World War II Database

Contributor: Al Griffis

ww2dbaseIn 1838, engineer August Ferdinand Howaldt and ship owner Johann Schweffel started a multi-faceted business named Schweffel & Howaldt in the Dietrichsdorf district of Kiel, Germany. By 1846, the company employed 120 workers producing high pressure steam engines, steam boilers, pumps and many other items from the agriculture industry to engineering. In 1876, Georg Howaldt, the eldest son of August Howaldt, entered the business; after a four-year apprenticeship, he delivered 25 ships in three years under the name of his own company, Georg Howaldt Kiel Shipyard. When August Howaldt passed away in 1883, George Howaldt took over the company and reorganized it as Gebrüder Howaldt. In the following year, Gebrüder Howaldt established the Schwentine-Dock-Gesellschaft. In 1889, the companies merged to form the corporation Howaldtswerke. Between 1897 and 1906, Howaldtswerke purchased additional land and to expand and modernize the existing shipyard at the mouth of the Schwentine River. In order to compete with the other shipyards in the 20th century major changes were carried out. 113 meters of quay walls were added to the equipping pier, new foundries and boiler shops were built, and 4 new slips were built as the existing 5 slips, the largest of them being 110 meters, were just too small for modern ships. The four new slips would have the familiar awning and ranged in size from 91.5 meters to 152.5 meters with maximum width of 30 meters. New equipment, electrical and hydraulic plants were added and the crane tracks were all redone. Between 1908 and 1911, it built the lead ship of the Helgoland-class battleships. Between 1914 and 1918, it built battleships, cruisers, and submarines for the German war effort in WW1. In Sep 1926, Howaldtswerke was liquidated, and the shipyard continued operations under the name Dietrichsdorier Werft AG. In 1930, it was taken over the German Shipbuilders Ltd. of Vulcan Hamburg, and it was renamed HDW AG Kiel. In 1931, it was renamed yet again, to Howaldtswerke Aktiengesellschaft Kiel and Hamburg. In Apr 1937, the Kiel operations were sold to Deutsche Werke Kiel AG. In Apr 1939, it was nationalized to become the Kriegsmarinewerft Kiel; the company's headquarters relocated to Hamburg, Germany. In Jul 1943, the facilities in Kiel was once again sold, and it became Howaldtswerke Aktiengesellschaft Werft Kiel. During WW2, Howaldtswerke in Kiel built 31 submarines for the war effort.

ww2dbaseThe Howaldtswerke shipyard occupied about 165,400 square meters of land, and employed an average of 3,500 employees.

ww2dbaseAfter WW2, Howaldtswerke remained the only major shipyard in Kiel that was not dismantled. It was very successful during the 1960s. It merged with Deutsche Werft in Hamburg in 1968 and was renamed Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW). In Jan 2005, it became a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems.

ww2dbaseNote on Yard Numbers

ww2dbaseYears which yard numbers were allocated to Howaldtswerke: 1865-1940
To Janssen & Schmilinsky: 1929
To Vulcan Hamburg: 1930
To Kriegsmarinewerft: 1941-1944

Ships Constructed at Howaldtswerke Kiel

* Projected dates; not actual

Slip/Drydock Utilization

[Con]: Construction; [FO]: Fitting Out

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Howaldtswerke Kiel Timeline