Why didn’t Germany build any aircraft carriers during World War II?

Surprisingly, Germany did actually have an aircraft carrier during WWII.

A photo of the Graf Zeppelin taken in 1941.

Graf Zeppelin was never fully completed, but it did exist. It had been laid down in late 1936, and launched in 1938. It was intended to be the first of a number of German carriers, and was almost complete when WWII broke out.

However, as WWII went on, supplies intended for Graf Zeppelin’s construction got sent elsewhere. A number of her guns were redirected to Norway for coastal defence for example.

By 1942 the powers that be woke up to the idea that an aircraft carrier might come in handy at some point, and resources were directed to completing Graf Zeppelin.

However, since technology had moved along since 1939, a number of changes were slated to be made. In particular, larger and heavier aircraft were desired which would require a host of changes to accommodate.

Thanks to these delays, Graf Zeppelin was still being constructed when Hitler changed his mind and ordered a halt to the construction of all surface ships in early 1943. Whilst parts of that order were eventually reversed, this was effectively the end of Graf Zeppelin’s development.

In 1945, as the Red Army approached the dock that Graf Zeppelin was moored at, her caretaker crew sank her. The USSR managed to salvage the ship later, but they don’t seem to have done much with her and she was eventually sunk - apparently as a target.

Such was the tale of Nazi Germany’s only aircraft carrier. She never reached operational status, and I don’t believe she ever launched an aircraft, but she did exist.

Credit: Quora

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