Kriegsmarinewerft (or, prior to 1935, Reichsmarinewerft) Wilhelmshaven was, between 1918 and 1945, a naval

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

in 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 ...

s extensive base 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 ...

, ( west of

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

History

The shipyard was founded on the site of the

Wilhelmshaven Imperial Shipyard Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven (Wilhelmshaven Imperial Shipyard) was a German Shipbuilder, shipbuilding company in Wilhelmshaven, founded in 1871 and closed in 1918. Together with Kaiserliche Werft Danzig and Kaiserliche Werft Kiel it was one ...

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 The ''Reichsmarine'' ( en, Realm Navy) was the name of the German Navy during the Weimar Republic and first two years of Nazi Germany. It was the naval branch of the ''Reichswehr'', existing from 1919 to 1935. In 1935, it became known as the ''K ...

'') was renamed ''

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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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 ...

'' by the Nazi Third Reich''. During 1939-1945, the yard's main activities were in building

U-boats U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare rol ...

and repairing damaged warships. On 18 December 1939, 12 out of 22 RAF's

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

bombers were shot down in an air battle over the naval base.Denis Richards ''RAF Bomber Command in the Second World War'' (1995) chap. 3 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 War reparations are compensation payments made after a war by one side to the other. They are intended to cover damage or injury inflicted during a war. History Making one party pay a war indemnity is a common practice with a long history. R ...

but, from 1946, most buildings and equipment were either dismantled or blown up. Since 1957, part of the site has housed an arsenal for the

(''Deutsche Bundesmarine'').

Selection of ships built

*1920-1922: 28 fishing vessels *1922: four cargo ships *1925: Light cruiser *1926-1928: six torpedo-boats *1929: K-class light cruiser *1930: K-class light cruiser *1931: Gunnery training ship *1934: Panzerschiff (armoured ship, later classified as heavy cruiser) *1936: ''Deutschland''-class Panzerschiff *1939: *1941: *1941-1944: 27 Type VII

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 ...

References

*G. Koop, K. Galle, F. Klein, ''Von der Kaiserlichen Werft zum Marinearsenal'', Bernard & Graefe Verlag München, 1982, {{Authority control Shipbuilding companies of Germany Manufacturing companies established in 1918 Defunct companies of Germany Companies of Prussia Wilhelmshaven 1918 establishments in Germany 1945 disestablishments in Germany Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1945