World of Warships Guide

History of Graf Zeppelin for World of Warships

History of Graf Zeppelin

History of Graf Zeppelin

Graf Zeppelin – German aircraft carrier. Launched in 1938. The ship was named in honor of the German airship designer Count Zeppelin.

By the beginning of the war in 1939, the ship reached 85% readiness. At the end of April 1940, work on the completion of construction was discontinued at the suggestion of the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. By this time, the artillery and electrical equipment had not been fully installed, and there was also no flight equipment.. The ship was redirected to Stettin. In 1942, on the orders of Hitler, work resumed. On the personal order of Hitler, on January 30, 1943, all work on the creation and production of flight technology was discontinued. The aircraft carrier was supposed to take on the modified Messerschmitt Bf.109 and Junkers Ju 87 aircraft.Also specifically for the aircraft carrier was created Fieseler Fi 167 aircraft with a low approach speed. A total of 12 (Fi-167), several (Ju-87C) and about 60 (Bf-109T) were created.

When Soviet troops attacked April 24, 1945 on the orders of Senior Naval Officer Stettin V. Kaler at 18:00 a special team blew up the charges mounted on the ship.As a result, the main turbines, electric generators and aerial lifts were unsuitable for restoration, and the “Graf Zeppelin” hull was leaked, and the ship was lying on the ground.

August 19, 1945, the German aircraft carrier entered the USSR Navy – as a combat trophy, called “Zeppelin”. After that, the ship made at least one more transition – to Gdansk

In 1947, according to an agreement between the member states of the anti-Hitler coalition on the distribution of fleets of Germany, Japan and Italy, the aircraft carrier was to be destroyed. It was used as a target and sank at a depth of 250 meters from the Polish coast.

In the early summer of 2006, Polish researchers were highly likely to detect the remains of an aircraft carrier at the bottom of the Baltic Sea.

SteamSolo.com