House Flags of German Shipping Companies (h) - part 2

Last modified: 2012-01-27 by german editorial team
Keywords: heidmann | heins(john) | helgoland linie | helmsing and grimm | hempel | hemsoth | hennig | henning | hertz soehne | heydorn | heyne and hessenmueller | hiddensee reederei | hintze | hirdes | hiss | hoesch reederei | hoffmann(wulf) |
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• H.W. Heidmann
• John Heins
• Helgoland Linie
• Helmsing & Grimm
• F.W. Hempel
• Wilhelm Hemsoth
• Jorg Hennig
• Hedwig Henning
• A.J. Hertz Söhne
• Claus Heydorn
• Heyne & Hessenmüller
• Reederei Hiddensee
• Jean Hintze
• Heinrich Hirdes
• Peter Hiss
• Hoesch Reederei
• Wulf Hoffmann
• Willi Holm
• Holm & Molzen
• H. Holst
• Holsten Reederei Lehnt
• Eduard Holtzapfel
• Philipp Holzmann
• Alfred Homuth
• Bernhard Howaldt
• Hussmann & Hahn

• House Flags of German Shipping Companies
• House Flags of Shipping Companies
• Germany

H.W. Heidmann

The flag is simple and clear: a white cloth with two black "H" that share a common leg. But the caption is a nightmare. Speculating a lot, I could say it's something like "H. W. Hremans". Let's hope it pops up in some other source.
Jorge Candeias, 3 Dec 2004

It's No. 588 in the on-line 1912 Lloyds Flags & Funnels: 'H.W. Heidmann, Hamburg'.
Jan Mertens, 4 Dec 2004

John Heins

John Heins - The company used a red over yellow pennant superimposed by a black serifed capital "H" shifted to the hoist.
Source: Jürgen Meyer: "Hamburger Segelschiffe von 1795-1945"; ISBN 3-89225-400-1; Hamburg 1999; inside cover.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 2 Apr 2007

Helgoland Linie

The Helgoland Linie links the northern German ports of Emden and Wilhelmshaven with the island of Heligoland in the North Sea. Website (German only), showing the routes (animation) of this seasonal enterprise: Two main ships are operated, ?Helgoland? (based at Wilhelmshaven), the typical passenger ferry,  and Emden-based ?Polarstern? (?Polaris?), a high-speed catamaran serving additional islands on the coast.  Then,'Wappen von Juist? (?Juist Arms?) links the island Juist with Norderney, where ?Polarstern? takes up passengers.
?Norden-Frisia? was sole owner of the Wilhelmshaven-Helgoland line but since 2007 ?AG Ems? owns half the company; I understand ultimately it is a member of
FRS or ?Förde Reederei Seetouristik?.
This 26 Apr 2004 note by Birte Dettmers announces the adoption of a ?new logo? i.e. name and house flag.
Direct link to logo; and last but not least a good photo, made by Martin Leuschner on 18 May 2007: see above. Blue field traversed by a broad yellow ascending diagonal, fimbriated white, bearing a red foul anchor; a white serifless initial ?W? in upper hoist and a similar initial ?H? in lower fly.  These initials are italic, surely.
Förde group member ?Reederei Hiddensee? looks to have been the company after which this one was modelled.
Jan Mertens, 19 Oct 2008

(The company is a joint venture of Norden Frisia and AG Ems, I spotted this flag on 14 September 2009 in Norddeich//editorial note kms)

Helmsing & Grimm

Helmsing & Grimm G.m.b.H. & Co., Hamburg; white burgee, blue disk.
Image after Brown's Flags and Funnels Shipping Companies of the World, compiled by J.L. Loughran, Glasgow, 1995 [lgr95]
Jarig Bakker, 30 Sep 2005

F.W. Hempel

F.W. Hempel  Schiffahrtsges. mbH
The company was located in Bremen. It is a white flag divided by a red centred cross. In its centre is a white diamond with red edges, which are fimbriated blue. The diamond contains a black capital ?H?.
Source: ?Flaggen, Schornsteine, Reedereien- Flaggen und Schornsteine der deutschen Reedereien und ihre Schiffe über 300 BRT?; Hamburg 1957; p.F13.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 11 Apr 2009

Wilhelm Hemsoth

Wilhelm Hemsoth, Hamburg - white flag, tapered blue saltire, in center yellow disk with two black hammers in saltire; in white top and bottom black "WH".
Image after Brown's Flags and Funnels of British and Foreign Steamship Companies, compiled by F.J.N. Wedge, Glasgow, 1926 [wed26]
Jarig Bakker, 7 Feb 2005

Jorg Hennig

Jorg Hennig Bereederungs und Schiffahrts K.G., Duisburg - green flag, white "H".
Image after Brown's Flags and Funnels Shipping Companies of the World, compiled by J.L. Loughran, Glasgow, 1995 [lgr95]
Jarig Bakker, 17 Dec 2005

