View source for German aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin

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{{short description|Graf Zeppelin-class aircraft carrier}}
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{| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image   = [[File:Graf-Zeppelin-2.jpg|300px|Graf Zeppelin]]
|Ship caption = ''Graf Zeppelin'' after her launching on 8 December 1938
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=[[Nazi Germany|Germany]]
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Nazi Germany|naval}}
|Ship name=''Graf Zeppelin''
|Ship namesake=Count [[Ferdinand von Zeppelin]]
|Ship builder=[[Deutsche Werke]], [[Kiel]] Shipyards
|Ship laid down=28 December 1936
|Ship launched=8 December 1938
|Ship fate=Sunk as a target ship on 16 August 1947
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Graf Zeppelin|aircraft carrier}}
|Ship displacement={{convert|33550|LT|0|lk=on}} ([[full load]])
|Ship length={{convert|262.5|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|36.2|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft={{convert|8.5|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=4 geared turbines
|Ship power={{convert|200000|shp|lk=on}}
|Ship speed= {{convert|33.8|kn}}
|Ship range= {{cvt|8000|nmi|lk=on}} at {{convert|19|kn}}
|Ship complement=1,720
|Ship armament=*16 × [[15 cm SK C/28]] guns
*12 × [[10.5 cm SK C/33]] guns
*22 × [[3.7 cm SK C/30]] guns
*28 × [[2 cm Flak 30/38/Flakvierling|2 cm FlaK]] guns
|Ship armor=*[[Belt armor|Belt]]: {{convert|100|mm|abbr=on|1}}
*Flight deck: {{convert|45|mm|abbr=on|1}}
*Main deck: {{convert|60|mm|abbr=on|1}}
|Ship aircraft=*Proposed complement of 42<ref name = chesneau>Chesneau, pp. 76&ndash;77</ref>
*1930 proposal: 30 [[Fighter aircraft|fighters]] & 12 [[dive bombers]]<ref name=chesneau/>
*1939 proposal: 12 fighters & 30 dive bombers<ref name=chesneau/>
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

The '''German aircraft carrier ''Graf Zeppelin''''' was the [[lead ship]] in a [[Graf Zeppelin-class aircraft carrier|class of two carriers]] of the same name ordered by the ''[[Kriegsmarine]]'' of [[Nazi Germany]]. She was the only [[aircraft carrier]] launched by Germany and represented part of the ''Kriegsmarine''{{'}}s attempt to create a well-balanced oceangoing fleet, capable of projecting German naval power far beyond the narrow confines of the [[Baltic Sea|Baltic]] and [[North Sea]]s. The carrier would have had a complement of 42 fighters and [[dive bomber]]s.

Construction on ''Graf Zeppelin'' began on 28 December 1936, when her keel was laid down at the [[Deutsche Werke]] shipyard in [[Kiel]]. Named in honor of ''[[Graf]]'' (Count) [[Ferdinand von Zeppelin]], the ship was [[ship naming and launching|launched]] on 8 December 1938, and was 85% complete by the outbreak of World War II in September 1939. ''Graf Zeppelin'' was not completed and was never operational due to shifting construction priorities necessitated by the war. She remained in the Baltic for the duration of the war; with Germany's defeat imminent, the ship's custodian crew scuttled her just outside [[Szczecin|Stettin]] in March 1945. The Soviet Union raised the ship in March 1946, and she was ultimately sunk in weapons tests north of Poland 17 months later. The wreck was discovered by a Polish survey ship in July 2006.

==Design==
{{main|Graf Zeppelin-class aircraft carrier}}
[[File:Graf-Zeppelin-1.jpg|thumb|left|Projected recognition drawing of ''Graf Zeppelin'' had she been completed in September 1942]]

''Graf Zeppelin'' was {{convert|262.5|m|sp=us}} [[length overall|long overall]]; she had a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|36.2|m|abbr=on}} and a maximum [[draft (hull)|draft]] of {{convert|8.5|m|abbr=on}}. At full combat load, she would have displaced {{convert|33550|LT}}. The ship's propulsion system consisted of four [[Brown, Boveri & Cie]] [[geared turbine]]s with sixteen oil-fired, ultra-high-pressure [[LaMont boiler]]s. The power plant was rated at {{convert|200000|shp|MW|lk=in}} and a top speed of {{convert|33.8|kn|lk=in}}. ''Graf Zeppelin'' had a projected cruising radius of {{convert|8000|nmi|lk=in}} at a speed of {{convert|19|kn|abbr=on}}. She would have had a crew of 1760&nbsp;officers and enlisted men, plus flight crews.<ref name=G71>Gröner, p. 71</ref>

