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As Germany had lost all its school ships as war reparations after World War II, the German Bundesmarine decided in 1957 to have a new training vessel built following the old plans for the Gorch Fock. The new ship was a modernized rebuild of the Albert Leo Schlageter.
The 1933 Gorch Fock had already been designed to be a very safe ship: she had a righting moment large enough to bring her back into the upright position even when heeling over to nearly 90 °. Nevertheless some late-minute changes to the design were made in response to the Pamir desaster in 1957, especially concerning the strength of the body and the bulkheads as well as the lifesaving equipment, including the lifeboats.
The new ship was built by Blohm & VossOn April 5, 1877, Hermann Blohm and Ernst Voss founded the Blohm & Voss Schiffswerft und Maschinenfabrik shipbuilding and engineering works as a general partnership. A shipyard was built on the island of Kuhwerder, near the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamb in HamburgHamburg is Germany's second largest city (after Berlin) and its principal port. The official name Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg recalls its membership in the mediaeval Hanseatic League and the fact that Hamburg is a city state and one of Germany's sixteen, launched on August 23August 23 is the 235th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (236th in leap years), with 130 days remaining. Events 1328 Battle of Kassel: French troops stop an uprising of Flemish farmers 1566 Calvinists are granted rights in the Netherlands 1614 The, 1958 and commissioned on December 17December 17 is the 351st day of the year (352nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 14 days remaining. Events 283 St Gaius becomes Pope. 384 St Siricius becomes Pope. 1538 Pope Paul III excommunicates King Henry VIII of England 1869 Suez C of that year. Her home port is KielThis article is about the city in Germany. There is also Kiel, Wisconsin in the United States of America. Kiel [kiːl], with a population 233,795, (113,274 male, 120,521 female) is a city in northern Germany, capital of the Schleswig-Holstein Bundes. The Gorch Fock is a three-masted barque with a steel hull 81.2 m (266 ft) long (without the bowsprit) and 12 m (40 ft) wide. She has a draught of some 5.2 m (17 ft.) and a displacement at full load of 1760 tons. Originally, she carried 1952 m² of canvas sails; later, she got slightly larger sails made of synthetic materials. The top masts of her fore and main masts can be lowered so that she can navigate the Kiel Canal, otherwise she'd be too high for some of the bridges spanning the canal.
In 1958, the ship was built for 8.5 million DM; the German Navy estimates her present value at some 50 million €.
Over the years, various modernizations have been applied to the ship. She got an air conditioning, the asbestos used originally was removed and replaced by less dangerous materials in 1991, and in that year she also got a new auxiliary engine, a diesel engine of six cylinders producing 1220 kW (1660 hp), good for a top speed of 13.7 knots. The interior has also been modified multiple times, technological advances made it possible to reduce the size of the galley and enlage the crew quarters.