Deutsche Werke
Encyclopedia
Deutsche Werke was a German
shipbuilding
company founded in 1925 when Kaiserliche Werft Kiel
and other shipyards were merged. It came as a result of the Treaty of Versailles
after World War I
that forced the German defence industry to shrink. The company was owned by the government of the Weimar Republic
and its headquarter was in Berlin
.
Deutsche Werke started building merchant ships but when the Nazi Party gained power in 1933 the production was changed to naval ship
s. Besides shipbuilding Deutsche Werke also produced firearm
s. Especially known are the so-called Ortgies pistol
s which were particular popular in the United States
. The pistols were developed by Heinrich Ortgies. See link for details: http://www.ortgies.net/ortgies0015.htm
During WWII the company expanded to Gdingen (Gdynia
), establishinging Deutsche Werke Gotenhafen.
Deutsche Werke facilities and infrastructure were destroyed during World War II
by bombing raids. What little that remained was dismantled once the war ended.
In 1955 the shipyard areas were bought by Howaldtswerke.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
shipbuilding
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and 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 before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
company founded in 1925 when Kaiserliche Werft Kiel
Kaiserliche Werft Kiel
Kaiserliche Werft Kiel was a German shipbuilding company founded in 1867, first as Königliche Werft Kiel but renamed in 1871 with the proclamation of the German Empire...
and other shipyards were merged. It came as a result of the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
that forced the German defence industry to shrink. The company was owned by the government of the Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
and its headquarter was in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
Deutsche Werke started building merchant ships but when the Nazi Party gained power in 1933 the production was changed to naval ship
Naval ship
A naval ship is a ship used for combat purposes, commonly by a navy. Naval ships are differentiated from civilian ships by construction and purpose...
s. Besides shipbuilding Deutsche Werke also produced firearm
Firearm
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
s. Especially known are the so-called Ortgies pistol
Pistol
When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
s which were particular popular in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The pistols were developed by Heinrich Ortgies. See link for details: http://www.ortgies.net/ortgies0015.htm
During WWII the company expanded to Gdingen (Gdynia
Gdynia
Gdynia is a city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland and an important seaport of Gdańsk Bay on the south coast of the Baltic Sea.Located in Kashubia in Eastern Pomerania, Gdynia is part of a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdańsk and suburban communities, which together...
), establishinging Deutsche Werke Gotenhafen.
Deutsche Werke facilities and infrastructure were destroyed 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...
by bombing raids. What little that remained was dismantled once the war ended.
In 1955 the shipyard areas were bought by Howaldtswerke.
Ships built at Deutsche Werke Kiel (selection)
- Panzerschiff DeutschlandDeutschland class cruiserThe Deutschland class was a series of three panzerschiffe , a form of heavily armed cruiser, built by the Reichsmarine officially in accordance with restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles...
(later renamed Lützow) - Heavy cruiserHeavy cruiserThe heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
BlücherGerman cruiser BlücherBlücher was the second of five heavy cruisers of the German Kriegsmarine, built after the rise of the Nazi Party and the repudiation of the Treaty of Versailles. Named for Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, the victor of the Battle of Waterloo, the ship was laid down in August 1936 and launched in... - BattleshipBattleshipA battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
GneisenauGerman battleship GneisenauGneisenau was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of the German Kriegsmarine. She was the second vessel of her class, which included one other ship, Scharnhorst. The ship was built at the Deutsche Werke dockyard in Kiel; she was laid down on 6 May 1935... - Aircraft carrierAircraft carrierAn aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
Graf ZeppelinGerman aircraft carrier Graf ZeppelinGerman aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin was the lead ship in a class of two carriers ordered by the Kriegsmarine. She was the only aircraft carrier launched by Germany during World War II and represented part of the Kriegsmarine's attempt to create a well-balanced oceangoing fleet, capable of...
(not completed) - DestroyerDestroyerIn naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
Z 1 bis Z 4 (Typ Zerstörer 1934German World War II destroyersAt the outbreak of the Second World War, the German Navy, the Kriegsmarine, had 21 destroyers . These had all been built in the 1930s, making them modern vessels...
) - U-boatU-boatU-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
s Types IIA,B,C,D, VIIC, and XIV