The ship's primary offensive power would have been its aircraft complement. ''Graf Zeppelin'' would have carried 42 aircraft as designed: 12 [[navalized]] [[Junkers Ju 87#Ju 87C|Junkers Ju 87]] "Stuka" [[dive bomber]]s, 10 [[Messerschmitt Bf 109 variants#Bf 109T|Messerschmitt Bf 109]] fighters, and 20 [[Fieseler Fi 167]] [[torpedo bomber]]s.<ref>Reynolds, p. 44</ref> Later during the construction process, the aerial complement was reworked to consist of thirty Ju 87s and twelve Bf 109s, and the Fi 167s were removed altogether. As designed, ''Graf Zeppelin'' was to be fitted with eight [[15 cm SK C/28]] guns for defense against surface warships. This number was later increased to sixteen. Her anti-aircraft battery consisted of ten [[10.5 cm SK C/33]] guns&mdash;later increased to twelve&mdash;twenty-two [[3.7 cm SK C/30]] guns, and twenty-eight [[2 cm Flak 30/38/Flakvierling|2 cm guns]]. The ship's flight deck was protected with up to {{convert|45|mm|sp=us}} of ''Wotan Weich'' steel armor.{{efn|"''Wotan Weich''"—"[[Wōden|Wotan]] soft"—was a type of steel armor developed by the German navy. It had a breaking strength of 65–75&nbsp;kilograms/square millimeters and expanded up to 25&nbsp;percent. "''Wotan Hart''"—"Wotan Hard"—was more rigid and had a breaking strength of 85–96&nbsp;kg/mm<sup>2</sup> and expanded up to 20&nbsp;percent.<ref>Gröner, p. x</ref>}} A {{convert|60|mm||abbr=on|adj=mid|-thick}} armored deck was located under the deck to protect the ship's vitals from aerial attacks. ''Graf Zeppelin'' had a waterline [[armor belt]] that was {{convert|100|mm|abbr=on}} thick in the central area of the ship.<ref name=G71/>

== Construction and cancellation ==

[[File:Bundesarchiv RM 25 Bild-02, Flugzeugträger "Graf Zeppelin", Bau.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The keel for ''Graf Zeppelin'' in December 1936]]

On 16 November 1935, the contract for ''Flugzeugträger A'' (Aircraft carrier A)&mdash;later christened ''Graf Zeppelin''&mdash;was awarded to the [[Deutsche Werke]] shipyard in [[Kiel]]. Construction of the ship was delayed since Deutsche Werke was working at capacity, and the slipway needed for ''Graf Zeppelin'' was occupied by the new battleship {{ship|German battleship|Gneisenau||2}}, which was launched on 8 December 1936.<ref>Breyer, p. 11</ref> Work started on ''Graf Zeppelin'' on 28 December, when her [[keel]] was laid down. She was launched on 8 December 1938, the 24th anniversary of the [[Battle of the Falkland Islands]],<ref name=GC226>Gardiner & Chesneau, p. 226</ref> and she was christened by Helene von Zeppelin, the daughter of [[Ferdinand von Zeppelin|the ship's namesake]]. At the launching ceremony, [[Hermann Göring]] gave a speech.<ref>Israel, pp. 67&ndash;69</ref> By the end of 1939, she was 85% complete, with a projected completion by the middle of 1940.<ref name=GC227>Gardiner & Chesneau, p. 227</ref> By September 1939, one carrier-borne wing, ''Trägergruppe'' 186, had been formed by the Luftwaffe at [[Kiel Holtenau Airport|Kiel Holtenau]], composed of three squadrons equipped with [[Messerschmitt Bf 109|Bf 109]]s and [[Junkers Ju 87|Ju 87]]s.<ref>Whitley (1984), p. 164</ref>

