Manufacturer catalog

Howaldtswerke

Howaldtswerke was a German shipbuilding and marine-engineering concern rooted in Kiel's nineteenth-century industrial waterfront. Its lineage began with the 1838 Schweffel & Howaldt mechanical engineering and iron-foundry business, expanded into the Howaldtswerke shipyards in Kiel and Hamburg, and later became part of Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft and the naval-industrial lines now associated with TKMS and German Naval Yards Kiel.

2 weapons

Howaldtswerke is relevant to the weapons catalog as a historical German naval shipyard lineage rather than a standalone modern defense company. Public shipyard histories trace the name from the Kiel works founded by Johann Schweffel and August Ferdinand Howaldt, through the growth of the Howaldts-Werften and Howaldts-Werken, into the 1967 fusion with Deutsche Werft that created Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG.

The Kiel and Hamburg Howaldtswerke operations built and delivered naval surface vessels, submarines, and major shipyard work across several corporate eras. Later sources use the HDW, TKMS, and German Naval Yards names for successor activity, so this profile keeps the older Howaldtswerke label focused on records and systems where sources preserve that historical manufacturer attribution.

naval shipbuildingsubmarinesfrigatessurface combatantsmarine engineeringship repair and conversion

Notable Systems

Brandenburg class / F123 frigate, Anti-submarine frigate class, Naval Systems

Brandenburg class / F123 frigate

Anti-submarine frigate class

German Naval Yards' official history records delivery of the F123 frigate Schleswig-Holstein to the German Navy in 1995, and the catalog has a published F123 record connected to Howaldtswerke.

Sources: German Naval Yards History, Fregatten der Brandenburg-Klasse
Type 212A submarine, Diesel-electric attack submarine, Naval Systems

Type 212A submarine

Diesel-electric attack submarine

The Type 212A record represents the successor HDW submarine line: NTI identifies HDW within TKMS submarine exports, and Bundeswehr lists the six German Type 212A boats and their fuel-cell AIP naval role.

Sources: Germany Submarine Capabilities, U-Boot-Klasse 212A

Manufacturer History

  1. Schweffel & Howaldt founded in Kiel

    German Naval Yards traces the shipyard lineage to the founding of Maschinenbau und Eisengießerei Schweffel & Howaldt by Johann Schweffel and August Ferdinand Howaldt.

    Sources: German Naval Yards History

  2. Howaldtswerke expands to Hamburg

    The official shipyard history describes further growth of Howaldtswerke and expansion to the Port of Hamburg during the first half of the twentieth century.

    Sources: German Naval Yards History

  3. Howaldtswerke and Deutsche Werft fuse into HDW

    Kieler Howaldtswerke AG, Howaldts Hamburg AG, and Deutsche Werft AG fused to form Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft Aktiengesellschaft.

    Sources: German Naval Yards History

  4. F123 frigate Schleswig-Holstein delivered

    German Naval Yards' history lists delivery of the Class F123 frigate Schleswig-Holstein to the German Navy, tying the Howaldtswerke successor line to the cataloged Brandenburg-class frigate.

    Sources: German Naval Yards History

  5. Naval shipbuilding line reorganized into TKMS

    thyssenkrupp describes TKMS as a marine-technology business with more than 185 years of shipbuilding experience, while the shipyard history records the 2005 naval-shipbuilding fusion and transfer of surface-vessel activity to HDW-Gaarden.

    Sources: TKMS corporate structure, German Naval Yards History

Predecessors
Schweffel & HowaldtGebrüder Howaldt
Successors
Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werftthyssenkrupp Marine SystemsGerman Naval Yards Kiel
Website links
German Naval Yards historyTKMS corporate structureEurofound HDW restructuring factsheet

Howaldtswerke is treated as a historical manufacturer name. Public sources often discuss later activity under Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft, HDW, TKMS, HDW-Gaarden, or German Naval Yards Kiel, so successor-system notes distinguish the older Howaldtswerke label from those later corporate names.

Manufacturer Sources

  • German Naval Yards HistoryPublisher: German Naval Yards | Note: Supports the Howaldtswerke lineage from the 1838 Schweffel & Howaldt founding, Howaldtswerke growth and Hamburg expansion, 1967 fusion into HDW, F123 delivery milestone, and later HDW-Gaarden/German Naval Yards succession. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • TKMS corporate structurePublisher: thyssenkrupp AG | Note: Supports the current TKMS marine-systems context, more than 185 years of shipbuilding experience, non-nuclear submarine focus, and continuing HDW product-brand identity. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG restructuring factsheetPublisher: Eurofound European Restructuring Monitor | Note: Supports HDW's Kiel headquarters context, shipbuilding activities, international group structure, and the naval surface-vessel and submarine work of the successor company. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Fregatten der Brandenburg-KlassePublisher: Bundeswehr | Note: Supports the Brandenburg-class F123 frigate as a German Navy anti-submarine frigate class and gives the class's service dates, ship list, and technical role. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • U-Boot-Klasse 212APublisher: Bundeswehr | Note: Supports the Type 212A submarine's German Navy role, fuel-cell AIP propulsion, commissioned boats, dimensions, sensors, and torpedo armament. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Germany Submarine CapabilitiesPublisher: Nuclear Threat Initiative | Note: Supports HDW's place in the TKMS submarine group, German Type 212A fleet context, and HDW's export history for Type 209 submarines. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • German Naval Yards Kiel imagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports the Kiel shipyard image used for the Howaldtswerke successor-line context and its CC BY 3.0 Commons licensing. | Accessed: 2026-07-11

Produced weapons

Category

Naval Systems

Warships, submarines, unmanned surface vessels, naval craft, and maritime combat systems.

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Brandenburg class / F123 frigate, Anti-submarine frigate class, Naval Systems1999 Kosovo War / Operation Allied Force, 2008 Somali Piracy / Operation AtalantaBrandenburg class / F123 frigateAnti-submarine frigate classBuilt in: GermanyThe Brandenburg class / F123 frigate is a four-ship German anti-submarine frigate class built for the Deutsche Marine in the 1990s. Its 139-meter hull, bow sonar, Sea Lynx helicopters, Mk41 vertical-launch air-defense fit, Harpoon missiles, RAM launchers, and command spaces made the class useful for NATO maritime support in the Adriatic and EU counter-piracy patrols off Somalia.
Type 209 submarine, Diesel-electric attack submarine family, Naval Systems1982 Falklands WarType 209 submarineDiesel-electric attack submarine familyBuilt in: GermanyThe Type 209 is Germany's long-running export diesel-electric attack-submarine family, developed through the HDW lineage and continued in modern TKMS material as the HDW Class 209NG. Public sources tie the family to coastal sea denial, anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, mine-laying, intelligence collection, special-operations support, and documented combat use by Argentina's ARA San Luis during the 1982 Falklands War.