Hedwig Henning

Hedwig Henning
The company was located in Hamburg. It is a green over red over white horizontal tricolour. In its centre is a black upright lozenge containing a white capital ?H?, which is superimposed by a red capital ?J? of double height.
Source: ?Flaggen, Schornsteine, Reedereien- Flaggen und Schornsteine der deutschen Reedereien und ihre Schiffe über 300 BRT?; Hamburg 1957; p.F13.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 11 Apr 2009

A.J. Hertz Söhne

A.J.Hertz Söhne - The flag shows a white Hamburg-gate in a red heart ("Hertz" = heart) in a blue heart in a white flag.
Source: Jürgen Meyer: "Hamburger Segelschiffe von 1795-1945"; ISBN 3-89225-400-1; Hamburg 1999; inside cover.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 23 Mar 2007

Claus Heydorn

Claus Heydorn - The only thing I know about Claus Heydorn is, that he ran the vessel JOHANNA MATHILDA from 1869-1874 together with Rob M. Sloman. The flag is somehow an inverted Sloman flag. In the centre of a white cloth is a blue Hamburg-gate and in each corner is a blue 6-point star.
Source: Jürgen Meyer: "Hamburger Segelschiffe von 1795-1945"; ISBN 3-89225-400-1; Hamburg 1999; p.23.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 22 Mar 2007

Heyne & Hessenmüller

Jorge Candeias wrote: "The flag is relatively clear if we except the central element: consists ofa yellow saltire on blue, with a large disc in the center, containing what seems to be blue letters: the large one is clearly an H, but there seems to be another, smaller, H above it and what looks like an inverted question mark below it."

A difficult one this, even if we saw enough of the flag to realize it must have been rather a striking one.  In the event Jörg?s source identifies it as belonging to Heyne & Hessenmüller: Yellow saltire and yellow disk on a blue field (would at least the disk have had a black outline?), the disk bearing a large black initial ?H? between a smaller one above and an ampersand below, all black.  The letters are serifed.

There are slight traces on the web, for instance, H&H sold a ship to the Yeoward Line in 1904 (The Ships List), another one was bought in 1900 (Warsailors).  Not very much to go on, as yet.
Jan Mertens, 19 Dec 2006

Reederei Hiddensee

Blue flag with a wide red stripe, fimbriated white, from bottom hoist to top fly, bearing a white anchor. On the top hoist a white letter 'R', on the bottom fly a white letter 'H'.
Santiago Dotor, 17 May 2005

Jean Hintze

Jean Hintze - This company used a black flag with a white rhomb with red serifed capital letters "JH".
Source: Jürgen Meyer: "Hamburger Segelschiffe von 1795-1945"; ISBN 3-89225-400-1; Hamburg 1999; cover inside.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 22 Mar 2007

Heinrich Hirdes

Sara Townsley asked: This flag is located on a main road in a rural area in Baden-Wurttemburg, Germany. It has three horizontal stripes: white on the top, white on the bottom, and black across the middle. In the black field, "HH" is in large white letters. It's flying from a pole at the entrance to an agricultural business, whose name does not contain any Hs.
Sara Townsley, 27 Mar 2006

This flag is the houseflag of the Heinrich Hirdes GmbH founded 1912 in Duisburg. This company still exists (now in Hamburg), see this website.
Jörg M. Karaschewski, 30 Mar 2006

Peter Hiss

Peter Hiss
The company was located in Burgstaaken/ Isle of Fehmarn. It is awhite flag with a dark blue capital "H" in its centre.
Source: "Flaggen, Schornsteine, Reedereien- Flaggen und Schornsteine der deutschen Reedereien und ihre Schiffe über 300 BRT"; Hamburg 1957; p.F13.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 11 Apr 2009

Hoesch Reederei

I have found only one trace of this elusive firm, ?Hoesch Reederei GmbH? established at Dortmund or Ruhrort according to the Dutch 'Binnenvaart' site. (photo showing (part of) the house flag on 'Mosel', built for Hoesch in 1944). Once a motor tug, the erstwhile ?Hoesch 1? was built in 1940, sold in 1952, and re-acquired under the same name by Hoesch in 1956.  Sold definitively in 1969 to be rebuilt as the passenger ship ?Patria? shown on the photo.

So an inland towage firm by the name of Hoesch was active at least between 1940 and 1969 ? not much information to go by but this is all I could find and so am wholly indebted to Binnenvaart.
(There is of course the well-known steel company Hoesch, now a part of ThyssenKrupp, but whether there is a connection is another question.)

