View source for AG Vulcan Stettin

{{Short description|German shipbuilding and locomotive building company}}
{{more citations needed|date=April 2011}}
{{Infobox company 
| name = AG Vulcan Stettin
| logo = 
| fate = Dismantled after [[World War II]]
| successor = 
| foundation = 1851
| defunct = 1945
| location = [[Stettin]], [[Germany]] (now [[Szczecin]], [[Poland]])
| industry = [[Shipbuilding]] and Locomotive building
| key_people = 
| products = 
| num_employees = ~20,000 (in 1918)
| parent = 
| subsid = 
}}
'''Aktien-Gesellschaft Vulcan Stettin''' (short '''AG Vulcan Stettin''') was a German [[shipbuilding]] and locomotive building company. Founded in 1851, it was located near the former eastern German city of [[Szczecin|Stettin]], today Polish [[Szczecin]]. Because of the limited facilities in Stettin, in 1907 an additional yard was built in [[Hamburg]]. The now named '''Vulcan-Werke Hamburg und Stettin Actiengesellschaft''' constructed some of the most famous civilian German ships and it played a significant role in both World Wars, building warships for the [[Kaiserliche Marine]] and the [[Kriegsmarine]] later.

Both yards became members of the [[Deschimag]] in the 1920s. The Stettin shipyard was closed in 1928, opened again in 1939. During World War II it exploited slave workers, and after the war, was taken over by the Polish government, while the Hamburg yard was sold to [[Howaldtswerke]] AG in 1930 and the ''Locomotive Department'' was sold to {{Interlanguage link|Borsig (company)|lt=Borsig|DE|Borsig (Unternehmen)}} in Berlin

==History==
[[File:ChineseTing-yuen.jpg|thumb|right|{{ship|Chinese turret ship|Dingyuan}}, built by AG Vulcan Stettin in 1881 for the [[Qing Dynasty|Chinese Imperial]] [[Beiyang Fleet]]]]
[[File:AG Vulcan Stetting Locomotive 1869 (Ans 05373-3236).jpg|thumb|right|One of the early steam locomotives built at AG Vulcan Stettin, 1869.]]

'''A.G. Vulcan Stettin''' was founded 1851 as '''Schiffswerft und Maschinenfabrik Früchtenicht & Brock''' by the two young engineers ''Franz F. D. Früchtenicht'' and ''Franz W. Brock'' in the little village ''Bredow'', which later became suburb of the eastern German city of ''Stettin''. Its first ship was the small iron [[Steamboat|paddle steamer]], named ''Die Dievenow'' for the service between the cities of ''Stettin'' and ''Swinemünde''. Several small vessels followed, while the yard continuously was enlarged.

When the yard went into financial problems, in 1857 the company was taken over by some entrepreneurs and politicians from Stettin and Berlin which founded the new company '''Stettiner Maschinenbau Actien-Gesellschaft Vulcan'''. Ship construction was continued, but the solution of the financial trouble was expected by additionally constructing locomotives. A subsidiary company was founded, called '''Abteilung Locomotivbau in Bredow bei Stettin'''. In 1859 the first locomotive was delivered; all together the company built about 4,000 units in Stettin until it was sold to the Berlin company [[Borsig]].

In the future larger and larger ships were built, the facilities in Stettin could no longer sustain the scale of the operations. The yard built the {{sclass2|Kaiser|ocean liner|2}}s.

