German aircraft carrier I (1942)
Class overview | |
---|---|
Name | I |
Builders | Blohm & Voss |
Preceded by | Graf Zeppelin class |
Succeeded by | Jade class |
Planned | 1 |
Cancelled | 1 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Aircraft carrier |
Displacement |
|
Length | 291.5 m (956 ft) |
Beam | 37 m (121 ft) |
Draft | 10.3 m (34 ft) |
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 26.5 kn (49.1 km/h; 30.5 mph) |
Range |
|
Armament |
|
Aircraft carried | |
Aviation facilities | 1 hangar |
The German aircraft carrier I[Note 1] was a planned conversion of the transport ship Europa during World War II. The loss of the battleship Bismarck and near torpedoing of her sistership Tirpitz in May 1941 and March 1942, respectively, spurred the Kriegsmarine to acquire aircraft carriers. Europa was one of several vessels selected for conversion into auxiliary aircraft carriers. As designed, the ship would have had an air complement of 24 Bf 109T fighters and 18 Ju 87C Stuka dive-bombers.
Conversion planning began in May 1942, and had the conversion been finished, she would have been the largest German aircraft carrier, longer even than the purpose-built
Background and proposal
The carrier I was a conversion proposal for the transport ship Europa. The ship was launched on 16 August 1928 and entered service on 19 March 1930 for the German Norddeutscher Lloyd shipping company. Starting in 1939, the ship was used as a floating barracks; the ship was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine for use in the planned Operation Sea Lion, but the operation was abandoned when the Luftwaffe failed to achieve air superiority in the Battle of Britain.[2] Following the loss of the battleship Bismarck in May 1941 and the near torpedoing of her sistership Tirpitz in March 1942, the Kriegsmarine was convinced of the need to acquire aircraft carriers. Several vessels were selected for conversion, including the incomplete heavy cruiser Seydlitz and several passenger liners.[3] Planning for the conversion of Europa into an auxiliary aircraft carrier was started in May 1942.[2]
The ship would have been faster and larger than any of the other ships Germany intended to convert into auxiliary carriers. However, a number of design problems emerged as the drawing up of the conversion plan progressed. Her speed and capacity advantages were offset by several serious practical problems. These included structural weakness, caused by the need to recess the hangar deck into the primary structural deck; instability, normally resolved by adding bulges; and high fuel consumption.
Design
General characteristics and machinery
I was 280 meters (920 ft)
The ship was propelled by four sets of Blohm & Voss geared turbines that drove four shafts, each with a four-bladed screw that was 5 m (16 ft) in diameter. The turbines were powered by 24 double-ended narrow water tube boilers that produced up to 21 atmospheres of pressure. The engines were rated for 100,000 shaft horsepower (75,000 kW), and provided a top speed of 26.5 knots (49.1 km/h; 30.5 mph). At the maximum speed, the ship could steam for 5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km; 5,800 mi); at a cruising speed of 19 kn (35 km/h; 22 mph), the cruising range doubled, to 10,000 nmi (19,000 km; 12,000 mi). The ship was designed to store up to 6,500 t (6,400 long tons; 7,200 short tons) of fuel oil, but total fuel bunkerage was 8,500 t (8,400 long tons; 9,400 short tons). I had only one rudder. The electrical power plant comprised four diesel generators that provided 520 kilowatts and two emergency generators that provided 100 kW each. The total power output was 2,280 kW at 230 volts.[6]
Armament
The ship was to have been armed with twelve
There were also to have been twenty
The anti-aircraft battery was rounded out by twenty-eight to thirty-six
The ship was designed to carry 18
Footnotes
Notes
- ^ "I" was the provisional name for the ship under which she was ordered; had she been completed she would have been assigned an actual name. For example, Graf Zeppelin was ordered under the provisional name "A" and christened Graf Zeppelin at her launch.[1]
- ^ "L/65" denotes the length of the gun, in terms of the diameter of the barrel. This gun was 65 calibers, meaning the gun was 65 times as long as it is in diameter; in this case, it was 6.825 m (22.39 ft) in length[7]
Citations
References
- Caldwell, Donald; ISBN 978-1-85367-712-0.
- Garzke, William H. & Dulin, Robert O. (1985). Battleships: Axis and Neutral Battleships in World War II. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-101-0.
- ISBN 978-0-87021-790-6.
- Kay, Antony K. & Couper, Paul (2004). Junkers Aircraft and Engines, 1913–1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-985-9.
- Miller, Nathan (1996). War at Sea: A Naval History of World War II. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-511038-2.
- Schenk, Peter (2008). "German Aircraft Carrier Developments". Warship International. 45 (2). Toledo: International Naval Research Organization: 129–158. OCLC 1647131.
- Worth, Richard (2001). Fleets of World War II. Cambridge: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-81116-2.