20 Jul 1853

Germany
  • The Kingdom of Prussia and the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg signed the Jade Treaty, which saw the transfer of 340 hectares of land on the western shore of the Jade Bight to Prussia for the construction of a naval port. ww2dbase [Kriegsmarinewerft | Wilhelmshaven, Weser-Ems | CPC]
25 Jun 1856

Germany
17 Jun 1869

Germany
1 Apr 1873

Germany
15 Sep 1876

Germany
5 Jun 1888

Germany
5 Oct 1925

Germany
15 Jul 1926

Germany
25 Jun 1931

Germany
1 Jan 1933

Photo(s) dated 1 Jan 1933
Plan of Reichsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven, Germany, 1 Jan 1933; note the six dry docks, two slips, and the shipyard shops
1 Apr 1933

Germany
12 Nov 1934

Germany
11 May 1936

Germany
14 Jun 1936

Germany
3 Oct 1936

Photo(s) dated 3 Oct 1936
Adolf Hitler (left of photograph), Werner von Blomberg (looking away), and Erich Raeder (fourth from left) at Scharnhorst
2 Nov 1936

Germany
6 Jul 1937

Germany
1 Apr 1939

Germany
  • Battleship Tirpitz was launched at the Kriegsmarinewerft shipyard in Wilhelmshaven, Germany. Grossadmiral Alfred von Tirpitz's daughter Ilse von Hassel christened the battleship named after her father. ww2dbase [Tirpitz | Kriegsmarinewerft | Wilhelmshaven, Weser-Ems | CPC]
19 Aug 1939

Germany
  • U-40 departed Wilhelmshaven, Germany for her first war patrol. She was to patrol waters off of Gibraltar. ww2dbase [U-40 | Wilhelmshaven, Weser-Ems | CPC]
23 Aug 1939

Germany
4 Sep 1939

Germany
  • Emden was damaged during a British air raid at Wilhelmshaven, Germany when a damaged Blenheim aircraft crashed into the foreship, killing 9 and wounding 20. The aircraft's pilot was Flying Officer H. L. Emden, whose name matched that of the ship he had crashed into by pure chance. The RAF officer was later buried at the Sage War Cemetery in Großenkneten, northwestern Germany. ww2dbase [Emden | Wilhelmshaven, Weser-Ems | CPC]
18 Sep 1939

Germany
21 Sep 1939

Germany
23 Sep 1939

Germany
10 Oct 1939

Germany
  • U-40 departed Wilhelmshaven, Germany for her second war patrol. She was to patrol waters off of Portugal and Spain. ww2dbase [U-40 | Wilhelmshaven, Weser-Ems | CPC]
2 Dec 1939

Germany
18 Dec 1939

Germany
  • 24 British Wellington bombers were launched to attack German shipping during daylight, with the target area centered around the naval port city of Wilhelmshaven, Germany; only 22 flew to the target area because 2 developed technical problems shortly after takeoff. Flak quickly broke up the bomber formation, then the German Bf 109 and Bf 110 fighters that came to the ships' defense shot down 12 of the 22 bombers. German pilots claimed 34 kills for the loss of 2 fighters during combat and another crashed at landing; the German Air Ministry confirmed only 26. British pilots also overestimated their kills, claiming 13 definite and 12 probable. ww2dbase [Kriegsmarinewerft | Wilhelmshaven, Weser-Ems | CPC]
3 Jan 1940

Germany
5 Apr 1940

Germany
29 Jun 1940

Germany
30 Aug 1940

Photo(s) dated 30 Aug 1940
Allied photograph of Kriegsmarinewerft shipyard and surrounding areas in Wilhelmshaven, Germany, 30 Aug 1940; the shipyard was easily identified by the square construction basin at lower left, and the large body of water to the right was to be a new construction shipyard named Nordwerft (North Yard)
11 Oct 1940

Germany
  • During the night, 4 British Hampden aircraft (out of 5 launched) from Lindholme, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom attacked battleship Tirpitz at Wilhelmshaven, Germany to little effect. ww2dbase [Tirpitz | Wilhelmshaven, Weser-Ems | CPC]
10 Jan 1942

Germany
8 Jul 1942

Germany
  • 285 British bombers (137 Wellington, 52 Lancaster, 38 Halifax, 34 Stirling, 24 Hampden) attacked the docks at Wilhelmshaven, Germany, causing little or no damage to the docks, killing 25 civilians, and wounding 170; 5 bombers were lost on this mission. ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | Wilhelmshaven, Weser-Ems | CPC]
  • Wing Commander (Acting) Guy Gibson, at 23 the youngest Squadron commanding officer in RAF Bomber Command and a man already marked out for great things, flew the newly issued Lancaster bomber operationally for the first time during the raid on Wilhelmshaven, Germany. A young Australian pilot officer, Dave Shannon, went with him to gain experience. Shannon, like Gibson, was later to find fame in 617 Squadron. The aircraft they flew was lost a month later over Essen, Germany with a different crew. ww2dbase [Wilhelmshaven, Weser-Ems | AC]
14 Sep 1942

Germany
7 Nov 1942

Germany
3 Feb 1944

Germany
3 Mar 1945

Germany
30 Mar 1945

Germany
  • US Eighth Air Force B-24 Liberator bombers attacked Wilhelmshaven, Germany, sinking the already-damaged cruiser Köln on even keel. Her turrets remained above water and operational. ww2dbase [Köln | Wilhelmshaven, Weser-Ems | HM]
  • Fleet tender Königin Louise was sunk by USAAF B-24 bombers at Wilhelmshaven, Germany. ww2dbase [F6 | Wilhelmshaven, Weser-Ems | CPC]

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




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