Each naval station maintained a headquarters staff, general naval inspectorate, training department, artillery arsenal inspector, as well as a medical command unit. The naval stations also served as a senior officer for the commanders of the various German navy ports.Waldeyer-Hartz, H. Ein Mann: Das Leben des Admirals Ludwig v. Schröder. Vieweg+Teubner Verlag (1934), pg. 47 Naval stations of the Reichsmarine * ''
Marinestation der Nordsee The Marinestation der Nordsee (North Sea Naval Station) of the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) at Wilhelmshaven came out of the efforts of the navy of the North German Confederation. The land was obtained for the Confederation from the ...
'' (North Sea naval station) – headquartered at
Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...
, overseeing the ports of
Cuxhaven Cuxhaven (; ) is an independent town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven has ...
and
Borkum Borkum ( nds, Borkum, Börkum) is an island and a municipality in the Leer District in Lower Saxony, northwestern Germany. It is situated east of Rottumeroog and west of Juist. Geography Borkum is bordered to the west by the Westerems strait ...
* ''
Marinestation der Ostsee The Marinestation der Ostsee (Baltic Sea Naval Station) was a command of both the Imperial German Navy, and the Reichsmarine which served as a shore command for German naval units operating primarily in the Baltic Sea. The station was headquartered ...
'' (Baltic Sea naval station) – headquartered at
Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, 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 J ...
, overseeing the ports of Swinemünde and
Pillau Baltiysk (russian: Балти́йск; german: Pillau; Old Prussian: ''Pillawa''; pl, Piława; lt, Piliava; Yiddish: פּילאַווע, ''Pilave'') is a seaport town and the administrative center of Baltiysky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Ru ...


Ships and equipment

The Treaty of Versailles limited the size and armament of the ''Reichsmarine'' and prevented it from introducing new technologies. The restrictions were intended to prevent the German Navy from becoming a threat to the Allied powers. On the other hand, the Allies had made certain that the ''Reichsmarine'' would be in the foreseeable future the strongest power in the Baltic Sea, in order to serve as a counterweight against the new
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, which was viewed with distrust by the Allies. Germany was only allowed six
pre-dreadnought battleship Pre-dreadnought battleships were sea-going battleships built between the mid- to late- 1880s and 1905, before the launch of in 1906. The pre-dreadnought ships replaced the ironclad battleships of the 1870s and 1880s. Built from steel, prote ...
s (plus two in Reserve), six cruisers (plus two in Reserve), twelve destroyers (plus four in Reserve), and twelve torpedo boats (plus four in Reserve). The ''Reichsmarine'' tried to meet the arms restrictions with secret armament and technical innovations such as the introduction of the
pocket battleship The ''Deutschland'' class was a series of three ''Panzerschiffe'' (armored ships), a form of heavily armed cruiser, built by the ''Reichsmarine'' officially in accordance with restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles. The ships of the cl ...
. List of ''Reichsmarine'' ships * s ** (1907–1944) ** (1908–1945) ** (1908-1944) * s ** (1904–1932) ** (1904–1936) ** (1905–1960) ** (1905-1931) ** (1906-1931) * s ** (1904–1927) ** (1906-1929) * s (3,033 tons, 10 × 105 mm guns) ** (1900–1925) ** (1900–1931) ** (1901–1929) ** (1901–1931) ** (1901–1945) ** (1903–1945) * ''Emden''-class cruiser (6,000 tons, 8 x 150 mm guns) ** (1925-1945) * cruisers (7,200 tons, 9 x 150 mm guns) ** (1929–1940) ** (1929–1940) ** (1930–1945) * s (8,000 tons, 9 x 150 mm guns) ** (1931–1946) ** (1935–1945) * s (10,800 tons, 6 x 280 mm guns) ** (1933–1948) ** (1934–1945) ** (1936–1939) *
Type 23 torpedo boat The Type 23 torpedo boat (also known as the ''Raubvogel'' (bird of prey) or the ''Möwe'' class) was a group of six torpedo boats built for the '' Reichsmarine'' during the 1920s. As part of the renamed '' Kriegsmarine'', the boats made multiple ...
s (923 tons, 3 × 105 mm guns) ** (1926–1944) ** (1928–1944) ** (1927–1944) ** (1928–1944) ** (1928–1940) ** (1927–1942) *
Type 24 torpedo boat The Type 24 torpedo boat (also known as the (german: Raubtier (Carnivore) class) was a group of six torpedo boats built for the '' Reichsmarine'' during the 1920s. As part of the renamed '' Kriegsmarine'', the boats made multiple non-intervention ...
s (933 tons, 3 × 105 mm guns) ** (1928–1941) ** (1928–1942) ** (1929–1944) ** (1929–1940) ** (1929–1940) ** (1929–1939) * Survey ship ** (1924–1945) * Radio-controlled target ship ** (1902–1945)


See also

*
NV Ingenieurskantoor voor Scheepsbouw NV Ingenieurskantoor voor Scheepsbouw (''Dutch: engineer-office for shipbuilding''), usually contracted to IvS, was a Dutch dummy company set up in The Hague and funded by the ''Reichsmarine'' after World War I in order to maintain and develop G ...


References

{{Authority control Disbanded navies Naval history of Germany Military of the Weimar Republic Military of Nazi Germany 1920s in Germany 1930s in Germany 1919 establishments in Germany 1935 disestablishments in Germany Military units and formations established in 1919 Military units and formations disestablished in 1935


External links


The German Navy 1919-1935 (Vorläufige Reichsmarine)