AG Weser

Aktien-Gesellschaft „Weser" (abbreviated A.G. „Weser”) was one of the major German shipbuilding companies, located at the Weser River in Bremen. Founded in 1872 it was finally closed in 1983. Altogether, A.G. „Weser" built about 1400 ships of different types, including many war ships. A.G. „Weser" was leading company in Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG, a cooperation of eight German shipbuilding companies between 1926 and 1945.

History

Aktien-Gesellschaft „Weser” - short A.G. „Weser” - was founded as a predecessor of the 1843 founded Eisengiesserei & Maschinenbau-Anstalt Waltjen und Leonhard,^[2]. This company with it´s premises was situated on the so called Stephanikirchenweide at the periphery of the ancient town of Bremen. It was an iron-foundry and machine factory with a wide-ranging production volume of iron-made parts as bridges, cranes, floodgates, steam boiler, steam engines etc. In 1846 the company´s name was changed to Waltjen & Co. In the same year the first vessel was built. First greater ship was 1847 the 346 GRT paddle-steamer Roland, used as tug- and passenger boat. Almost 50 years this ship was in service on the river Weser. More shipbuilding activities followed including three torpedo-boats for the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy) in 1871.

In March 1872 Mr. Carsten Waltjen established together with 17 Bremen merchants a company on shares named Actien-Gesellschaft „Weser” wherein the company Waltjen & Co. was taken over. The production program of this new company was „construction of ships of all kind and marine engineering”.

The new shipyard started shipbuilding with some smaller vessels. The very first important order came from the Kaiserliche Marine. Between 1875 and 1884 altogether 29 gunboats were built. By this A.G. „Weser” started it´s career as an important constructor of war ships for the German Imperial Navy (1871 – 1918) first and the Kriegsmarine in the Third Reich (1933 – 1945) later. This was contrary to the second great Bremen shipyard Bremer Vulkan which with exception of the both world wars only produced civilian ships. After this order the construction was again mainly for civil use.

Because of the growing incoming orders it soon became necessary to enlarge the yard facilities. From 1001 to 1905 the company bought new terrain at the entrance to the new Bremen ports some miles downstream the Weser at the Bremen suburb Gröpelingen. Production and personnel then were gradually shifted from the old yard to the new promises. For the first four slipways and one floating dock, workshops, magazines etc. were established at the new terrain, capable to construct ships of all categories. Between 1905 and 1914 no fewer than 40 passenger and merchant ships were constructed on the new wharf.

The first U-boats constructed were UB I series. Later also UC I, UB II and UC II series were constructed at AG Weser. By 1917 most of the work went into the construction of the UB III. Later three UC III were ordered also but never got finished. During World War I, AG „Weser” launched a total of 96 U-boats.

In 1926 when the situation in shipbuilding was extremely hard A.G. „Weser” merged with seven other German shipyards to form Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG (Deschimag), wherein the new named Deschimag A.G. „Weser took the leading position. Most of the shipyards participarting the Deschimag were closed, sold or went bankrupt in the following years. Only A.G. „Weser” and Seebeckwerft in Bremerhaven, which was taken over in 1928, survived.

During the Bombing of Bremen in World War II the shipyard often was target of allied air-raids, mainly end of 1944 and 1945. Despite many buildings, workshops, magazines, slipways and docks as well as ships and u-boats under construction were damaged, the estimated reduction of construction capacity at the end of war seemed only less than 30%.

The Deschimag was dissolved 1945 after World War II and the company was renamed to the former Aktien-Gesellschaft „Weser”. With exception of Seebeckwerft, the dismantling of confiscated production facilities for USSR happened from 1945 to 1948. Most of the production equipment was shipped to Russia and together with the damaged facilities from bombing attacks during war and the following blasting of the slipways the shipyard was more or less useless after that. Only a restricted production-permission was still possible and allowed by the US military government. While Seebeckwerft received the permission to construct ship´s newbuilding in 1949, A.G. „Weser” received this permission finally some years later in 1951. First new built unit was 1952 the 2.650 GRT carrier Werratal.

