Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG
Encyclopedia
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
, located in Bremen
.
History
The Deschimag was founded in 1926 when influential Bremen merchants and bankers decided to found a cooperation of great German shipbuilding companies under the leadership of the shipyard AG Weser. The intention was to coordinate and concentrate activities of German shipyards for higher efficiency but last not least mainly to support Bremen´s shipyard AG „Weser“ in the upcoming economical and financial crisis of 1930th. While the greatest shipbuilding companies in Germany as Blohm & Voß and Bremer Vulkan
AG because of their own strong market position at that time were not interested in this cooperation, eight more or less great German shipyards merged. These were:
- Actien-Gesellschaft "Weser", Bremen (finally closed 1983)
- Vulkan-Werke Hamburg A.G., Hamburg (1930 sold to Howaldtswerke Hamburg)
- Joh. C. Tecklenborg A.G., Bremerhaven
(closed 1928)
- AG Vulcan Stettin, Stettin (closed 1928)
- G. Seebeck A.G., Bremerhaven (still existing as SSW Schichau Seebeck Shipyard GmbH)
- Actien-Gesellschaft Neptun
, Rostock (bankruptcy 1935, since 1997 part of shipbuilding company Meyer Werft
GmbH, Papenburg)
- Nüscke & Co. A.G., Stettin (bankruptcy 1928)
- Frerichswerft A.G., Einswarden (shipbuilding given up 1935, afterwards aircraft production)
Deschimag became the greatest shipbuilding company in Germany with about 15000 co-workers which was a rate of 28% in the total German shipbuilding industry at that time. But in the following years most of these companies were closed, went into bankrupt or were sold to other companies, see above. At least only AG Weser and Seebeckwerft
survived this process of concentration and reduction of shipbuilding capacities. In 1941 a majority shareholding of both shipyards was acquired by Krupp
, the most important German engineering and armaments conglomerate at that time.
While AG Weser concentrated its activities upon building of merchant ships with increasing amount of warships later, Seebeck built only smaller vessels and cocentrated upon maintenance and repair of ships.
Because of diversification and to create new jobs Deschimag also extended into aircraft construction. In 1933 the Weser Flugzeugbau
GmbH - abbriviated Weserflug - was founded. It started production of aircraft components and later complete aircrafts at different places in Germany, one of them was the former shipyard Frerichswerft AG. In 1936 the Weserflug separated from the Deschimag and became an independent company. It became the fourth largest aircraft manufacturer in Germany during World War II
, but only as a licensee of other German aircraft companies, mainly Dornier
and Junkers
.
The Deschimag was dissolved after war but AG Weser and Seebeck AG shipyards again survived and continued in shipbuilding. Because of mismanagement and unsatisfactory and too late responds to the demands of the market AG Weser was declared bankrupt in 1983 and operations were shut down while Seebeck shipyard became part of the Bremer Vulkan Verbund AG. Later in 1988 it merged with Schichau Shipyard to todays SSW Schichau Seebeck Shipyard GmbH.
Ships of Deschimag (selection and brief history)
• AG Weser, 1929, Passenger ship Bremen for shipping company Norddeutscher Lloyd . Won Blue Riband 1929 and 1933 for fastes Atlantic Ocean crossing; The Bremen escaped after beginning of war from New York to Bremerhaven; burnt out 1940 in Bremerhaven, probably by arson
• AG Weser; 1937, Passenger-cargo ship Scharnhorst , 1942 rebuilt to Japanese auxiliary aircraft carrier Shinyo, sunk 1944 by US u-boat
• AG Weser; Passenger-cargo ship Gneisenau
• AG Weser, 1936, Whale factory ship Terje Viken for United Whalers Ltd. London, worldwide greatest factory ship; March 1941 sunk by German u-boats U47 and U99 in North Atlantic Ocean (allied convoy OB 293)
• AG Weser, 1937, German whale factory ship Unitas for Jürgens-Van den Bergh company (whale hunting vessels were built by Bremer Vulkan); as Japanese Nissan Maru II scrapped in Taiwan 1987
• 1937, Merchant ship Kandelfels, in WW II used as auxiliary cruiser Pinguin, 1941 sunk by British cruiser HMS Cornwall
• 1938, Merchant ship Ems for shipping company Norddeutscher Lloyd, in WW II used as auxiliary cruiser Komet, 1942 sunk by planes and ships of Royal Air Force and Royal Navy
Warships
• AG Weser , 1937-1938; Destroyer class 1934A for Kriegsmarine, 4 units Z5 – Z8
• AG Weser , Destroyer classes 1936/1936A/1936A(m), 18 units
• AG Weser , Destroyer class 1936B, 5 units
• AG Weser , 162 U-boats of classes VII, IX and XXI