Thus a new shipyard was built in [[Hamburg]] between 1907 and 1909. From 1911, it was named Vulcan-Werke Hamburg und Stettin Actiengesellschaft. The Hamburg yard was the scene of a week-long strike in 1918 which was only brought to a close through the reading of the [[War Clauses]].<ref>A Life</ref>

===Automatic transmissions for motor vehicles===
Gustav Bauer, director of the marine engine section, supervised the work of [[Hermann Föttinger]] on the Fottinger hydraulic transmitter known as ''Vulcan Coupling'' and ''Vulcan Drive'' or [[fluid coupling]]. In 1924, Vulcan's [[Hermann Rieseler]] invented one of the first [[automatic transmission]]s, which had a two-speed [[Epicyclic gearing|planetary]] gearbox, [[torque converter]], and lockup [[clutch]]; it never entered production.<ref name="Csere1988p62">{{Citation|last=Csere|first=Csaba|author-link=Csaba Csere|date=January 1988|title=10 Best Engineering Breakthroughs|work=Car and Driver|volume=33 |issue=7}}, p. 62.</ref> (The less-sophisticated [[Hydramatic|Hydra-Matic]], which used a simple fluid coupling, was an available option on [[Oldsmobile]]s in 1940.)<ref name= "Csere1988p62"/> The original coupling further developed in collaboration with Harold Sinclair of Fluidrive Engineering of Isleworth for [[Daimler Company|Daimler of Coventry]] and matched with a manually controlled epicyclic gearbox went into production in England in 1929.<ref>page 76, Smith, Brian E. (1972). The Daimler Tradition. Isleworth, UK: Transport Bookman. {{ISBN|0851840043}}.</ref>

===Shutdown===
In 1928 Vulcan Stettin went bankrupt and sold its Hamburg shipyard in 1930. The '''AG Vulcan Stettin''' had been closed.

===New enterprise===
1939 a new company - also named Vulcan - was founded on the site of the former Stettin-shipyard. All together 34 construction numbers were started in the following years, including 18 type-VII C submarines. But because of the war only a few ships could be launched and completed. Among these were two submarines, but only one of them ({{GS|U-901||2}}) was ever in service while the second one ({{GS|U-902||2}}) was destroyed by allied air attacks before.
During the war the yard exploited slave workers and had its own prisoner camp, part of the prisoner population engaged in anti-Nazi resistance, successfully sabotaging several constructed ships<ref>Repatriacje i migracje ludności pogranicza w XX wieku: stan badań oraz źródła do dziejów pogranicza polsko-litewsko-białoruskiego
Henryk Majecki, page 79, Archiwum Państwowe, 2004</ref><ref>Wojskowy Przeglad Historyczny, page 210, 1967</ref>
After [[World War II]] the slave workers were freed and the shipyard was finally taken over by the Polish government and the new [[Szczecin Shipyard]] was started at this site. The Szczecin Shipyard named one of its wharfs "Wulkan" and two slipways "Wulkan 1" and "Wulkan Nowa".