Meanwhile, the German [[Operation Weserübung|conquest of Norway]] in April 1940 eroded any chance of completing ''Graf Zeppelin''. Now responsible for defending Norway's long coastline and numerous port facilities, the ''Kriegsmarine'' urgently needed large numbers of coastal guns and anti-aircraft batteries. During a naval conference with Hitler on 28 April 1940, Admiral [[Erich Raeder]] proposed halting all work on ''Graf Zeppelin'', arguing that even if she was commissioned by the end of 1940, final installation of her guns would need another ten months or more (her original [[ship gun fire-control system|fire-control system]] had been sold to the Soviet Union under an earlier trade agreement).<ref>Schenk, p. 143</ref> Hitler consented to the stop work order, allowing Raeder to have ''Graf Zeppelin''{{'}}s 15&nbsp;cm guns removed and transferred to Norway. The carrier's heavy [[flak gun|flak armament]] of twelve 10.5&nbsp;cm guns had already been diverted elsewhere.<ref name=Whitley30>Whitley (1985), p. 30</ref>

In July 1940, ''Graf Zeppelin'' was towed from Kiel to Gotenhafen ([[Gdynia]]) and remained there for nearly a year. While there, she was used as a storage depot for Germany's hardwood supply.<ref name=G72>Gröner, p. 72</ref> Just before Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, the carrier was again moved, this time to [[Stettin]], to safeguard her from Soviet air attacks. By November, the German army had pushed deep enough into Russian territory to remove any further threat of air attack and ''Graf Zeppelin'' was returned to Gotenhafen. There, she was used as a store ship for timber.<ref>Schenk, p. 157</ref>

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 134-B0676, Flugzeugträger "Graf Zeppelin".jpg|thumb|''Graf Zeppelin'' moored at [[Szczecin|Stettin]] in mid-1941]]
[[File:German aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin at Gdynia on 6 February 1942.jpg|thumb|Aerial view of ''Graf Zeppelin'' in [[Gdynia|Gotenhafen]], February 6, 1942]]

By the time Raeder met with Hitler for a detailed discussion of naval strategy in April 1942, the usefulness of aircraft carriers in modern naval warfare had been amply demonstrated. British carriers had crippled the Italian fleet at [[Battle of Taranto|Taranto in November 1940]], critically damaged the {{ship|German battleship|Bismarck}} in May 1941 and prevented the battleship {{ship|German battleship|Tirpitz||2}} from attacking two convoys bound for Russia in March 1942. In addition, a Japanese [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|carrier raid on Pearl Harbor]] had devastated the American battle fleet in December 1941. Raeder, anxious to secure air protection for the ''Kriegsmarine''{{'}}s heavier surface units, informed Hitler that ''Graf Zeppelin'' could be finished in about a year, with another six months required for sea trials and flight training. On 13 May 1942, with Hitler's authorization, the German Naval Supreme Command ordered work resumed on the carrier.<ref name=Reynolds47>Reynolds, p. 47</ref>

But daunting technical problems remained. Raeder wanted newer planes, specifically designed for carrier use. ''Reichsmarshall'' Hermann Göring, head of the ''[[Luftwaffe]]'', replied that the already overburdened German aircraft industry could not possibly complete the design, testing and mass production of such aircraft before 1946. Instead, he proposed converting existing aircraft (again the Junkers Ju 87 and Messerschmitt Bf 109) as a temporary solution until newer types could be developed. Training of carrier pilots at Travemünde would also resume.<ref name=Reynolds47/>

The converted carrier aircraft were heavier versions of their land-based predecessors and this required a host of changes to ''Graf Zeppelin''{{'}}s original design: the existing catapults needed modernization; stronger winches were necessary for the arresting gear; the flight deck, elevators and hangar floors also required reinforcement.<ref name=Barker283>Barker, p. 283</ref> Changes in naval technology dictated other alterations as well: installation of air search radar sets and antennas; upgraded radio equipment; an armored fighter-director cabin mounted on the main mast (which in turn meant a heavier, sturdier mast to accommodate the cabin's added weight); extra armoring for the bridge and fire control center; a new curved funnel cap to shield the fighter-director cabin from smoke; replacing the single-mount 20mm AA guns with quadruple ''Flakvierling'' 38 guns (with a corresponding increase in ammunition supply) to improve overall AA defense; and additional bulges on either side of the hull to preserve the ship's stability under all this added weight.<ref name=Whitley31>Whitley (1985), p. 31</ref>

The German naval staff hoped all these changes could be accomplished by April 1943, with the carrier's first sea trials taking place in August that year. Towards that end, Chief Engineer Wilhelm Hadeler was reassigned to oversee ''Graf Zeppelin''{{'}}s completion. Hadeler planned on getting the two inner shafts and their respective propulsion systems operational first, giving the ship an initial speed of 25&ndash;26 knots, fast enough for sea trials to commence and for conducting air training exercises. By the winter of 1943&ndash;1944 she was expected to be combat-ready.<ref name=Reynolds47/>

