Aktien-Gesellschaft Vulcan Stettin (short AG Vulcan Stettin) was a German
shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...
and locomotive building company. Founded in 1851, it was located near the former eastern German city of
Stettin
Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...
, today Polish
Szczecin
Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...
. Because of the limited facilities in Stettin, in 1907 an additional yard was built in
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
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. The now named Vulcan-Werke Hamburg und Stettin Actiengesellschaft constructed some of the most famous civilian German ships and it played a significant role in both World Wars, building warships for the
Kaiserliche Marine
{{italic title
The adjective ''kaiserlich'' means "imperial" and was used in the German-speaking countries to refer to those institutions and establishments over which the ''Kaiser'' ("emperor") had immediate personal power of control.
The term wa ...
and 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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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 ...
later.
Both yards became members of the
Deschimag
Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau Aktiengesellschaft (abbreviated Deschimag) was a cooperation of eight German shipyards in the period 1926 to 1945. The leading company was the shipyard AG Weser in Bremen.
History
The Deschimag was founded in 1 ...
in the 1920s. The Stettin shipyard was closed in 1928, opened again in 1939. During World War II it exploited slave workers, and after the war, was taken over by the Polish government, while the Hamburg yard was sold to
Howaldtswerke
Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (often abbreviated HDW) is a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Kiel. It is part of the ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) group, owned by ThyssenKrupp. The Howaldtswerke shipyard was founded in Kiel in 18 ...
AG in 1930 and the ''Locomotive Department'' was sold to in Berlin
History
![ChineseTing-yuen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/ChineseTing-yuen.jpg)
A.G. Vulcan Stettin was founded 1851 as Schiffswerft und Maschinenfabrik Früchtenicht & Brock by the two young engineers ''Franz F. D. Früchtenicht'' and ''Franz W. Brock'' in the little village ''Bredow'', which later became suburb of the eastern German city of ''Stettin''. Its first ship was the small iron
paddle steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses wer ...
, named ''Die Dievenow'' for the service between the cities of ''Stettin'' and ''Swinemünde''. Several small vessels followed, while the yard continuously was enlarged.
When the yard went into financial problems, in 1857 the company was taken over by some entrepreneurs and politicians from Stettin and Berlin which founded the new company Stettiner Maschinenbau Actien-Gesellschaft Vulcan. Ship construction was continued, but the solution of the financial trouble was expected by additionally constructing locomotives. A subsidiary company was founded, called Abteilung Locomotivbau in Bredow bei Stettin. In 1859 the first locomotive was delivered; all together the company built about 4,000 units in Stettin until it was sold to the Berlin company
Borsig Borsig is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* (1867–1897), German entrepreneur
* August Borsig (1804–1854), German businessman
* Conrad von Borsig (1873–1945), German mechanical engineer
* Ernst Borsig
Ernst August Pau ...
.
In the future larger and larger ships were built, the facilities in Stettin could no longer sustain the scale of the operations. The yard built the s.
Thus a new shipyard was built in
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
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, utc_offset1 = +1
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, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
between 1907 and 1909. From 1911, it was named Vulcan-Werke Hamburg und Stettin Actiengesellschaft. The Hamburg yard was the scene of a week-long strike in 1918 which was only brought to a close through the reading of the
War Clauses.
Automatic transmissions for motor vehicles
Gustav Bauer, director of the marine engine section, supervised the work of
Hermann Föttinger on the Fottinger hydraulic transmitter known as ''Vulcan Coupling'' and ''Vulcan Drive'' or
fluid coupling
A fluid coupling or hydraulic coupling is a hydrodynamic or 'hydrokinetic' device used to transmit rotating mechanical power. . In 1924, Vulcan's
Hermann Rieseler Hermann or Herrmann may refer to:
* Hermann (name), list of people with this name
* Arminius, chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci tribe in the 1st century, known as Hermann in the German language
* Éditions Hermann, French publisher
* Hermann, Miss ...
invented one of the first
automatic transmission
An automatic transmission (sometimes abbreviated to auto or AT) is a multi-speed transmission used in internal combustion engine-based motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving c ...
s, which had a two-speed
planetary gearbox,
torque converter
A torque converter is a type of fluid coupling that transfers rotating power from a prime mover, like an internal combustion engine, to a rotating driven load. In a vehicle with an automatic transmission, the torque converter connects the power ...