===Ships built by AG Vulcan Stettin (selection)===
* 1851, Constr.No. 1, [[Paddle steamer]] '''''Die Dievenow''''', first built ship
* 1879, '''{{ship|Russian steamboat|Askold}}''' for Shipping Company on the Don, Azov and Black Seas with their tributaries ({{langx|ru|Общество пароходства по Дону, Азовскому и Черному морям с их притоками}}). After 1886 belonged to [[Russian Steam Navigation and Trading Company]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Askold|url=http://fleetphoto.ru/ship/73159/|publisher=Интернет-сайт «Водный транспорт»|access-date=2019-04-09|language=ru|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180715024359/http://fleetphoto.ru/ship/73159/|archive-date=2018-07-15}}</ref>
* 1880, Corvette '''''Olga'''''
* 1881–1882, '''{{ship|Chinese turret ship|Dingyuan||2}}''' and '''{{ship|Chinese turret ship|Zhenyuan||2}}''' for Chinese Navy
* 1887, {{sclass|Irene|cruiser|0}} protected cruiser '''{{SMS|Irene}}''' for [[Kaiserliche Marine]] (Imperial German Navy); 1922 broken up
* 1889, '''[[USAT Warren|''Scandia'']]''' Hamburg America Line liner, sold to U.S. Army Quartermaster Department 1898 serving as U.S. Army Transport '''''Warren''''' until 1922, sold, burned sunk Shanghai 1924
* 1891, {{sclass|Brandenburg|battleship|2}} '''{{SMS|Brandenburg}}''' for Kaiserliche Marine, 1910 sold to the Osman Navy
* 1892, [[Aviso]] and [[Royal yacht|imperial yacht]] '''{{ship|SMY|Hohenzollern||6}}''' for [[Kaiser Wilhelm II]]; 1923 broken up
* 1897, 4-funnel {{sclass2|Kaiser|ocean liner|2}} '''{{SS|Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse||2}}''', won 1898 [[Blue Riband]]
* 1897, Passenger ship '''''Königin Luise''''' for [[Norddeutscher Lloyd]] (NDL), 1935 broken up
* 1897–1899, {{sclass|Victoria Louise|cruiser|0}} great cruisers '''{{SMS|Hertha}}''' and '''{{SMS|Hansa|1898|6}}'''
* 1899, Steamer '''''König Albert''''' for NDL, 1926 broken up
* 1901, [[Pre-dreadnought battleship]] '''{{SMS|Mecklenburg}}''' for Kaiserliche Marine
* 1900, Passenger ship '''''Deutschland'''''
* 1902, 4-funnel Kaiser-class ocean liner '''{{SS|Kaiser Wilhelm II||2}}'''
* 1902, Pre-dreadnought battleship '''{{SMS|Preussen|1903|6}}''' for Kaiserliche Marine
* 1903, Torpedo boat '''{{SMS|Eber}}'''
* 1903–1904, {{sclass|Bremen|cruiser|2}}s '''{{SMS|Hamburg}}''' and '''{{SMS|Lübeck}}''' for Kaiserliche Marine
* 1905, Pre-dreadnought {{sclass|Deutschland|battleship|2}} '''{{SMS|Pommern}}''' for Kaiserliche Marine; sunk in [[Battle of Jütland]] in June 1916
* 1906, Passenger ship '''''Kaiserin Auguste Victoria'''''
* 1906, 4-funnel Kaiser-class ocean liner '''{{SS|Kronprinzessin Cecilie||2}}'''
* 1907, {{sclass|Königsberg|cruiser (1905)|0}} light cruiser '''{{SMS|Stettin}}''' for Kaiserliche Marine
* 1906–1907, {{sclass|Niki|destroyer|2}}s '''{{ship|Greek destroyer|Niki|1906|2}}''', '''{{ship|Greek destroyer|Doxa|1906|2}}''', '''{{ship|Greek destroyer|Aspis|1906|2}}''' and '''{{ship|Greek destroyer|Velos|1907|2}}''' for the [[Hellenic Navy|Hellenic Royal Navy]]
* 1909, {{sclass|Magdeburg|cruiser|2}} '''{{SMS|Breslau}}''' for Kaiserliche Marine, became later [[Ottoman Empire|Osman]] cruiser '''{{ship|Ottoman cruiser|Midilli||2}}''', sunk 1918 by mines
* 1907, Passenger ship '''{{SS|König Wilhelm II||2}}'''
* 1907, Passenger ship '''{{SS|George Washington||2}}'''
* 1907, {{sclass|Nassau|battleship|2}} '''{{SMS|Rheinland}}''' for Kaiserliche Marine
* 1909, CNo. 294, small experimental ship '''''Föttinger Transformator''''' with steam turbine and hydrodynamic transmission (Föttinger Transformator) propulsion