The house flag: horizontally divided white-orange etc., five stripes in all, and a small white canton, thinly bordered in black where it touches the stripes, containing a ?Fraktur? initial ?h? within a black ring.
Jan Mertens, 30 Aug 2006

Yes, there is a connection with the steel-concern - see this page presenting 73-year old Marlies Berndsen, a volunteer working for the Hoesch Museum in Dortmund, more especially the title "Wahres Symbol" (true symbol) and the accompanying photo showing the ringed initial.
That 'h' however is no longer the company symbol...  Quoting Ms Berndsen (translated): "To the old Hoeschians the gothic 'H' will always be the only true symbol of Hoesch - and to me in any case".
Incidentally, it is not an upper case 'H' as evidenced by the Fraktur ("Gothic" script) table available in dictionaries and the like.
Concerning the shipping company, I now realize that it was already mentioned in the 6 June 2006 message concerning WTAG, as being one of the founding firms in 1899.
Logically, Hoesch must have broken away (if that is not too strong a term) sometime between 1899 and 1940, first trace I found of a vessel in operation.
Jan Mertens, 31 Aug 2006

Wulf Hoffmann

Wulf Hoffmann, Hamburg - blue flag with 4 white horizontal stripes a varying height; in center sort of white "WH".
Image after Brown's Flags and Funnels Shipping Companies of the World, compiled by J.L. Loughran, Glasgow, 1995 [lgr95]
Jarig Bakker, 17 Dec 2005

Willi Holm

Willi Holm
The company was located in Moorrege (Pinneberg county). It is a blue flag with a red lozenge, containing a white capital "H" in its centre. The lozenge is touching the edges.
Source: "Flaggen, Schornsteine, Reedereien- Flaggen und Schornsteine der deutschen Reedereien und ihre Schiffe über 300 BRT"; Hamburg 1957; p.F13.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 11 Apr 2009

Holm & Molzen

Holm & Molzen, Flensburg - blue flag, white 7-pointed star
Image after Brown's Flags and Funnels of British and Foreign Steamship Companies, compiled by F.J.N. Wedge, Glasgow, 1926 [wed26]
Jarig Bakker, 7 Feb 2005

H. Holst

H. Holst
The company was located in Bützfleth. It is a blue flag with two white capital ?H?s.
Source: "Flaggen, Schornsteine, Reedereien- Flaggen und Schornsteine der deutschen Reedereien und ihre Schiffe über 300 BRT"; Hamburg 1957; p.F13.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 11 Apr 2009

Holsten Reederei Lehnt

Holsten Reederei Lehnt & Co
The company was located in Kiel. The flag is derived from that one of Schleswig-Holstein, a blue over white over red horizontal tricolour, but superimposed by a big, black, capital, serifed "H" fimbriated yellow.
Source: "Deutsche Reedereien und ihre Erkennungszeichen"; 2nd ed.; Hamburg; 1956; p.23
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 4 Apr 2009

Eduard Holtzapfel

Eduard Holtzapfel - The company existed from 1889 til 1912, when Holtzapfel gave up. The company used a white flag with red stripes on either edge. The white field had a small blue canton with a white shield showing a branch with three wild apples (germ.: Holzäpfel). The red inscription "E.H." is shifted to the fly.
Source: Jürgen Meyer: "Hamburger Segelschiffe von 1795-1945"; ISBN 3-89225-400-1; Hamburg 1999; p.153-154.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 5 Apr 2007

Philipp Holzmann

The last flag in the brochure "Ausbau des Rheins" I can "with any degree of certainty" determine is that of Philipp Holzmann AG, established at Koblenz (Coblentz) and Frankfurt.  On the inside cover is shown the company logo.
A rectangular red flag bearing this white logo a stylized initial "H" with curved, tunnel-like, underside flies on the dredger "Ajax", busy scooping up rock and loading it into a barge floating nearby: picture p. 21.
Philipp Holzmann is listed as a constructor of breakwaters and dredging company (rock removal and filling up holes in the riverbed) at various points along the Rhine during the years 1965-78.
As I remember, this important and prestigious firm ran into difficulties not even Chanchellor Schröding could solve.   There is a good Wikipedia article in German: but the English ?translation? by Google made my day, describing the adventures of the "wood man".  Seriously, see this BBC News article dated 25 Nov. 1999, ?Schroeder saves Holzmann?: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/535716.stm
It was not to be, the company went broke in the spring of 2002.  I recall seeing above flag on the news, admiring the design.   For a time at least, it had its place among the (inland) house flags of the world...
Jan Mertens, 22 Apr 2007

Alfred Homuth

Alfred Homuth G.m.b.H. - The company was founded by Captain Alfred Homuth in 1919 and existed at least until 1927. The company used a green flag with a white diamond with red serifed dotted capital letters "A.H."
Source: Jürgen Meyer: "Hamburger Segelschiffe von 1795-1945"; ISBN 3-89225-400-1; Hamburg 1999; p.218f-219.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 22 Mar 2007

Bernhard Howaldt

Bernhard Howaldt
The company was located in Hamburg. It is a light blue flag with a white lozenge and a red "H" upon the lozenge.
Source: "Deutsche Reedereien und ihre Erkennungszeichen"; 2nd ed.; Hamburg 1956; p.23
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 29 Mar 2009

Hussmann & Hahn

Hussmann & Hahn
The company today has merged with Pickenpack. Today it is a seafood company, located in Lüneburg.
Part of its logo is (the old?) flag of H&H. It is a white flag divided by a red saltire. In the centre is a red disc with a white crooked fish, perhaps a cod, exceeding the disc at both ends. In the hoist and fly quarter there is a blue capital ?H?.
Source: You can find that image at the company?s wall in Lüneburg and on every wrapping of their seafood products as well.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 28 Feb 2009

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