F. Schichau file photo [32036]

F. Schichau Danzig

Type   227 Shipyard
Historical Name of Location   Danzig
Coordinates   54.365806000, 18.644761000

Contributor:

ww2dbaseF. Schichau was a company that started in Elbing, Germany (now Elblag, Poland) in 1837, known initially for locomotives, and later as a shipwright. Having reached the maximum capacity at the small Elbing shipyard, in 1889, the company reached out to the government of Danzig, Germany (now Gdansk, Poland) for approval to build a shipyard on the Vistula River, and the negotiations dragged into the spring of 1890 on due to the conditions placed on the purchase of required land, but an agreement would eventually be reached in early 1890. Construction of the shipyard at Danzig began in Apr 1890. The land purchased was extremely wet, including bogs, and uneven with several small hills and valleys. To have a solid base to build on, tens of thousands of rocks of various sizes were laid as a foundation. Space between the rocks was filled in with thousands of pounds of sand. Originally there were two shipyard plans. One called for four slips large enough to construct warships and passenger liners equal to what the other major shipyards were producing. The other plan called for seven slips, and with the same requirement. Additionally, there must be enough room to add additional slips if needed, two slips must be over 200 meters in length and at least 30 meters in width. The first plan was not approved because it was argued the slips would be obsolete within 10 years. The second plan was approved. Six slips were approved with the ability to add additional ones if needed. The equipping pier would be 930 meters and the total area of the shipyard being 291,500 square meters. Other equipment approved being a floating dry dock, a floating crane with a 100-ton lifting capability and a hammer head crane with a 250-ton capability. Construction was completed in 1893. Ferdinand Schichau passed away in 1896, and his son-in-law, Carl Heinz Ziese, previously the manager of the F. Schichau repair yard at Pillau, Germany (now Baltijsk, Russia), took control of the company. In 1906, the floating crane was received. In 1914, the hammer head crane was installed. Ziese passed away in 1917, and Carl and Hildegard Carlson, Ziese's son-in-law and daughter, took over. After WW1, F. Schichau was nearly bankrupt, and it began receiving subsidies from the government to remain in operations building locomotives. In 1934, the F. Schichau yard in Danzig received modernization, including new tracks and cranes for slip IV.

ww2dbaseDuring WW2, at Danzig, F. Schichau built 62 Type VII C/41 submarines until 1944, and then switched to building Type XXI submarines, which 30 were built. Forced laborers from Poland, France, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, and Hungary were transported from satellite camps of Stutthof concentration camp to Danzig to be employed by F. Schichau. The prisoners received inadequate rations, which was limited to about half a liter of thin soup and 250 grams of bread per day, and they were given little to no winter clothing. Many forced laborers died from malnutrition, disease, and violence. The forced prisoners who perished were burned in a crematorium or buried in mass graves at the cemetery in Saspe (now the Zaspa district, Gdansk). In early 1945, a floating dock was transferred to Lübeck, Germany in advance of Soviet capture. Shortly after, a number of incomplete ships were transferred to Bremerhaven, Germany, along with the executive team headed by Hermann Noë. The company began to re-establish itself in Bremerhaven in the final months of the war.

ww2dbaseAfter the war, the city of Danzig was given to Poland, together with the control of the F. Schichau facilities. In 1950, The F. Schichau shipyard at Danzig was subsumed into the Lenin shipyard. Meanwhile, the F. Schichau name lived on with Noë's new operations in Bremerhaven. It remained in operations until 2009 when it was acquired by Schichau Seebeckwerft.