• Seebeck AG, 16 U-boats
• AG Weser, 1939, Hipper-class cruiser Seydlitz; 95% completed but never on duty, intended rebuilding to auxiliary aircraft carrier cancelled, 1945 sunk in Königsberg
• AG Weser, 1939, Hipper-class cruiser Lützow; not completed, hull sold to Soviet Union, new name Petropavlovsk, 1958 scrapped
• AG Weser, 1938, H-class super battle ship J (no name); end of 1939 cancelled
• AG Weser, 1939, H-class super battle ship K; construction not started
References
Peter Kuckuk, Hartmut Roder; Von der Dampfbarkasse zum Containerschiff – Werften und Schiffbau in Bremen und der Unterweserregion im 20. Jhd, Hochschule Bremen, Bremen Steintor 1988, ISBN 3-926028-38-6
Reinhold Thiel: Die Geschichte der Actien-Gesellschaft „Weser“ 1843 – 1983, Band II, Verlag H.M. Hauschild GmbH, Bremen 2006, ISBN 3-89757-338-5
AG Weser
Aktien-Gesellschaft Weser was one of the great German shipbuilding companies, located at the Weser River in Bremen. Founded in 1873 it was finally closed in 1983. Altogether, AG Weser built about 1400 ships of different types, including many war ships...
, located in Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
.
History
The Deschimag was founded in 1926 when influential Bremen merchants and bankers decided to found a cooperation of great German shipbuilding companies under the leadership of the shipyard AG Weser. The intention was to coordinate and concentrate activities of German shipyards for higher efficiency but last not least mainly to support Bremen´s shipyard AG „Weser“ in the upcoming economical and financial crisis of 1930th. While the greatest shipbuilding companies in Germany as Blohm & Voß and Bremer Vulkan
Bremer Vulkan
Bremer Vulkan AG was a great German shipbuilding company located at the Weser river in Bremen-Vegesack. It was founded in 1893 and closed in 1997 because of financial problems and mismanagement....
AG because of their own strong market position at that time were not interested in this cooperation, eight more or less great German shipyards merged. These were:
- Actien-Gesellschaft "Weser", Bremen (finally closed 1983)
- Vulkan-Werke Hamburg A.G., Hamburg (1930 sold to Howaldtswerke Hamburg)
- Joh. C. Tecklenborg A.G., Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the free city-state of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms an enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the River Weser on its eastern bank, opposite the town of Nordenham...
(closed 1928)
- AG Vulcan Stettin, Stettin (closed 1928)
- G. Seebeck A.G., Bremerhaven (still existing as SSW Schichau Seebeck Shipyard GmbH)
- Actien-Gesellschaft Neptun
Neptun
Neptun may refer to:*Neptun, Romania, resort town on the southeast Black Sea coast of Romania*Neptun , educational administration system used by universities and colleges in Hungary*SK Neptun, Swedish swim team...
, Rostock (bankruptcy 1935, since 1997 part of shipbuilding company Meyer Werft
Meyer Werft
The Meyer Werft is one of the remaining large German shipyards, headquartered in Papenburg. Since 1997, it has been part of the Meyer Neptun Group together with Neptun Werft in Rostock.-History:...
GmbH, Papenburg)
- Nüscke & Co. A.G., Stettin (bankruptcy 1928)
- Frerichswerft A.G., Einswarden (shipbuilding given up 1935, afterwards aircraft production)
Deschimag became the greatest shipbuilding company in Germany with about 15000 co-workers which was a rate of 28% in the total German shipbuilding industry at that time. But in the following years most of these companies were closed, went into bankrupt or were sold to other companies, see above. At least only AG Weser and Seebeckwerft
Seebeckwerft
-History:Seebeckwerft was founded in 1876 and developed from a small, metal-processing company in the heart of Bremerhaven into one of the leading shipbuilding companies in the region.During World War II Seebeckwerft built 16 Type IX U-boats for the Kriegsmarine....
survived this process of concentration and reduction of shipbuilding capacities. In 1941 a majority shareholding of both shipyards was acquired by Krupp
Krupp
The Krupp family , a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, have become famous for their steel production and for their manufacture of ammunition and armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp, was the largest company in Europe at the beginning of the 20th...
, the most important German engineering and armaments conglomerate at that time.
While AG Weser concentrated its activities upon building of merchant ships with increasing amount of warships later, Seebeck built only smaller vessels and cocentrated upon maintenance and repair of ships.