, and lockup
clutch
A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...
; it never entered production.
[, p. 62.] (The less-sophisticated
Hydra-Matic
Hydramatic (also known as Hydra-Matic) is an automatic transmission developed by both General Motors' Cadillac and Oldsmobile divisions. Introduced in 1939 for the 1940 model year vehicles, the ''Hydramatic'' was the first mass-produced fully-a ...
, which used a simple fluid coupling, was an available option on
Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produ ...
s in 1940.)
The original coupling further developed in collaboration with Harold Sinclair of Fluidrive Engineering of Isleworth for
Daimler of Coventry and matched with a manually controlled epicyclic gearbox went into production in England in 1929.
Shutdown
In 1928 Vulcan Stettin went bankrupt and sold its Hamburg shipyard in 1930. The AG Vulcan Stettin had been closed.
New enterprise
1939 a new company - also named Vulcan - was founded on the site of the former Stettin-shipyard. All together 34 construction numbers were started in the following years, including 18 type-VII C submarines. But because of the war only a few ships could be launched and completed. Among these were two submarines, but only one of them () was ever in service while the second one () was destroyed by allied air attacks before.
During the war the yard exploited slave workers and had its own prisoner camp, part of the prisoner population engaged in anti-Nazi resistance, successfully sabotaging several constructed ships
After
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 opposin ...
the slave workers were freed and the shipyard was finally taken over by the Polish government and the new
Szczecin Shipyard was started at this site. The Szczecin Shipyard named one of its wharfs "Wulkan" and two slipways "Wulkan 1" and "Wulkan Nowa".
Ships built by AG Vulcan Stettin (selection)
* 1851, Constr.No. 1,
Paddle steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses wer ...
''Die Dievenow'', first built ship
* 1879, for Shipping Company on the Don, Azov and Black Seas with their tributaries (russian: Общество пароходства по Дону, Азовскому и Черному морям с их притоками). After 1886 belonged to
Russian Steam Navigation and Trading Company
The Russian Steam Navigation and Trading Company (russian: Русское общество пароходства и торговли or ROPiT russian: РОПиТ, also referred as Russian S.N.Co.) of Odessa was one of the biggest joint stock ste ...
* 1880, Corvette ''Olga''
* 1881–1882, and for Chinese Navy
* 1887, protected cruiser for
Kaiserliche Marine
{{italic title
The adjective ''kaiserlich'' means "imperial" and was used in the German-speaking countries to refer to those institutions and establishments over which the ''Kaiser'' ("emperor") had immediate personal power of control.
The term wa ...
(Imperial German Navy); 1922 broken up
* 1889,
''Scandia'' Hamburg America Line liner, sold to U.S. Army Quartermaster Department 1898 serving as U.S. Army Transport ''Warren'' until 1922, sold, burned sunk Shanghai 1924
* 1891, for Kaiserliche Marine, 1910 sold to the Osman Navy
* 1892,
Aviso
An ''aviso'' was originally a kind of dispatch boat or "advice boat", carrying orders before the development of effective remote communication.
The term, derived from the Portuguese and Spanish word for "advice", "notice" or "warning", an '' ...
and
imperial yacht for
Kaiser Wilhelm II
Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and List of monarchs of Prussia, King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication on 9 ...
; 1923 broken up
* 1897, 4-funnel , won 1898
Blue Riband
The Blue Riband () is an unofficial accolade given to the passenger liner crossing the Atlantic Ocean in regular service with the record highest average speed. The term was borrowed from horse racing and was not widely used until after 1910. T ...
* 1897, Passenger ship ''Königin Luise'' for
Norddeutscher Lloyd
Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL; North German Lloyd) was a German shipping company. It was founded by Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann in Bremen on 20 February 1857. It developed into one of the most important German shipping companies of th ...
