Johann Diedrich Longé (5 December 1779; 10 May 1863,

Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish language, Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German language, German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklen ...

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...

, Germany) was a Swedish and Prussian naval officer. He was instrumental in building the

Prussian Navy The Prussian Navy (German language, German: ''Preußische Marine''), officially the Royal Prussian Navy (German Language, German: ''Königlich Preußische Marine''), was the naval force of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1701 to 1867. The Prussian N ...

. Longé was born in what was then Swedish

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. In 1794 he joined an

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

regiment and in 1799 moved to the navy. On 23 May 1801 he passed the examination as a naval officer served until 1805 in the

Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy () is the maritime service branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet (), formally sometimes referred to as the Royal Navy () – as well as marine units, the Amph ...

. In 1805 he was exempted from service in order to serve with English merchant and naval ships. During this period he was a prisoner of war of both Russia and France. Longé was serving in the Swedish navy in

Swedish Pomerania Swedish Pomerania (; ) was a dominions of Sweden, dominion under the Sweden, Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815 on what is now the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish-Swedish War, Polish War and the Thirty Years' War ...

when that province was transferred to Prussia on 15 August 1815. He then transferred from the Swedish Navy to the Prussian Navy. The Prussian king confirmed the transfer on 2 April 1816 and appointed him captain. He then was deployed in Stralsund, which was a fortress at this time. In Stralsund Longé prompted the construction of the schooner ''

''. This may be considered the birth of the Prussian Navy. He was also involved in the formation of the first

Prussian Naval Academy The Prussian Naval Academy was the naval academy of the Prussian Navy. Foundation The training of officers for the Prussian Navy started with the foundation of the ''Navigationsschulen'' in Danzig in 1817, although there were other similar schoo ...

, the Navigationsschule, opened in Danzig in 1817. As commander of the ''Stralsund'' he took the students on training cruises. On 10 July 1820 he submitted a plan which called for the gradual development of the Prussian navy. On 17 August 1827 he became chairman Royal naval depot on

Dänholm Dänholm (literally ''Danes' Isle'') is a small island on the German coast of the Baltic Sea. It is situated in the Strelasund just east of Stralsund. Both bridges linking Rügen with the mainland, Rügendamm and Rügenbrücke, run across it. ...

island at Stralsund. He was involved with the development of a fleet plan in 1836. In 1848 he became chairman of the Marine Committee in Stralsund, prompting the construction of the rowing gunboat ''Strela-Sund''. After the Prussian king rejected his request for reactivation he resigned from the Marine Committee. He died on 10 May 1863 and was buried at Stralsund.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Longe, Johann Diedrich 1779 births 1863 deaths Swedish Navy officers Prussian naval officers