![]() On Apafter the occupation of Norway, Admiral Raeder re-evaluated the aircraft carrier program. When the war started in September 1939, submarines became the priority, and while Graf Zeppelin had been launched and was 85% complete, work on her slowed. The second authorized carrier Flugzeugträger "B," never proceeded very far. Two years later, on December 8, 1938, she was launched and christened Graf Zeppelin, in honor of the great German airship pioneer. They did consult with the Japanese, and were licensed flight deck equipment from the carrier Akagi.Īs the Kiel shipyard was committed to building other ships, Flugzeugträger "A," was not laid down until December, 1936. The German contractors, Deutsche Werke Kiel A.G, had no experience with aircraft and their unique requirements like flight elevators, catapults, open hangars, etc. While Germany was not a naval power like Britain, Japan, or the United States, and had no real strategic need to project naval air power, Hitler's grandiose ambitions embraced all big, new, powerful weapons, and two aircraft carriers were authorized that same year: identified as Flugzeugträger "A" and Flugzeugträger "B" (Carrier A and Carrier B), per Kriegsmarine practice of not naming ships until launching. ![]() In 1935, Germany signed a naval treaty with Britain which permitted it to build two carriers of just under 20,000 tons each. (American Essex-class carriers of the era were rated at 150,000 HP and carried almost 100 aircraft.) History Her propulsion was vastly overpowered: 200,000 HP for a ship with 40 airplanes. Her aircraft were half-hearted modifications of land-based planes, most of which never reached production. She was outfitted with six-inch guns that had no business on an aircraft carrier, which were ultimately sent to Norway for coastal defense. It was a ship that was filled with contradictions and compromises from the start.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |