This past May 8th, 2020, nations and people around the world paid solemn tribute and shared memories in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of V-E Day – “Victory in Europe” Day – celebrating the unconditional surrender of Hitler’s German forces to General Dwight D. Eisenhower in Reims, France, which took place the day before on May 7th, 1945. This defeat signaled Europe’s liberation from terrifying Nazi occupation and oppression, and effectively ended of the war on the European continent.
One huge reminder of V-E Day and the Allied defeat of Germany was visible right here in Long Beach for nearly 50 years after WWII. Seized by the Allies after the German surrender, a nearly 375-foot-tall floating crane – formerly called Schwimmkran Nr. 1 but nicknamed “Herman the German” (officially YD-171) by the US Navy – was disassembled and transported back to Long Beach Naval Shipyard via the Panama Canal in late 1946. It was finally reassembled and ready for service in the shipyard on December 31st, 1948, and helped to lift ships, ship parts, cranes, and other heavy objects and equipment – perhaps most memorably, the Spruce Goose (during transport to its former location under the dome near the Queen Mary). Herman the German’s lifting capacity was 386 tons, and it was powered by three 900-horsepower diesel engines. In 1996, after almost a half-century of faithful service to the LB Naval Shipyard (which closed on September 30, 1997), the massive crane was sold to the Panama Canal Company and relocated to the Panama Canal, where it was named La Titan.
Recent reports from late December 2019 indicate that this historic crane is now scheduled to be replaced by a new floating crane, though official dates as to when this will take place (or what will happen to it afterward) still remain to be seen.
