![]() Germany's second carrier was laid down in 1938 but cancelled a year later. ![]() While the Kriegsmarine wanted new carrier-based aircraft, the head of the Luftwaffe, Hermann Göring, was focused elsewhere. There was also a rivalry between the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe, whose pilots would be the ones flying from the carrier. Germany's needs on the ground and in the air quickly overtook those of the naval front, and its limited industrial capacity was prioritized accordingly. Graf Zeppelin was about 80% complete when the war started in 1939, but it never saw service. It had 16 5.9-inch guns in eight casemates for anti-ship defense and 12 4.1-inch guns in six turrets as the primary air defense, supplemented by over 40 smaller-caliber anti-aircraft guns. Graf Zeppelin, seen from the stern, in Kiel on March 26, 1940. Aircraft could launch conventionally if the catapults weren't available. This would have allowed Graf Zeppelin to launch and land aircraft at the same time. The catapults could launch a dozen or so planes in about six minutes before the tanks needed to be refilled, which took almost an hour. The carrier had a unique system of two 75-foot-long catapults at the forward end that used compressed air to launch aircraft. The ship's compliment would include 1,700 crewmen and 300 flight crew. Named Graf Zeppelin, it was 860 feet long and had an armored deck and hull, giving it a full displacement of over 34,000 tons. Germany's first carrier was laid down in December 1936 and launched two years later. Officially known as Plan Z, it called for a Kriegsmarine centered on a force of four aircraft carriers and 10 battleships, though the plan was later revised to only two carriers. US Navy National Museum of Naval AviationĪircraft carriers were a centerpiece in Germany's pre-war naval rearmament program. Graf Zeppelin after its launch on December 8, 1938.
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