* 1909, {{sclass|Kolberg|cruiser|2}} '''{{SMS|Mainz}}''' for Kaiserliche Marine; sunk 1914 in the [[Battle of Helgoland Bight]]
* 1910, cruiser ROU '''''Uruguay''''', for National Navy of Uruguay. Out of service in 1951, scrapped in the 1960s. 
* 1912, Destroyers '''{{ship|Greek destroyer|Nea Genea||2}}''' (ex-German V-class destroyer ''V6'') and '''{{ship|Greek destroyer|Keravnos||2}}''' (ex-''V5'') for the Hellenic Royal Navy
* 1914, Imperial yacht '''{{ship|SMY|Hohenzollern||6}}''' for Kaiser Wilhelm II, not in service, 1923 scrapped in Hamburg
* 1915, {{sclass|Wiesbaden|cruiser|0}} '''{{SMS|Wiesbaden}}''' for Kaiserliche Marine
* 1913, Passenger ship '''{{SS|Tirpitz||2}}''' for HAPAG, not finished during war, 1919 British war-booty and renamed '''{{RMS|Empress of Australia|1919|6}}''', 1952 scrapped
* 1913, Passenger ship '''{{SS|Sierra Cordoba|1913|2}}''' for [[Norddeutscher Lloyd]], supply ship for German raiders in World War I,<ref>{{cite web |title=Extracts From the Log of the ''Dresden'' With Comments |publisher=The Naval Review, Volume 3 |year=1915 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_6hAAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA425 }}</ref> seized by Peru 1917, renamed '''''Callao''''', chartered by [[United States Shipping Board]] (USSB) and transferred to U.S. Navy 26 April 1919 and commissioned '''USS ''Callao'' (ID-4036)''', decommissioned 20 September 1919.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/callao-ii.html |title=Callao (No. 4036) ii |author=Naval History And Heritage Command |work=Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships |publisher=Naval History And Heritage Command |access-date=25 February 2015}}</ref> Sold at auction by USSB, renamed '''''Ruth Alexander''''' by Dollar Steamship Lines.<ref>{{cite web |last=USSB |title=Invites Offers on S.S. ''Callao'' (ex-''Sierra Cardoba''|year=1921 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VOg_AQAAMAAJ&pg=RA2-PR55 |access-date=25 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.plimsollshipdata.org/pdffile.php?name=32b0774.pdf |title=Lloyd's Register 1932–33 |author=Lloyds |publisher=Lloyd's Register (through PlimsollShipData) |access-date=25 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225182530/http://www.plimsollshipdata.org/pdffile.php?name=32b0774.pdf |archive-date=25 February 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* 1914–1918, All together 32 torpedo boats ('''{{SMS|V25}}''' - '''{{SMS|V30||2}}''', '''{{SMS|V43}}''' - '''{{SMS|V48||2}}''', '''{{SMS|V67}}''' - '''{{SMS|V84||2}}''', '''{{SMS|V108}}''' and '''{{SMS|V116}}''')
* 1915, {{sclass|Brummer|cruiser|2}} '''{{SMS|Brummer}}''' and '''{{SMS|Bremse}}''' for Kaiserliche Marine, 1918 both internment in [[Scapa Flow]]
* 1916–1917, {{sclass|Cöln|cruiser|2}} '''''Rostock''''' and '''''Wiesbaden''''', both not finished before the end of the war
* 1922, Passenger steamer '''''München''''' for NDL, 1931 renamed '''{{SS|General von Steuben||2}}''' and 1938 only '''''Steuben''''', sunk 1945 in the [[Baltic Sea]] by Soviet submarine {{ship|Soviet submarine|S-13||2}}, about 3,000 people, mainly refugees, killed
* 1923, Passenger steamer '''''Stuttgart''''' for NDL, sunk 1943 by US Air Force
* 1926, Passenger ship '''{{SS|Cobra|1926|2}}''' for beach resort service, used as minelayer in WWII, 1942 sunk by [[Royal Air Force]] in Rotterdam
* 1941, Type VII-C U-boats {{GS|U-901||2}} and {{GS|U-902||2}}, but only U 901 was ever in service

