Drone_pilot
25-08-07, 18:11
In no naval action of World War 2 will you find a German aircraft carrier
taking part. All the major navies in the war used them extensively, except
for Nazi Germany. There were lots of German U-Boats, battleships, cruisers,
and destroyers, but no flattops. However, the Nazis had plans to build a
total of four carriers and almost finished one of them.
Her name was the KMS Graf Zeppelin and though launched in December 1938 she
was never over 80% completed. Construction delays, lack of aircraft, and
bitter disputes between Air Marshall Herman Goering and the Navy insured
that the ship was doomed to become scrap metal.
Hitler had promised the German Navy (The Kriegsmarine) carriers as early as
1935, and the keel was laid for the Graf Zepplin on December 26, 1936. The
Graf Zeppelin was 920 feet long and weighed 19,250 tons. Her top speed was
to be 33.8 knots. Her crew complement was 1,760 and she was to hangar forty
aircraft. By comparison the large American Essex class carriers of WWII
could carry 80 to 100 aircraft. The Germans got as far as partly installing
the catapults when the ship was then turned into a floating warehouse for
u-boat parts.
Hitler's attitude vacillated on the project and it never had his full
backing. It also had a major detractor in Goering, who was resentful of any
incursion on his authority as head of the country's air power. Goering had
been ordered by Hitler to develop aircraft for the ship. His response was to
offer redesigned versions of the then-obsolete JU-87 Stuka dive bomber and
older versions of the Messerschmitt 109 fighter. Both planes were land-based
aircraft never intended to meet the rough requirements for carrier
operations. Even after modifications they were hopelessly inferior to Allied
types. To insure further delay in the carrier's completion, Goering informed
Hitler that these planes would not be ready until the end of 1944. Goering's
tactics worked and the Graf Zeppelin's construction was halted in 1943.
By the time work stopped on the ship, the Germany Navy had a submariner as
its top naval officer- Admiral Karl Donitz- and all ship construction was
turned over to building new U-Boats. The Graf Zeppelin stayed at her
moorings in Stettin for the rest of the war never to see action.
As the end of the war in Europe neared, the Graf Zeppelin was scuttled in
shallow water off Stettin (now Szczecin in Poland) on April 25, 1945 just
before the Red Army captured the city. But she wasn't quite ready for the
scrap yard yet. According to recently found material in Russian archives,
the ship was refloated by the Russians and towed to Leningrad filled with
captured booty and military parts for use in the Soviet Union. After
unloading her cargo she was named "PO-101" (Floating Base Number 101) by the
Soviets. The new owners had hoped to repair and refit the ship as a new
carrier but this proved to be impractical so the Graf Zeppelin had one more
task to fulfill.
On August 16, 1947 she was towed out to sea and used for target practice by
Soviet ships and aircraft. Aerial bombs were placed in her hangers, flight
deck and smoke stack. Planes and ships then shot shells and dropped bombs on
her to demonstrate how to sink a carrier, presumably American. After
twenty-four hits the Graf Zeppelin stayed afloat and had to be finished off
by torpedoes.
Details on how the Nazis planned to use the carrier in action have been lost
to obscurity. The Germans had none of the experience that the American,
British and Japanese navies had gained in the years between the wars. While
the Graf Zeppelin had some advanced features she displayed her designers'
lack of knowledge about carriers. The heavy surface armament was of little
use and accounted for too much weight; the anti-aircraft armament was heavy
but badly sited, all on the starboard side. The radius of action was low for
a fleet carrier intended to operate with the capital ships on the Atlantic
shipping routes.
Had she been commissioned she would have provided a considerable
commerce-raiding capability. The carrier could have provided effective
support for capital ships and cruisers with air cover, and would have
increased their potential for destruction considerably. Such support
operations could have changed the outcome of sea battles like the sinking of
the Battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz had the Graf Zeppelin been present.
The Germans have never sailed an aircraft carrier since.
taking part. All the major navies in the war used them extensively, except
for Nazi Germany. There were lots of German U-Boats, battleships, cruisers,
and destroyers, but no flattops. However, the Nazis had plans to build a
total of four carriers and almost finished one of them.
Her name was the KMS Graf Zeppelin and though launched in December 1938 she
was never over 80% completed. Construction delays, lack of aircraft, and
bitter disputes between Air Marshall Herman Goering and the Navy insured
that the ship was doomed to become scrap metal.
Hitler had promised the German Navy (The Kriegsmarine) carriers as early as
1935, and the keel was laid for the Graf Zepplin on December 26, 1936. The
Graf Zeppelin was 920 feet long and weighed 19,250 tons. Her top speed was
to be 33.8 knots. Her crew complement was 1,760 and she was to hangar forty
aircraft. By comparison the large American Essex class carriers of WWII
could carry 80 to 100 aircraft. The Germans got as far as partly installing
the catapults when the ship was then turned into a floating warehouse for
u-boat parts.
Hitler's attitude vacillated on the project and it never had his full
backing. It also had a major detractor in Goering, who was resentful of any
incursion on his authority as head of the country's air power. Goering had
been ordered by Hitler to develop aircraft for the ship. His response was to
offer redesigned versions of the then-obsolete JU-87 Stuka dive bomber and
older versions of the Messerschmitt 109 fighter. Both planes were land-based
aircraft never intended to meet the rough requirements for carrier
operations. Even after modifications they were hopelessly inferior to Allied
types. To insure further delay in the carrier's completion, Goering informed
Hitler that these planes would not be ready until the end of 1944. Goering's
tactics worked and the Graf Zeppelin's construction was halted in 1943.
By the time work stopped on the ship, the Germany Navy had a submariner as
its top naval officer- Admiral Karl Donitz- and all ship construction was
turned over to building new U-Boats. The Graf Zeppelin stayed at her
moorings in Stettin for the rest of the war never to see action.
As the end of the war in Europe neared, the Graf Zeppelin was scuttled in
shallow water off Stettin (now Szczecin in Poland) on April 25, 1945 just
before the Red Army captured the city. But she wasn't quite ready for the
scrap yard yet. According to recently found material in Russian archives,
the ship was refloated by the Russians and towed to Leningrad filled with
captured booty and military parts for use in the Soviet Union. After
unloading her cargo she was named "PO-101" (Floating Base Number 101) by the
Soviets. The new owners had hoped to repair and refit the ship as a new
carrier but this proved to be impractical so the Graf Zeppelin had one more
task to fulfill.
On August 16, 1947 she was towed out to sea and used for target practice by
Soviet ships and aircraft. Aerial bombs were placed in her hangers, flight
deck and smoke stack. Planes and ships then shot shells and dropped bombs on
her to demonstrate how to sink a carrier, presumably American. After
twenty-four hits the Graf Zeppelin stayed afloat and had to be finished off
by torpedoes.
Details on how the Nazis planned to use the carrier in action have been lost
to obscurity. The Germans had none of the experience that the American,
British and Japanese navies had gained in the years between the wars. While
the Graf Zeppelin had some advanced features she displayed her designers'
lack of knowledge about carriers. The heavy surface armament was of little
use and accounted for too much weight; the anti-aircraft armament was heavy
but badly sited, all on the starboard side. The radius of action was low for
a fleet carrier intended to operate with the capital ships on the Atlantic
shipping routes.
Had she been commissioned she would have provided a considerable
commerce-raiding capability. The carrier could have provided effective
support for capital ships and cruisers with air cover, and would have
increased their potential for destruction considerably. Such support
operations could have changed the outcome of sea battles like the sinking of
the Battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz had the Graf Zeppelin been present.
The Germans have never sailed an aircraft carrier since.