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Blohm und Voss

Type Shipyard Historical Name of Location Hamburg, Germany

Contributor: Al Griffis

ww2dbaseBlohm und Voss was founded by Hermann Blohm and Ernst Voss in Hamburg, Germany as a shipyard and machinery factory. The shipyard was established on the island of Kuhwarder. Most of this land was swamp and cow pastures and would need months of work to build a firm foundation under the shipyard. The area measured 15,000 square meters with 250 meters of water frontage. There would be four slips initially with the ability to handle ships of 300 feet and they would launch into the North Elbe. The shipyard launched its first ship, freighter Castle, in 1879. In 1880, with business being slow, the company decided to build dry docks to attract repair and maintenance businesses. Drydock 1 was completed in early 1882. Between 1885 and 1887, two additional slips, measuring 120 meters each, were added. In 1885, a second drydock was put into operation. In May 1887, additional land was purchased, increasing the size of the facility to 77,546 square meters. Between 1887 and 1889, one additional slip was added, which brought the total to seven. In 1889, the seven slips were widened; during this process, four of the slips merged into two larger ones, thus making the total number of slips to five. In 1891, the facility area increased to 94,000 square meters. In 1905, Blohm und Voss worked out a new lease with the Hamburg Senate for additional land which totaled 560,000 square meters, including 3 kilometers of shoreline. In 1906, it signed an agreement with Parsons for turbines. The light cruiser SMS Dresden was the first ship to use the new turbines. In Nov 1907, slips 6, 7 and 8 were completed. In about 1908, dock 5, with 46,000-ton lifting capability, joined the shipyard. Between 1909 and Dec 1910, slip 9 and 10 were built; the scaffolding stood 68 meters tall and was watched over by the watch tower which was 78 meters tall. During WW1, Blohm und Voss saw several overs from the German Navy, including 98 submarines; other orders included merchant ships, large torpedo boats, and a light cruiser. Two battle cruisers were laid down but not completed prior to the end of WW1. In the 1920s, much like other German shipyards, Blohm und Voss saw very few orders. In 1942, Elbe 17, a large drydock, was completed; it measured 351 meters in length and 59 meters in width, and it was built for the construction of the planned H-class battleships. In Jul 1943, it suffered considerable damage due to Allied bombing. In 1944 a subcamp of Neuengamme concentration camp was established to provide forced laborers for the shipyard's use. During the war, the average number of employees at the Blohm und Voss was about 9,000. After the war, Blohm und Voss ceased production until 1950. At the time of this writing, the Blohm und Voss facilities are operated by the firm Lürssen.

Last Major Update: Jun 2019

Ships Constructed at Blohm und Voss

Ship Name Yard No Slip/Drydock No Ordered Laid Down Launched Completed Orion 486 VII 27 Mar 1930 9 Dec 1939 Gorch Fock 495 VI 2 Dec 1932 14 Jan 1933 3 May 1933 23 Jun 1933 Tsingtau 2 Aug 1933 21 Oct 1933 6 Jun 1934 24 Sep 1934 Grille 21 Aug 1934 17 Jul 1934 15 Dec 1934 20 May 1935 F7 498 17 May 1934 10 Jan 1935 25 May 1936 15 Feb 1937 F8 499 17 May 1934 29 Jan 1935 27 Jul 1936 8 Apr 1937 Z14 Friedrich Ihn 503 II 19 Jan 1935 30 Mar 1935 5 Nov 1935 9 Apr 1938 Z15 Erich Steinbrinck 504 III 19 Jan 1935 30 May 1935 24 Sep 1936 8 Jun 1938 Admiral Hipper 501 VIII 30 Oct 1934 6 Jul 1935 6 Feb 1937 29 Apr 1939 Z16 Friedrich Eckholdt 505 IV 19 Jan 1935 14 Nov 1935 21 Mar 1937 2 Aug 1938 Horst Wessel 508 II 1 Oct 1935 15 Feb 1936 13 Jun 1936 16 Jun 1936 Bismarck 509 IX 16 Nov 1935 1 Jul 1936 14 Feb 1939 24 Aug 1940 Albert Leo Schlageter 515 II 2 Jan 1937 15 Jul 1937 30 Oct 1937 10 Feb 1938 Micea 519 22 Sep 1938 22 Sep 1938 25 Jan 1939 Herbert Norkus 524 II 1 Aug 1939 7 Nov 1939 H (Planned) 525 IX 14 Apr 1939 4 Aug 1939 * 1 Jul 1941 * 1 Aug 1943 * U-559 III 1 Feb 1940 8 Jan 1941 27 Feb 1941 P2 (Planned) VIII 1 May 1940 * 1 May 1942 * 1 Oct 1943 * U-575 X 1 Aug 1940 30 Apr 1941 19 Jun 1941 U-576 X 1 Aug 1940 30 Apr 1941 26 Jun 1941 U-577 X 1 Aug 1940 15 May 1941 3 Jul 1941 U-578 X 1 Aug 1940 15 May 1941 10 Jul 1941 M (Planned) 526 DryDocks IV & V 25 May 1939 1 Oct 1940 * 1 Oct 1942 * 1 Apr 1944 * P5 (Planned) VII 1 May 1941 * 1 May 1943 * 1 Oct 1944 * P11 (Planned) VIII 15 May 1939 1 May 1942 * 1 May 1944 * 1 Oct 1945 * P9 (Planned) VIII 15 May 1939 1 May 1942 * 1 May 1944 * 1 Oct 1945 * SP9 (Planned) VII 1 Sep 1942 * 1 Dec 1943 * 1 Jun 1945 * U-1011 III 23 Mar 1942 12 Mar 1943 O (Planned) 606 VII 1 Oct 1941 1 Jan 1944 * 1 Jul 1945 * 1 Jul 1946 * U-2501 VI 6 Nov 1943 3 Apr 1944 12 May 1944 27 Jun 1944 U-2549 VI 6 Nov 1943 3 Dec 1944 R2 (Planned) IV 1 Jun 1943 1 Aug 1945 * 1 Feb 1947 * 1 Feb 1948 * N2 (Planned) VII 1 May 1943 1 Sep 1945 * 1 Mar 1947 * 1 Mar 1948 *

* Projected dates; not actual

Slip/Drydock Utilization

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

Blohm und Voss Interactive Map

Blohm und Voss Timeline

Photographs

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