===Ships built by AG Vulcan Hamburg (selection)===
* 1911/12, {{sclass|Kaiser|battleship|2}} '''{{SMS|Friedrich der Grosse|1911|6}}''' for Kaiserliche Marine
* 1913/14, Passenger ship '''{{SS|Imperator||2}}'''
* 1913/14, {{sclass|König|battleship|2}} '''{{SMS|Grosser Kurfürst|1913|6}}''' for Kaiserliche Marine
* 1913/14, Merchant ship '''{{SS|Cap Trafalgar||2}}'''
* 1914, Battleship '''''[[Greek battleship Salamis|Salamis]]''''' for Hellenic Navy, construction stopped with beginning of war, 1932 scrapped in Bremen
* 1915–1917, All together 69 U-boats of types UE 1, UE 2, UB III, UC I and UC II for Kaiserliche Marine
* 1916, Modified {{sclass|Mackensen|battlecruiser|2}} '''{{SMS|Ersatz Yorck}}''' (Replacement Yorck), construction stopped and after war broken up
* 1917, {{sclass|Bayern|battleship|2}} '''{{SMS|Württemberg|1917|6}}''' for Kaiserliche Marine, not finished before end of war
* 1922, Merchant ship '''''Cap Norte'''''

==Ships built by AG Vulcan Stettin (selection)==
===Civilian ships===
[[File:Colour drawing of the SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse by an unknown painter.jpg|thumb|Drawing of the ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse'' by an unknown painter]]
* {{SS|Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse||2}} (1896)
* {{SS|Deutschland|1900|2}} (1900)
* {{SS|Kaiser Wilhelm II||2}} (1902)
* {{SS|Kaiserin Auguste Victoria||2}} (1906)
* {{SS|Kronprinzessin Cecilie||2}} (1906)
* {{SS|Konig Wilhelm II||2}} (1907)
* {{SS|George Washington||2}} (1907)
* {{SS|Tirpitz||2}} (1913)

===Naval ships===
[[File:Bundesarchiv DVM 10 Bild-23-61-23, Linienschiff "SMS Rheinland".jpg|thumb|{{SMS|Rheinland}}]]

====Battleships====
* {{ship|Chinese turret ship|Dingyuan||6}} (1881)
* {{ship|Chinese turret ship|Zhenyuan||6}} (1882)
* {{SMS|Brandenburg}} (1890)
* {{SMS|Weissenburg}} (1890)
* {{SMS|Mecklenburg}} (1900)
* {{SMS|Preussen|1903|6}} (1902)
* {{SMS|Pommern}} (1904)
* {{SMS|Rheinland}} (1907)

====Cruisers====
[[File:Bundesarchiv DVM 10 Bild-23-61-22, Kleiner Kreuzer "SMS Breslau".jpg|thumb|{{SMS|Breslau}}]]
* {{ship|Chinese cruiser|Jiyuan||6}} (1883)
* {{SMS|Irene}} (1887)
* {{ship|Chinese cruiser|Jingyuan|1887|6}} (1887)
* {{ship|Chinese cruiser|Laiyuan||6}} (1887)
* {{ship|Chinese cruiser|Hai Yung||6}} (1897)
* {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Yakumo||6}} (1897)
* {{SMS|Hertha||6}} (1897)
* {{SMS|Hansa|1898|6}} (1898)
* {{ship|Russian cruiser|Bogatyr||6}} (1901)
* {{SMS|Hamburg}} (1902)
* {{SMS|Lübeck}} (1903)
* {{SMS|Stettin}} (1906)
* {{SMS|Mainz}} (1908)
* {{SMS|Breslau}} (1910)
* {{SMS|Wiesbaden}} (1913)
* {{SMS|Brummer}} (1915)
* {{SMS|Bremse}} (1915)
* {{SMS|Wiesbaden}} (1915)

====Destroyers====
[[File:NeaGenea1918.jpg|thumb|right|{{ship|Greek destroyer|Nea Genea||2}}]]
* {{ship|Greek destroyer|Niki|1906|6}} (1906)
* {{ship|Greek destroyer|Doxa|1906|6}} (1906)
* {{ship|Greek destroyer|Aspis|1906|6}} (1907)
* {{ship|Greek destroyer|Velos|1907|6}} (1907)
* {{ship|Greek destroyer|Nea Genea||6}} (1912)
* {{ship|Greek destroyer|Keravnos||6}} (1912)

====Submarines (U-boats)====
* [[Type II U-boat|Type VII-C U-boats]] (1941), out of six commissioned, only one, {{GS|U-901||2}} was ever in service.