Last Major Update: Sep 2022

Ships Constructed at F. Schichau Danzig

Ship NameYard NoSlip/Drydock NoOrderedLaid DownLaunchedCommissioned
Kurmark25 Aug 1939
T52 (Planned)172028 Mar 1944
T53 (Planned)172128 Mar 1944
T54 (Planned)172228 Mar 1944
T55 (Planned)172328 Mar 1944
T56 (Planned)172428 Mar 1944
T57 (Planned)172528 Mar 1944
T58 (Planned)144728 Mar 1944
T59 (Planned)144828 Mar 1944
T60 (Planned)144928 Mar 1944
U-3504V
U-3505V
U-3510VI
U-3511VI
U-3512VI
U-3515V
U-3516V
U-3517IV
U-3518IV
U-3519IV
U-3520IV
U-3521II
U-3522II
U-3523III
U-3524III
U-3525VI
U-3526VI
U-3527VI
U-3528VI
U-35381683III6 May 1944
U-35391684II6 May 1944
U-35401685II6 May 1944
U-35411686VI6 May 1944
U-35421687III6 May 1944
U-442II
U-736III
U-737II
U-738II
U-745VI
U-746VI
Schlesien19 Nov 190428 May 19065 May 1908
Dithmarschen11 Feb 19356 Jun 193612 Jun 193720 Jul 1939
Nordmark14 Nov 19365 Oct 193716 Jan 1939
Ermland18 Feb 193717 Dec 19372 Sep 1940
Q (Planned)IV8 Aug 19391 Mar 1941 *1 Mar 1943 *1 Apr 1944 *
SP4 (Planned)IV1 Mar 1942 *1 Jun 1943 *1 Dec 1944 *
SP5 (Planned)V1 Mar 1942 *1 Jun 1943 *1 Dec 1944 *
N (Planned)129V1 Oct 19411 Jan 1944 *1 Jul 1945 *1 Jul 1946 *
Q (Planned)IV1 Dec 19411 Jun 1944 *1 Nov 1945 *1 Dec 1946 *
U-35351680IV6 Nov 194326 Nov 1944
U-35361681IV6 Nov 194327 Nov 1944
U-35371682III6 Nov 194320 Dec 1944
SP18 (Planned)IV1 Mar 1945 *1 Jun 1946 *1 Dec 1947 *
M2 (Planned)IV1 May 19431 Aug 1945 *1 Feb 1947 *1 Feb 1948 *
SP19 (Planned)VI1 Sep 1945 *1 Dec 1946 *1 Jun 1948 *

* Projected dates; not actual

Slip/Drydock Utilization

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



F. Schichau Danzig Interactive Map

Photographs

A warship near completion in the horizontal slip at F. Schichau Danzig shipyard, Danzig, 1874; the shipyard stopped using this slip sometime after WW1Launching of passenger ship Columbus from Slip VI of F. Schichau Danzig shipyard, Danzig, 17 Dec 1913Launching of Russian cruiser Muravyov-Amursky (later, German cruiser Pillau) at F. Schichau Danzig, Germany, 14 Apr 1914Launching of SMS Baden from Slip IV of F. Schichau Danzig shipyard, Danzig, 30 Oct 1915
See all 8 photographs of F. Schichau Danzig

Maps

Map of Danzig, 1895Map of Danzig, 1935Shipyard plan of F. Schichau Danzig, 1939

F. Schichau Danzig Timeline

18 Apr 1890 Construction for a new F. Schichau shipyard in Danzig, Germany (now Gdansk, Poland) began.
6 Jun 1936 The keel of Dithmarschen was laid down by F. Schichau in Danzig.
12 Jun 1937 Dithmarschen was launched by F. Schichau in Danzig.
29 Jan 1945 The construction of U-3538, U-3539, U-3540, U-3541, and U-3542 was suspended at the F. Schichau shipyard in Danzig.
30 Mar 1945 U-3538, U-3539, U-3540, U-3541, and U-3542, still under construction, were captured by the Soviets at the F. Schichau shipyard in Danzig.




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Modern Day Location
WW2-Era Place Name Danzig
Lat/Long 54.3658, 18.6448
F. Schichau Danzig Photo Gallery
A warship near completion in the horizontal slip at F. Schichau Danzig shipyard, Danzig, 1874; the shipyard stopped using this slip sometime after WW1
See all 8 photographs of F. Schichau Danzig


Famous WW2 Quote
"With Germany arming at breakneck speed, England lost in a pacifist dream, France corrupt and torn by dissension, America remote and indifferent... do you not tremble for your children?"

Winston Churchill, 1935


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