Because of diversification and to create new jobs Deschimag also extended into aircraft construction. In 1933 the Weser Flugzeugbau
Weser Flugzeugbau
Weser Flugzeugbau GmbH, known as Weserflug, was the fourth largest aircraft manufacturer in World War II Germany.The company was founded in 1934 as a subsidiary of the ship and machine company Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG . It began production that year at Berlin Tempelhof, and in Bremen.In...
GmbH - abbriviated Weserflug - was founded. It started production of aircraft components and later complete aircrafts at different places in Germany, one of them was the former shipyard Frerichswerft AG. In 1936 the Weserflug separated from the Deschimag and became an independent company. It became the fourth largest aircraft manufacturer in Germany during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, but only as a licensee of other German aircraft companies, mainly Dornier
Dornier
Dornier may refer to:* Claudius Dornier , German aircraft designer and builder** Dornier Flugzeugwerke, German aircraft manufacturer founded in 1914 by Claudius Dornier* Dornier Consulting, international consulting and project management company...
and Junkers
Junkers
Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG , more commonly Junkers, was a major German aircraft manufacturer. It produced some of the world's most innovative and best-known airplanes over the course of its fifty-plus year history in Dessau, Germany. It was founded there in 1895 by Hugo Junkers,...
.
The Deschimag was dissolved after war but AG Weser and Seebeck AG shipyards again survived and continued in shipbuilding. Because of mismanagement and unsatisfactory and too late responds to the demands of the market AG Weser was declared bankrupt in 1983 and operations were shut down while Seebeck shipyard became part of the Bremer Vulkan Verbund AG. Later in 1988 it merged with Schichau Shipyard to todays SSW Schichau Seebeck Shipyard GmbH.
Ships of Deschimag (selection and brief history)
• AG Weser, 1929, Passenger ship Bremen for shipping company Norddeutscher Lloyd . Won Blue Riband 1929 and 1933 for fastes Atlantic Ocean crossing; The Bremen escaped after beginning of war from New York to Bremerhaven; burnt out 1940 in Bremerhaven, probably by arson
• AG Weser; 1937, Passenger-cargo ship Scharnhorst , 1942 rebuilt to Japanese auxiliary aircraft carrier Shinyo, sunk 1944 by US u-boat
• AG Weser; Passenger-cargo ship Gneisenau
• AG Weser, 1936, Whale factory ship Terje Viken for United Whalers Ltd. London, worldwide greatest factory ship; March 1941 sunk by German u-boats U47 and U99 in North Atlantic Ocean (allied convoy OB 293)
• AG Weser, 1937, German whale factory ship Unitas for Jürgens-Van den Bergh company (whale hunting vessels were built by Bremer Vulkan); as Japanese Nissan Maru II scrapped in Taiwan 1987
• 1937, Merchant ship Kandelfels, in WW II used as auxiliary cruiser Pinguin, 1941 sunk by British cruiser HMS Cornwall
• 1938, Merchant ship Ems for shipping company Norddeutscher Lloyd, in WW II used as auxiliary cruiser Komet, 1942 sunk by planes and ships of Royal Air Force and Royal Navy
Warships
• AG Weser , 1937-1938; Destroyer class 1934A for Kriegsmarine, 4 units Z5 – Z8
• AG Weser , Destroyer classes 1936/1936A/1936A(m), 18 units
• AG Weser , Destroyer class 1936B, 5 units
• AG Weser , 162 U-boats of classes VII, IX and XXI
• Seebeck AG, 16 U-boats
• AG Weser, 1939, Hipper-class cruiser Seydlitz; 95% completed but never on duty, intended rebuilding to auxiliary aircraft carrier cancelled, 1945 sunk in Königsberg
• AG Weser, 1939, Hipper-class cruiser Lützow; not completed, hull sold to Soviet Union, new name Petropavlovsk, 1958 scrapped
• AG Weser, 1938, H-class super battle ship J (no name); end of 1939 cancelled
• AG Weser, 1939, H-class super battle ship K; construction not started
References
Peter Kuckuk, Hartmut Roder; Von der Dampfbarkasse zum Containerschiff – Werften und Schiffbau in Bremen und der Unterweserregion im 20. Jhd, Hochschule Bremen, Bremen Steintor 1988, ISBN 3-926028-38-6
Reinhold Thiel: Die Geschichte der Actien-Gesellschaft „Weser“ 1843 – 1983, Band II, Verlag H.M. Hauschild GmbH, Bremen 2006, ISBN 3-89757-338-5