(NDL), 1935 broken up
* 1897–1899, great cruisers and
* 1899, Steamer ''König Albert'' for NDL, 1926 broken up
* 1901,
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 ...
for Kaiserliche Marine
* 1900, Passenger ship ''Deutschland''
* 1902, 4-funnel Kaiser-class ocean liner
* 1902, Pre-dreadnought battleship for Kaiserliche Marine
* 1903, Torpedo boat
* 1903–1904, s and for Kaiserliche Marine
* 1905, Pre-dreadnought for Kaiserliche Marine; sunk in
Battle of Jütland in June 1916
* 1906, Passenger ship ''Kaiserin Auguste Victoria''
* 1906, 4-funnel Kaiser-class ocean liner
* 1907, light cruiser for Kaiserliche Marine
* 1906–1907, s , , and for the
Hellenic Royal Navy
* 1909, for Kaiserliche Marine, became later
Osman Osman is the Persian transliteration and derived from the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, , link=no ''‘uthmān'') or an English surname. It may refer to:
People
* Osman (name), people with the name
* Osman I (1258–132 ...
cruiser , sunk 1918 by mines
* 1907, Passenger ship
* 1907, Passenger ship
* 1907, for Kaiserliche Marine
* 1909, CNo. 294, small experimental ship ''Föttinger Transformator'' with steam turbine and hydrodynamic transmission (Föttinger Transformator) propulsion
* 1909, for Kaiserliche Marine; sunk 1914 in the
Battle of Helgoland Bight
* 1910, cruiser ROU ''Uruguay'', for National Navy of Uruguay. Out of service in 1951, scrapped in the 1960s.
* 1912, Destroyers (ex-German V-class destroyer ''V6'') and (ex-''V5'') for the Hellenic Royal Navy
* 1914, Imperial yacht for Kaiser Wilhelm II, not in service, 1923 scrapped in Hamburg
* 1915, for Kaiserliche Marine
* 1913, Passenger ship for HAPAG, not finished during war, 1919 British war-booty and renamed , 1952 scrapped
* 1913, Passenger ship for
Norddeutscher Lloyd
Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL; North German Lloyd) was a German shipping company. It was founded by Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann in Bremen on 20 February 1857. It developed into one of the most important German shipping companies of th ...
, supply ship for German raiders in World War I, seized by Peru 1917, renamed ''Callao'', chartered by
United States Shipping Board
The United States Shipping Board (USSB) was established as an emergency agency by the 1916 Shipping Act (39 Stat. 729), on September 7, 1916. The United States Shipping Board's task was to increase the number of US ships supporting the World War ...
(USSB) and transferred to U.S. Navy 26 April 1919 and commissioned USS ''Callao'' (ID-4036), decommissioned 20 September 1919. Sold at auction by USSB, renamed ''Ruth Alexander'' by Dollar Steamship Lines.
* 1914–1918, All together 32 torpedo boats ( - , - , - , and )
* 1915, and for Kaiserliche Marine, 1918 both internment in
Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern end in June 2009
Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and ...
* 1916–1917, ''Rostock'' and ''Wiesbaden'', both not finished before the end of the war
* 1922, Passenger steamer ''München'' for NDL, 1931 renamed and 1938 only ''Steuben'', sunk 1945 in the
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 ...
