Orlogsværftet (lit.'the War yard') was a Danish naval shipyard under the Royal Danish Navy. Before 1924, it was an integral part of the naval base at Holmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark, with an independent management from 1692 when Olaus Judichær became the first factory director.
In 1924, the shipyard was established as a regular company under the Naval Ministry, responsible for building and maintaining naval ships and aircraft.[1]
Orlogsværftet delivered its last newly built vessel in 1970, the submarine Nordkaperen,[2] and continued as a repair yard until 1995,[3] when the navy was moved out of Copenhagen to Korsør and Frederikshavn. Maersk-owned Odense Steel Shipyard replaced Orlogsværftet as the navy's primary shipyard.[1][4]
From 1913 to 1943, a series of aircraft were produced at Orlogsværftet, known under the name Orlogsværftet Flyvemaskineværksted (Orlogsværftet Flying Machine Workshop). After the navy purchased two Donnet-Leveque Flying Boats in 1913, the machines were improved in the workshops at Orlogsværftet, following poor performance in the initial flights. Following this effort the workshops produced a series of 8 flying boats powered by the imported 80 HP Gnome engines, serving until 1919. Another 25 flying boats were produced following improvements of the same design for military and civilian use.[6]
In 1917, the workshops copied a German Friedrichshafen 29 Floatplane which had stranded in Denmark. As the floatplanes outperformed the flying boats, a shift was made towards this line of aircraft, and another four copies were made with 160 HP Curtiss or 150 HP Benz engines. Following a few years of service, a in house copy of the engine was manufactured under the name O.V. 160.[6]
