Famous Ships and Boats

In history, movies, books, on exhibit

War ships, ship tragedies, steam ships, yachts, and more

with Images and Information

Sort by

German Ships in World War I and II

Atlantis — German auxillary cruiser or commerce raider
She had the longest raiding career of any German commerce raider in either world war and was second only to Pinguin in tonnage destroyed. She began her career as the cargo ship Goldenfels. In late 1939 she was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine and converted into a warship. LAUNCHED: 1937, Converted in 1939 → FATE: Sunk by a British ship November 22, 1941.

(Another )

Bismarck — German battleship
At the Battle of Denmark Straits, May, 1941, she sunk the British battlecruiser HMS Hood. Relentlessly pursued and sunk by the Royal Navy following Winston Churchill's order "Sink the Bismarck". She and her sister ship Tirpitz were the largest battleships ever built by any European country. LAUNCHED: 1939, February 18 → FATE: Sunk by British forces on May 27, 1941 in the North Atlantic.

(Another )

Cap Arcona, SS — German ocean liner
Her sinking was one of the biggest maritime losses of life during World War II. Only 350 of the 4,500 former concentration camp inmates aboard the ship survived. LAUNCHED: 1927, May 18 → FATE: Sank on May 3, 1945 after being attacked by an RAF squadron.

Deutschland — German pocket battleship
Lead ship of her class serving in the German Kriegsmarine before and during World War II. Renamed Lützow in November of 1939, because Adolf Hitler feared loss of a ship named Deutschland would make for bad propaganda. LAUNCHED: 1931, May 18 → FATE: Sunk in the Baltic sea July 20, 1947.

Deutschland, SMS — German battleship
First of five Deutschland class pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Kaiserliche Marine between 1903 and 1906. With the launching of the big-gun English HMS Dreadnought battleship, the SMS Deutschland became obsolete. LAUNCHED: 1904, November 18 → FATE: Scrapped in 1920.

Deutschland, submarine — German submarine
First submarine to cross the Atlantic Ocean. She was a blockade-breaking German merchant submarine used during World War I. LAUNCHED: 1916, March 28; converted 1917 June → FATE: Broken up at Morecambe, England in 1922.

Empire Windrush, MV — German cruise ship captured by England in May of 1945
Carried 493 West Indian immigrants from Jamaica wishing to start a new life in the England on June 22, 1948. Before World War II, she was used for cruises by the Nazi Party to reward party members for services to the Party. Image shown is of sister-ship Empire Doon. LAUNCHED: 1930, December 18 → FATE: Sank in the Mediterranean Sea in March 30, 1954.

Page 2

Goeben, SMS — German battlecruiser
Last surviving ship built by the Imperial German Navy, and the longest-serving battlecruiser or dreadnought-type ship in any navy. During World War I, she and light cruiser Breslau were transferred to the Ottoman Empire, August of 1914, and became the flagship Yavuz Sultan Selim. LAUNCHED: 1911, March 18 → FATE: Scrapped in 1973.

(Another )

Graf Spee, Admiral — German pocket battleship
Though size was limited by the Treaty of Versailles, she was as heavily armed as a battleship. Sank nine Allied merchant ships. Afterwards, ships of this size were called heavy cruisers. LAUNCHED: 1934, June 18 → FATE: Scuttled off Montevideo December 17, 1939.

Liberté, SS — German ocean liner; then American war prize; then French owned
Featured prominently in the movie The French Line, starring Jane Russell. She was taken as a US war prize at the end of World War II, then used to transport US servicemen back to the states, and finally turned over to the French as war reparations. LAUNCHED: 1928, August 18 → FATE: Retired in 1961 and scrapped in 1962.

(Another )

Morituri — German cargo ship
In the movie Morituri a freighter hauling rubber to Nazi Germany during WWII; starring Marlon Brando and Yul Brynner. The actual unnamed old German freighter was used for nearly all the film sequences. LAUNCHED: 1965, movie release → FATE: Inconclusive.

Ostfriesland, SMS — German battleship, ceded to America after World War II
Sunk by bombs dropped from aircraft by General Billy Mitchell to demonstrate air power. After having seen action in World War I, the ship was ceded to the United States as war reparations. LAUNCHED: 1909, Septmber 30 → FATE: Sunk by bombs off Cape Hatteras July 21, 1921.