by Soviet submarine , about 3,000 people, mainly refugees, killed
* 1923, Passenger steamer ''Stuttgart'' for NDL, sunk 1943 by US Air Force
* 1926, Passenger ship for beach resort service, used as minelayer in WWII, 1942 sunk by
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
in Rotterdam
* 1941, Type VII-C U-boats and , but only U 901 was ever in service
Ships built by AG Vulcan Hamburg (selection)
* 1911/12, for Kaiserliche Marine
* 1913/14, Passenger ship
* 1913/14, for Kaiserliche Marine
* 1913/14, Merchant ship
* 1914, Battleship ''
Salamis'' for Hellenic Navy, construction stopped with beginning of war, 1932 scrapped in Bremen
* 1915–1917, All together 69 U-boats of types UE 1, UE 2, UB III, UC I and UC II for Kaiserliche Marine
* 1916, Modified (Replacement Yorck), construction stopped and after war broken up
* 1917, for Kaiserliche Marine, not finished before end of war
* 1922, Merchant ship ''Cap Norte''
Ships built by AG Vulcan Stettin (selection)
Civilian ships
![Colour drawing of the SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse by an unknown painter](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Colour_drawing_of_the_SS_Kaiser_Wilhelm_der_Grosse_by_an_unknown_painter.jpg)
* (1896)
* (1900)
* (1902)
* (1906)
* (1906)
* (1907)
* (1907)
* (1913)
Naval ships
Battleships
* (1881)
* (1882)
* (1890)
* (1890)
* (1900)
* (1902)
* (1904)
* (1907)
Cruisers
![Bundesarchiv DVM 10 Bild-23-61-22, Kleiner Kreuzer](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Bundesarchiv_DVM_10_Bild-23-61-22%2C_Kleiner_Kreuzer_%22SMS_Breslau%22.jpg)
* (1883)
* (1887)
* (1887)
* (1887)
* (1897)
* (1897)
* (1897)
* (1898)
* (1901)
* (1902)
* (1903)
* (1906)
* (1908)
* (1910)
* (1913)
* (1915)
* (1915)
* (1915)
Destroyers
![NeaGenea1918](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/NeaGenea1918.jpg)
* (1906)
* (1906)
* (1907)
* (1907)
* (1912)
* (1912)
Submarines (U-boats)
*
Type VII-C U-boats (1941), out of six commissioned, only one, was ever in service.
Torpedo Boats
* (1914)
* (1914)
* (1914)
* (1914)
* (1914)
* (1914)
* (1915)
* (1915)
* (1915)
* (1915)
* (1915)
* (1915)
* (1915)
* (1915)
* (1916)
* (1916)
* (1916)
* (1916)
* (1916)
* (1916)
* (1916)
* (1916)
* (1916)
* (1916)
* (1916)
* (1916)
* (1916)
* (1916)
* (1916)
* (1916)
* , ex-Dutch ''Z-4'', later Polish
* (1918)
Ships still afloat
* ''Gryfia'', ex-''Tyras'' (1887), small railway ferry, today in
Szczecin
Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...
, Poland
* ''Wittow'' (1895), small railway ferry, today shown in the harbour of Barth, Germany
* Icebreaker
''Suur Tõll'', today a museum ship in
Tallinn
Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...
, Estonia
References
* Armin Wulle: ''Der Stettiner Vulcan. Ein Kapitel deutscher Schiffbaugeschichte''. Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Herford 1989,
* Dieter Grusenick: ''Lokomotivbau bei der Stettiner Maschinenbau AG „Vulcan“''. B. Neddermeyer VBN, Berlin 2006,
* Christian Ostersehlte: ''Von Howaldt zu HDW. 165 Jahre Entwicklung von einer Kieler Eisengießerei zum weltweit operierenden Schiffbau- und Technologiekonzern''. Koehler-Mittler, Hamburg 2004,
* Arnold Kludas: ''Die Geschichte der Deutschen Passagierschiffahrt. Band 1: Die Pionierjahre von 1850 – 1990'' (= Schriften des Deutschen Schiffahrtsmuseums. Bd. 18). Ernst Kabel Verlag GmbH, Hamburg 1986,
* Arnold Kludas; ''Die Seeschiffe des Norddeutschen Lloyd 1857 bis 1970'', Weltbild Verlag GmbH, Augsburg 1998,
* Bodo Herzog, ''Deutsche U-Boote 1906 – 1966'', Manfred Pawlak Verlagsgesellschaft mbh, Herrsching 1990,
* Siegfried Breyer, ''Schlachtschiffe und Schlachtkreuzer 1905 - 1970''J. F. Lehmanns Verlag München 1970,
External links
Summary of ''AG Vulcan Stettin''
{{Authority control
AG Vulcan Stettin