German Auxilliary Carriers

[Andy H]

I belive that Germany had a program to convert several Cruisers and Merchantmen into Auxilliary Carriers by simply removing the superstructure, and adding a flight deck & aircraft facilities.

Can anyone shed any light on this proposed building program?

Kind Regards

Andy H

[Tiornu]

From FLEETS OF WORLD WAR II:

EUROPA (44,000 tons designed, 12 4.1in DP guns, AC [air complement] 42, 26.5 knots): a liner considered for CV conversion. She had great size but marginal stability. No conversion work took place.
GNEISENAU (18,160 tons designed, 12 4.1in DP guns, AC 24, 21 knots): transport considered for CVE conversion. The Germans would have had little use for a 21-knot ship except in training.
POTSDAM (17,527 tons designed, 12 4.1in DP guns, AC 24, 21 knots): transport considered for CVE conversion.

All these projects were administered under River names, which may or may not have become the ships' names.

[Karl234]

There was a serious plan to built an aircraft carrier from the Hipper-Class-Cruiser Seydlitz. The Seydlitz was launched but not finished and should go to the russians for a weapon deal. After Barbarossa the germans hold the ship and started to build it to auxilliary-aircraft-carrier but it was never finished like Graf Zeppelin.

[Kakita Harry]

And converting the Sedlitz was a very bad idea, as she was nearly finished. And later in the war a ready fourth heavy cruiser would have been more useful as a second unfinished CV.

[Karl234]

And converting the Sedlitz was a very bad idea, as she was nearly finished. And later in the war a ready fourth heavy cruiser would have been more useful as a second unfinished CV.

I dont know the Lützow was nearly finished with some turrets inside, but i think the Seydlitz was only a body.
There was trouble with building the CV`s because of Hermann Göring, he wanted to have the order about them. So they never finished them.

[Tiornu]

Seydlitz was 95% complete when conversion began.

[Karl234]

Seydlitz was 95% complete when conversion began.

Ok, i found pics. and what happened with the guns?

[TRose]

MIght add the conversion of the Gneisenau was based on the conversion of her sister ship(The Liner Scharhorst) by the Japanese into the escort carrier Shinyo. which had a speed of 22 knots and carried 33 planes.the Japanese as part of the payment for the Scharhorst to the Germans

[TRose]

Japanese gave the Germans the blue prints to the Shinyo as part of the payment I mean

[tigre]

Hello to all ; yet a little complement..........

German auxiliary aircraft carriers.

In May 1942, the Navy selected several vessels to be converted into auxiliary aircraft carriers, including the passenger ship SS Europa, operated by Norddeutscher Lloyd. As designed, the proposed conversion project would have been larger than even the purpose-built Graf Zeppelin class, but serious stability problems and structural weaknesses hampered the project and proved to be insurmountable. No work had begun on the conversion before the project was cancelled in late 1942.

Also selected the Norddeutscher Lloyd steamers SS Potsdam-renamed Jade and SS Gneisenau-renamed Elbe. Conversion work began in December 1942, but was cancelled in January 1943 in the same order from Hitler that had halted work on Graf Zeppelin.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ai ... of_Germany

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; something more..........

Flugzeugträger Weser (Seydlitz).

The Seydlitz, the fourth Admiral Hipper-class cruiser, completed about 95 percent and whose construction was canceled after the outbreak of the Second World War, was also one of those vessels selected for conversion into an auxiliary aircraft carrier in early 1942, and was renamed Weser. Most of its superstructure was withdrawn, but the flight deck never installed.

Flugzeugträger II.

The final proposal for an auxiliary aircraft carrier conversion was for the incomplete French cruiser De Grasse, which was in the shipyard at Lorient. As projected, the ship was to have carried a force of eleven fighters and twelve bombers. The conversion plan was prepared by August 1942, but work never began.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ai ... of_Germany

Cheers. Raúl M .