Prinz Eugen — German Admiral Hipper-class heavy cruiser
After World war II ended, the US Navy assigned her to the Operation Crossroads nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll. During the Battle of Denmark Strait (May 24, 1941), she and Bismarck engaged and sank the British ships HMS Hood and HMS Prince of Wales. LAUNCHED: 1938, August 22 → FATE: Having survived the atomic blasts, she was towed to Kwajalein Atoll, where she ultimately capsized and sank in December 1946.

U-234 — German submarine
Hitler's last submarine; ironically, there is an isotope of uranium designated U-234. While attempting to deliver uranium to Japan near the end of World War II, she surrendered to the United States on May 14, 1945. LAUNCHED: 1943, December → FATE: Sunk by torpedo November 20, 1947.

U-480 — German experimental Kriegsmarine Type VIIC submarine
The first stealth submarine; she was covered with a special rubber coating making it difficult to detect with SONAR. She sank two warships and two merchantmen ships and was never detected by the British until it was discovered by divers in 1998 south of Isle of Wight. LAUNCHED: 1943, August 14 → FATE: Sunk in February 1945 in an English Channel minefield with the loss of its crew.

Page 3

U-505 — German submarine
Codebooks, an Enigma machine, and other secret materials that were found on board assisted Allied code breakers during World War II. All but one of crew were rescued from U-505. For U-110, there were casualties among the crew caused by two attacking destroyers. LAUNCHED: 1941, August → FATE: Captured in June 4, 1944. Now at Chicago museum.

U-96 — German German Type VIIC submarine
She was made famous in the 1981 movie Das Boot, a fictional account of its adventures in the Battle of Atlantic of World War II.. During 1941, war a correspondent joined U-96 and, based on his experiences, published a novel that was made into the 1981 movie LAUNCHED: 1940, August 1 → FATE: Sunk in the Hipper Basin at Wilhelmshaven, March 30, 1945.

U-995 — German submarine
The last existing submarine of its type, which was the workhorse for the German navy during World War II. From 1943 till 1945 the U-995 fulfilled several missions against allied convoys heading for Murmansk, Russia. LAUNCHED: 1942, November 25 → FATE: At the end of WW-II, she was surrendered to the British in December 1945 and then transferred to Norwegian ownership in October 1948. Eventually, in October 1971, she became a museum ship at Laboe Naval Memorial, in Germany.

Wilhelm Bauer — German submarine, Type XXI
One of several captured World War II Type XXI U-boats designed to operate primarily submerged. She is the only floating example of a this type of U-boat. LAUNCHED: 1945, January → FATE: Scuttled May 4, 1945; raised, June 1957; museum ship as of April 1984 at Bremerhaven, Germany.

Wilhelm Gustloff, MV — German purpose-built cruise ship used as a hospital ship and troop ship in World War II
Greatest ship disaster in recorded maritime history with an estimated 9,400 people were killed in the sinking. It was sunk by a Soviet submarine while participating in the evacuation of civilians, military personnel, and Nazi officials who were surrounded by the Red Army in East Prussia. LAUNCHED: 1937, May → FATE: Torpedoed in the Baltic Sea January 30, 1945.

Wolf, SMS — German merchant raider
Armed merchant raider of the German Navy in World War I and World War II. Not a fast ship, Wolf's advantage was deception, such as changing her appearance with fake funnels and masts, and false sides which kept her weapons hidden. LAUNCHED: 1913, March 18 → FATE: Out of service February, 1918; scrapped in 1931.

The number of German Ships in World War I and II listed is 21

The contents of this page are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license and the GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL).

For a full list of all ships, select HERE

First Ship on each page
Page	Ship Name (Country and Type)
1.	Bismarck (German battleship)
2.	Goeben, SMS (German battlecruiser)
3.	U-505 (German submarine)

German Ships in World War I and II
1.	Bismarck German battleship
2.	Cap Arcona, SS German ocean liner
3.	Deutschland German battleship
4.	Deutschland, SMS German battleship
5.	Deutschland, submarine German submarine
6.	Empire Windrush, MV German cruise ship
7.	Goeben, SMS German battlecruiser
8.	Graf Spee, Admiral German pocket battleship
9.	Liberté, SS German ocean liner
10.	Morituri German cargo ship
11.	Ostfriesland, SMS German battleship
12.	Prinz Eugen German Admiral Hipper-class heavy cruiser
13.	U-234 German submarine
14.	U-480 German experimental Kriegsmarine Type VIIC submarine
15.	U-505 German submarine
16.	U-96 German German Type VIIC submarine
17.	U-995 German submarine
18.	Wilhelm Bauer German submarine
19.	Wilhelm Gustloff, MV German purpose-built cruise ship
20.	Wolf, SMS German merchant raider