1963 started a fundamental modernization program. In 1970 the shipyard presented itself in a new modern shape with giant cranes of 500 and 780 tons capacity, which span two slipways for the construction of ships up to 500.000 tons deadweight. Spacious prefabrications workshops with automation equipment and cranes of all sizes were in operation. Ship and engine repairs as well as machinery production and general engineering was performed in well-equipped drydocks and workshops. At this time A.G. „Weser” in Bremen and the affiliated Seebeckwerft in Bremerhaven employed about 8.000 workers and office staff.

The Bremen shipyard A.G. „Weser” concentrated the manufacturing program on all kinds of ships up to approx. 400.000 dwt., the Bremerhaven shipyard Seebeckwerft up to approx. 20.000 dwt. Besides ship-newbuilding also ship repairs and conversion as well as construction of engines and industrial equipment was carried out.

In the 1970th A.G. „Weser” concentrated the activities on building of tankers. But this one-sided orientation led to problems when the tanker-boom came to end. Many tanker-orders were cancelled and the lack of orders for other types of ships caused severe financial problems. A closer cooperation between the Bremen shipyards A.G. „Weser” and Bremer Vulkan and the Bremerhaven shipyards Seebeckwerft, Lloydwerft and Schichau-Werft, including a reduction of shipbuilding capacities, could not be realized. As a consequence the shipyard A.G. „Weser” closed on December 31, 1983.

Ships of AG „Weser” and its predecessors (selection)

• 1847, Serial-No.1, Paddle steamer Roland
• 1898, Great cruiser Victoria Louise for Kaiserliche Marine
• 1903-1904, Bremen-class light cruiser Bremen, 1915 sunk
• 1906, Lightship Reserve Sonderburg, 1988 rebuilt at Motorenwerke Bremerhaven to sailing ship Alexander von Humboldt (nickname „Green Alex“, because of green sails)
• 1907, 8.790 GRT mail-and-passenger vessel Goeben for Norddeutscher Lloyd
• 1908, Armoured cruiser Gneisenau, sunk December 1914 in the Battle of the Falkland Islands by Royal Navy
• 1907-09, Nassau class battleship Westfalen, participated 1916 Battle of Jütland (in German: Skagerrakschlacht), after war 1920 delivered to Great Britain, 1924 scrapped
• 1911, Helgoland class battleship Thüringen, participated Skagerrakschlacht; 1920 delivered to France, 1923-33 scrapped
• 1914, König-class battleship Markgraf, participated Skagerrakschlacht, 1918 internment in Scapa Flow, there 1919 self-destructed, 1936 scrapped
• 1916-1918, 84 U-boats for Kaiserliche Marine
• 1926, Experimental ship Barbara with additional propulsion by three Flettner-Rotors (using Magnus-Effect)
• 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
• 1953–1954, Turbine tankers Olympic Cloud, -Wind, -Storm, -Sky, -Breeze and -Rainbow for Olympic Transportation Co., New York (Owner: Aristoteles Onassis)
• 1979, Frigate Niedersachsen for Bundesmarine (German Navy) in collaboration with frigate general contractor Bremer Vulkan
• 1983, Cargo ship Ubena for Deutsche Afrika-Linien (DAL) Hamburg was last ship built by AG Weser

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ships built at Aktien-Gesellschaft „Weser“

• AG Weser Museum Start with „Geschichte“ to look at some ships.
• Ships built by Shipyard AG Weser emigration

References and notes

• Reinhold Thiel; Die Geschichte der Actien-Gesellschaft "Weser" 1843 - 1983, Band I 1843 - 1918, Verlag H.M. Hauschild GmbH, Bremen 2005, ISBN 3-89757-271-0
• Reinhold Thiel; Die Geschichte der Actien-Gesellschaft "Weser" 1843 - 1983, Band II 1919 - 1945, Verlag H.M. Hauschild GmbH, Bremen 2006, ISBN 3-89757-338-5
• Reinhold Thiel; Die Geschichte der Actien-Gesellschaft "Weser" 1843 - 1983, Band III 1945 - 1983, Verlag H.M. Hauschild GmbH, Bremen 2007, ISBN 978-38975-7-0
• Peter Kuckuk (Hrsg.); Die AG „Weser“ in der Nachkriegszeit (1945 – 1953), Edition Temmen, Bremen 2005, ISBN 3-86108-546-1

Coordinates: 53°06′45″N 8°44′55″E / 53.1125°N 8.74861°E / 53.1125; 8.74861