War time drydock construction in Germany

Armed conflicts in the history of humanity from the ancient times to the 20th Century.
ede144
Member
Posts: 157
Joined: Mon Oct 10, 2011 5:09 pm

Re: War time drydock construction in Germany

Post by ede144 »

RF wrote:I don't think his distant Jewish background or sympathies (I believe he was one eigth Jewish from his great grandparents?) needed to be covered up not least because (as Kennedy records) of his protest against the Krystallnacht pogrom. Being a Kriegsmarine officer and at sea placed him at arms length from the SS, Gestapo and other Nazi agencies.

One other instance of an officer who was a ''loose cannon'' and had a habit of going out on his own and getting away with it politically was Helmuth von Ruckteschell, who named the second hilfskreuzer under his command Michel allegedly after the name of the Archangel Michael. the protector of the Jewish nation!
If memory serves, he called it "Michel" which is a short form of Michael. He got criticized because this is not an inspiring name for an AMC. His answer was: If Hamburg's people can name their main church Michel than I can christian this ship Michel
sineatimorar
Member
Posts: 176
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2013 1:42 pm

Re: War time drydock construction in Germany

Post by sineatimorar »

Excuse my complete ignorance here, but who in the blue blazes of Hades is this nutta 'Helmut Von Rucketschell' anyway? Which command, which sea service? To what notoriety is attributed to him other than some lunitic like utterances.
sineatimorar
Member
Posts: 176
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2013 1:42 pm

Re: War time drydock construction in Germany

Post by sineatimorar »

Ok I just googled him. Interesting chappy wasn't he? Wonder if his time in Japan could have shed any interesting info on naval information exchanges?
sineatimorar
Member
Posts: 176
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2013 1:42 pm

Re: War time drydock construction in Germany

Post by sineatimorar »

From my endeavors into ship design the maximum displacement that could be built without altering the locks at wilhelmhaven is around the 138,000 ton figure.
Dresden
Junior Member
Posts: 19
Joined: Sat Nov 24, 2012 6:33 pm

Re: War time drydock construction in Germany

Post by Dresden »

I'd be curious to know ALL the naval-capable drydocks the KM had and where (which ports, etc.) they were located.
sineatimorar
Member
Posts: 176
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2013 1:42 pm

Re: War time drydock construction in Germany

Post by sineatimorar »

Yah! Yes so would I like to know ALL of them. Hence the orginal question. As far as I know Elbe 17 is the only one operational today at Hamburg. Nearly all non floating types of drydocks were either filled in ( as at Wilhelmhaven and parts of the Kiel ) or had their dock gates destroyed as orginally what happened to Elbe17 and one at Kiel that seems to be still without it's gate and is used as a dock only. My best source is Google earth and it timeline bar which by setting at 1943 you get what war time aerial photos are available.

The two drydocks under construction at Wilhelmhaven were never 100% completed and were destroyed and latter filled in ( there is no evidence today of their existence). Large parts of the ship basins and docks of Kiel were obliterated in a similar way.

Company history sites from Germany skip across this period of time with little or no detailed information of operations. Going on comparison and the notes written on the the original photos, only the drydocks I have mentioned seem to be of the size required to service the likes of the H class. The Bremenhaven site I am yet to ID the location of any drydock construction linked to the H class, but I expect it just a matter of finding the correct photo from that time period.

If you know of a site dedicated to port infrastructures at that timeframe I would love it's address.
Post Reply