Manufacturer catalog

Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft

Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft, widely abbreviated HDW, was the Kiel-centered German naval shipyard and submarine producer that carried the Howaldtswerke and Deutsche Werft lines into the late Cold War and post-Cold War export submarine market. The name remains important in public sources because TKMS still uses HDW branding for conventional submarine families and because existing weapon records identify HDW as the manufacturer of German Type 212A submarines.

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HDW took its modern corporate form when the Kieler Howaldtswerke, Howaldts Hamburg, and Deutsche Werft shipbuilding lines were combined in the late 1960s. Public shipyard histories and defense references place the concern at the center of German naval construction in Kiel, with work spanning submarines, frigates, corvettes, landing craft, maintenance, modernization, and submarine components.

The company later became part of thyssenkrupp Marine Systems. Current TKMS material presents more than 185 years of naval engineering heritage, describes the HDW product brand as a continuing marker in non-nuclear submarine design, and markets HDW-class submarines as part of its undersea portfolio. The historical HDW manufacturer name remains separate from modern TKMS where sources use the older HDW attribution.

diesel-electric submarinesair-independent propulsion submarine technologynaval shipbuildingsubmarine modernizationnaval surface vessels

Notable Systems

Type 212A submarine, Diesel-electric attack submarine, Naval Systems

Type 212A submarine

Diesel-electric attack submarine

The Type 212A is the German Navy's fuel-cell air-independent-propulsion submarine class; the cataloged record identifies Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft as manufacturer.

Sources: Bundeswehr Type 212A, NTI Germany Submarine Capabilities
Type 209 submarine, Diesel-electric attack submarine family, Naval Systems

Type 209 submarine

Diesel-electric attack submarine family

The Type 209 family is the long-running HDW export diesel-electric submarine line; TKMS still markets the HDW Class 209NG as a modernized continuation of that design family.

Sources: TKMS HDW Class 209, GlobalSecurity HDW

Manufacturer History

  1. Howaldt shipyard lineage begins in Kiel

    Johann Schweffel and August Ferdinand Howaldt founded the Schweffel & Howaldt mechanical-engineering and iron-foundry business in Kiel, the industrial line later carried into Howaldtswerke and HDW.

    Sources: German Naval Yards History

  2. Howaldtswerke and Deutsche Werft combine

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

    Sources: German Naval Yards History

  3. HDW joins the TKMS naval group

    The naval-shipbuilding restructuring that created thyssenkrupp Marine Systems incorporated the HDW line; surface-vessel activity moved to HDW-Gaarden while the submarine business continued under the TKMS structure.

    Sources: German Naval Yards History, TKMS official website

  4. Germany and Norway order Type 212CD submarines

    thyssenkrupp announced a six-boat Type 212CD order for Norway and Germany, describing the design as a new generation of the Type 212A and a further development of the European U212 family.

    Sources: thyssenkrupp Type 212CD order

Predecessors
Kieler Howaldtswerke AGHowaldts Hamburg AGDeutsche Werft AG
Successors
thyssenkrupp Marine SystemsHDW-GaardenGerman Naval Yards Kiel
Website links
TKMS official websiteHDW Class 209Type 212A equipment pageGerman Naval Yards history

Public sources split HDW context across historical Howaldtswerke, Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft, HDW-Gaarden, German Naval Yards Kiel, and modern TKMS pages. Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft is used for systems whose sources preserve the HDW manufacturer name, while modern TKMS systems remain under thyssenkrupp Marine Systems.

Manufacturer Sources

  • German Naval Yards HistoryPublisher: German Naval Yards Kiel | Note: Supports the Howaldt lineage, the 1967 HDW fusion, the 2005 TKMS restructuring, and the later HDW-Gaarden/German Naval Yards succession. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • TKMS official websitePublisher: TKMS Group | Note: Supports current TKMS maritime-defense context, more than 185 years of naval engineering heritage, and continuing HDW product-brand use for submarine families. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • TKMS HDW Class 209Publisher: TKMS Group | Note: Official product page supporting the HDW Class 209NG as a redesigned continuation of the HDW Class 209 submarine family and giving current class dimensions and mission roles. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • GlobalSecurity HDWPublisher: GlobalSecurity.org | Note: Supports HDW's Kiel-centered naval shipbuilding activity, naval product areas, submarine-component work, and corporate history. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Bundeswehr Type 212APublisher: Bundeswehr | Note: Supports Type 212A background, propulsion, mission set, and German Navy equipment context. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • NTI Germany Submarine CapabilitiesPublisher: Nuclear Threat Initiative | Note: Supports the connection between German submarine classes, HDW/TKMS manufacturer context, and Type 209 export history. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • thyssenkrupp Type 212CD orderPublisher: thyssenkrupp AG | Note: Supports the 2021 Type 212CD order, its relationship to the Type 212A design, and TKMS's Kiel submarine competence-center investment. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Wikimedia Commons HDW KranPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance page for the HDW crane photograph; the file is self-published and licensed CC BY-SA 3.0 DE. | Accessed: 2026-07-11

Produced weapons

Category

Naval Systems

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

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