Kriegsmarine Aircraft Carrier?

[Aufklarung]

They had one almost finished. Graf Zeppelin was the name of it, was pretty large also fleet size. The Soviets took it after the war and checked it out then sunk it. Was just mainly a hull. There was also a conversion going on for a light carrier, but it did not get far I do not think.

Graf Zeppelin was re-designed in 1942 and scuttled at Stettin on 25 April 1945. The Reds raised her in '46 and loaded her up with Uboat hulls and other bulky booty and set out under tow from Stettin to Leningrad. She hit a mine and sank off Rugen on 15 Aug '45.

Peter Strasser was her sister but was scrapped on the ways in 1940.

Three liners were to be converted to light carriers in 1942; Europa, Gneisenau, and Potsdam. Little work was done.

Finally the incomplete cruiser 'Seydlitz' actually had her superstructure removed by 1943 but little else was completed.

[David Thompson]

The Graf Zeppelin anchored near Stettin in May of 1943. The scan is taken from Dr. Alfred Price's excellent work Targeting the Reich: Allied Photographic Reconnaissance Over Europe 1939-1945, Greenhill Books, London: 2003, p. 101.

[TRose]

MIght also add the conversion of the Liner Gneisenau was based on the japanese conversion of her sister ship the Liner Scharnorst
The Liner Scharhorst was caught in the Far east at the start of WWII, theJapanese goverment tok her over and starting in Feb 42 started turning her into the Aircraft Carrier Shinyo. Ar a Carrier she weight was 20916 ton had a speed of 22 knot and carried 33 aircraft and was considered a light/escort carrier by the Japanese. The Japanese as part of the payment for the Scharhorst supplied plans of her conversion to the Germans

[Tiornu]

That's interesting. Can you cite a reference for this exchange agreement?

[Alter Mann]

At the time that the Graf Zeppelin was designed the effect of carrier borne aircraft on ships was still not fully apparent. I don't think that many people took the aircraft as primary armament seriously until Taranto.

I agree that the GZ should have traded big guns for more aircraft.

As to why Germany should have completed the GZ and the other carrier? They would have only had a small carrier force compared to other combatants, but the carriers, especially fast carriers, would have been force multipliers. It would have been ridiculous to use carrier aircraft against Britain, but imagine what carrier borne spotter planes and dive bombers could have doneagainst merchant convoys. Even spotting one and trailing it would have been a great help to the submarines. Artillery spotter planes would have been a great help against British warships. Fighters sould have tried to keep allied scout planes from finding the carrier group.

I can think of a number of engagements that could have turned out much better for the Germans if they had operational carriers, even with only a small number of aircraft. I definitely think it would have had an effect far larger than the required expenditure.

Unfortunately, Hitler didn't understand carriers, and Goering wouldn't allow any more fliers to work for the KM than absolutely necessary.

[Erik E]

After the projet was cancelled, the 15cm twinturrets were used as coastal artillery. 4 of the 8 turrets went to Norway, where they were placed in open emplacements.

After the war, the Norwegian army kept one of them in their stores. In 1962 it was placed in a new casemate, where it was operational until 1998(!!) Today, the last turret is on storeage on the artillerymuseum at Oscarsborg, Oslo.

EE

[Mark V]

Yet another proof that EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF SHIPBORNE ARTILLERY EVENTUALLY ENDS UP IN NORWAY AS COASTAL ARTILLERY - it is the law of nature.

Thanks for the pictures Erik.


Mark V

[Tiornu]

Can anyone recall any other twin casemate mounts constructed for any 20th Century ship?

[tigre]

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

The Graf Zeppelin in her berth....................

Source: TOP Fotoalbum, Torpedofangboot, Flugzeugträger GRAF ZEPPELIN, S-Boote, U-Boot X.

Cheers. Raúl M .

[radarman45]

Yes the Germans had a Carrier and they were going to build 4 but only one was built but it never saw combat. It was called the GRAF ZEPPELIN and I have the only original aerial photo of the ship docked at Settin in Germany in 1943 and the Germans opened the seacocks and sank it in the mud. There is a author who wrote a book about the carrier after it was discovered by a Polish drilling company in the BERING SEA IN ONLY 184 FT OF OCEAN.
THE AUTHOR SAYS HE HAS THE ONLY PHOTO OF THE CARRIER BUT HE IS WRONG. My DAD HAS HAD THE PHOTO SINCE 1952 WHEN HE WAS STATIONEDIN ENGLAND WORKING WITH THE British Military and going over old photos and such. Stephen Burke wasn't born yet. My dad was in the
Air Force with the 8th Air Force in Photo Intelligence and Interpretations. I even have the material about the building of the Normandy Barriers before D-Day and the Japanese were there to watch the Germans build the Fortifications so they could go back to Japan and copy the Germans on building there own Fortifications against the invasion of Japan by US.
So there you go yes the Germans had a carrier but it was taken by the Russians after they refloated it and took it to Russia with War booty and then sank it in 1946 because they didn't know what to do with it. STUPID wasn't it. She was sank by the Russians NOT a MINE! Torpedoes and Gunfire sank her Not A MINE!!!!!!!

Radarman45

[Paul Lakowski]

Pretty sure it was sunk to find out just how much punishment a modern carrier could take and what the best type of weapons to employ against Western Post War Carriers.

http://www.german-navy.de/kriegsmarine/ ... story.html
As you can see it took a lot to sink the Graf Zeppelin which seems to be the case with a lot of the German warships.

According to new Russian sources, the Graf Zeppelin was sunk after weapons tests in August 1947:

The carrier was moved to Stettin in April 1943 where it was sunk by its own crew on 25.04.1945. Being captured by Russians, Graf Zeppelin was renamed to IA-101 (Floating Base No. 101) on 03.02.1947. On 16.08.1947 the carrier has been sunk as a target ship off Swinemünde.
Graf Zeppelin sank as she "scored" 24 bombs and torpedo hits, including two 1000 kg air bombs. One of them was mounted into the funnel; as it exploded, the funnel was completely destroyed up to top deck, but superstructures of the island remained intact. Two 500 kg bombs, three 250 kg and five 100 kg bombs plus four 180 mm 92 kg shells were used on the ship. All these charges were mounted upon the flight deck and hangar deck. Six training air bombs dropped from the dive bombers and two 53,3 cm torpedoes from the torpedo boat OE-503 and destroyer Slavniy were fired on the ship. The last torpedo scored the fatal hit that finished the destruction of carrier. 23 minutes after the last hit, the Graf Zeppelin sunk.

The wreck of the Graf Zeppelin was found in July 2006 about 55km north of Wladyslawowo (Poland) at 55,3N18,42E. The ship seems to stand upright in a depth of 80m.

The Graf Zeppelins sister ship, the Flugzeugträger "B" was laid down at the Krupp Germaniawerft in Kiel in autumn of 1938, but construction was stopped at the beginning of World War II. In February of 1942, the ship was scrapped in the shipyard.

This claims the B was scrapped in 1942 . That must be a typo since most other sources claim it was scrapped in 1940.

[Luftflotte2]

Hopefully this is the correct topic.

source: ebay.de

[Paul Lakowski]

What is that crack from? Is that after it was raised prior to scrapping?

[Old_Fossil]

Would these last two photos be of the unfinished Italian aircraft carrier Sparviero after the Germans captured it?

[Luftflotte2]

Sorry, I cannot be of much help. The ebay title included Graf Zeppelin and from this angle I cannot tell.