Deutsche Werke
 | |
| Industry | Shipbuilding Firearms |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1925 |
| Defunct | 1945 |
| Fate | Dismantled after World War II |
| Successor | D-Rad  |
| Headquarters | Kiel, Germany |
Deutsche Werke was a German shipbuilding company founded in 1925 when Kaiserliche Werft Kiel and other shipyards were merged. It came as a result of the Treaty of Versailles after World War I that forced the German defence industry to shrink. The company was owned by the government of the Weimar Republic and its headquarter was in Berlin.
Deutsche Werke started building merchant ships but when the Nazi Party gained power in 1933 the production was changed to naval ships. Among the ships built here was the German battlecruiser Gneisenau.
Besides shipbuilding Deutsche Werke also produced firearms. Especially known are the socalled Ortgiess pistols which were particular popular in the United States. The pistols were developed by Heinrich Ortgies.
Deutsche Werke facilities and infrastructure was destroyed during World War II by bombing raids. What little that remained was dismantled once the war ended.
In 1955 the shipyard areas were bought by Howaldtswerke.
External links
- u-boot-archiv.de webpage about the Deutsche Werke shipyard
- ortgies.net webpage about Ortgies pistol
- gunsworld.com webpage about the Ortgies pistol
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