====Torpedo Boats====
* {{SMS|V25}} (1914)
* {{SMS|V26}} (1914)
* {{SMS|V27}} (1914)
* {{SMS|V28}} (1914)
* {{SMS|V29}} (1914)
* {{SMS|V30}} (1914)
* {{SMS|V43}} (1915)
* {{SMS|V44}} (1915)
* {{SMS|V45}} (1915)
* {{SMS|V46}} (1915)
* {{SMS|V47}} (1915)
* {{SMS|V48}} (1915)
* {{SMS|V67}} (1915)
* {{SMS|V68}} (1915)
* {{SMS|V69}} (1916)
* {{SMS|V70}} (1916)
* {{SMS|V71}} (1916)
* {{SMS|V72}} (1916)
* {{SMS|V73}} (1916)
* {{SMS|V74}} (1916)
* {{SMS|V75}} (1916)
* {{SMS|V76}} (1916)
* {{SMS|V77}} (1916)
* {{SMS|V78}} (1916)
* {{SMS|V79}} (1916)
* {{SMS|V80}} (1916)
* {{SMS|V81}} (1916)
* {{SMS|V82}} (1916)
* {{SMS|V83}} (1916)
* {{SMS|V84}} (1916)
* {{SMS|V108}}, ex-Dutch ''Z-4'', later Polish {{ORP|Kaszub|1921|6}}
* {{SMS|V116}} (1918)

== Ships still afloat==
* ''Gryfia'', ex-''Tyras'' (1887), small railway ferry, today in [[Szczecin]], Poland
* ''Wittow'' (1895), small railway ferry, today shown in the harbour of Barth, Germany
* Icebreaker [[Suur Tõll (icebreaker)|''Suur Tõll'']] (1914), today a museum ship in [[Tallinn]] Icebrecher Stettin Hamburg Museum Ship

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* Armin Wulle: ''Der Stettiner Vulcan. Ein Kapitel deutscher Schiffbaugeschichte''. Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Herford 1989, {{ISBN|3-7822-0475-1}}
* Dieter Grusenick: ''Lokomotivbau bei der Stettiner Maschinenbau AG „Vulcan“''. B. Neddermeyer VBN, Berlin 2006, {{ISBN|3-933254-70-1}}
* Christian Ostersehlte: ''Von Howaldt zu HDW. 165 Jahre Entwicklung von einer Kieler Eisengießerei zum weltweit operierenden Schiffbau- und Technologiekonzern''. Koehler-Mittler, Hamburg 2004, {{ISBN|3-7822-0916-8}}
* Arnold Kludas: ''Die Geschichte der Deutschen Passagierschiffahrt. Band 1: Die Pionierjahre von 1850 – 1990'' (= Schriften des Deutschen Schiffahrtsmuseums. Bd. 18). Ernst Kabel Verlag GmbH, Hamburg 1986, {{ISBN|3-8225-0037-2}}
* Arnold Kludas; ''Die Seeschiffe des Norddeutschen Lloyd 1857 bis 1970'', Weltbild Verlag GmbH, Augsburg 1998, {{ISBN|3-86047-262-3}}
* Bodo Herzog, ''Deutsche U-Boote 1906 – 1966'', Manfred Pawlak Verlagsgesellschaft mbh, Herrsching 1990, {{ISBN|3-88199-687-7}}
* Siegfried Breyer, ''Schlachtschiffe und Schlachtkreuzer 1905 - 1970''J. F. Lehmanns Verlag München 1970, {{ISBN|978-3-88199-474-3}}

==External links==
* [http://www.uboat.net/wwi/types/shipyards.html?yard=Vulcan%2C+Hamburg Summary of ''AG Vulcan Stettin'']
* [http://www.werkbahn.de/eisenbahn/lokbau/vulcan.htm Eisenbahnbau bei ''Vulcan''] {{in lang|de}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:AG Vulcan Stettin]]
[[Category:Former submarine builders]]