On the night of 27–28 August 1942, while still moored at Gotenhafen, ''Graf Zeppelin'' was the target of the only Allied air attack aimed at her during the war. Three [[Royal Air Force]] [[Avro Lancaster]] heavy bombers from [[No. 106 Squadron RAF|106 Squadron]] were dispatched against the German aircraft carrier, each one carrying a single "Capital Ship" bomb, a {{convert|5600|lb|abbr=on|0}} device with a [[shaped charge]] [[warhead]] intended for armored targets.<ref>Lake, p. 50</ref> One pilot, who was unable to see the carrier due to haze, dropped his bomb instead on the estimated position of the ''Gneisenau''. Another believed he had scored a direct hit on ''Graf Zeppelin'', but there is no known record of the ship suffering any damage from a bomb strike that night.<ref name=Marshall21>Marshall, p. 21</ref>

[[File:Bundesarchiv RM 25 Bild-64, Flugzeugträger "Graf Zeppelin", Bau.jpg|thumb|''Graf Zeppelin'' in drydock in March 1943]]

On 5 December 1942, ''Graf Zeppelin'' was towed back to Kiel and placed in a floating drydock. It seemed she might well see completion after all, but by late January 1943 Hitler had become so disenchanted with the ''Kriegsmarine'', especially with what he perceived as the poor performance of its surface fleet, that he ordered all of its larger ships taken out of service and scrapped. Raeder was relieved of command shortly thereafter and replaced with the Commander of Submarines [[Karl Dönitz]]. Though Dönitz eventually persuaded Hitler to void most of the order, work on all new surface ships and even those nearing completion, including ''Graf Zeppelin'', was halted.<ref>Mann & Jörgensen, pp. 139–141</ref><ref name=Whitley32>Whitley (1985), p. 32</ref> On 30 January 1943, all major work on the ship ceased, though some limited, temporary work continued until March.<ref name=G72/>

In April 1943 ''Graf Zeppelin'' was again towed eastward, first to Gotenhafen, then to the [[roadstead]] at [[Swinemünde]] and finally berthed at a back-water wharf in the [[Parnitz]] River, two miles (3&nbsp;km) from Stettin, where she had been briefly docked in 1941. There she languished for the next two years with only a 40-man [[skeleton crew|custodial crew]] in attendance.<ref name=Reynolds48>Reynolds, p. 48</ref> When [[Red Army]] forces neared the city in April 1945, the ship's [[Kingston valve]]s were opened, flooding her lower spaces and settling her firmly into the mud in shallow water. A ten-man engineering squad then rigged the vessel's interior with demolition and depth charges in order to hole the hull and destroy vital machinery. At 6pm on 25 April 1945, just as the Soviets entered Stettin, commander Wolfgang Kähler radioed the squad to detonate the explosives. Smoke billowing from the carrier's funnel confirmed the charges had gone off, rendering the ship useless to her new owners for many months to come.<ref>Kuzin & Litinskii, p. 161</ref>

==Fate after the war==
[[File:German aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin at Swinemünde on 5 April 1947.jpg|thumb|''Graf Zeppelin'' in Soviet custody at [[Świnoujście]], April 5, 1947.]]
[[File:Graf zeppelin flugzeugtraeger modell 01.jpg|thumb|upright|Bow view of a model of ''Graf Zeppelin'', at the [[Aeronauticum]].]]
The carrier's history and fate after Germany's surrender was unknown outside the Soviet Union for decades after the war. The Soviets could not repair the ship in the length of time specified by the terms of the [[Tripartite Naval Commission|Allied Tripartite Commission]], so she was designated a "Category C" ship. This classification required that she would be destroyed or sunk in deep water by 15 August 1946.<ref>Rohwer & Monakov, p. 199</ref> Instead, the Soviets decided to salvage the damaged ship and it was refloated in March 1946. A number of speculations from Western historians about the ship's fate arose in the decades after the end of the war. According to German historian [[Erich Gröner]], after the Soviets raised the scuttled ship, they towed her to Leningrad. While en route, she reportedly struck a mine off Finland during a storm. Gröner claimed that after ''Graf Zeppelin'' arrived in Leningrad, she was broken up for scrap in 1948&ndash;1949.<ref name=G72/> Naval historians Robert Gardiner and Roger Chesneau state that the ship was towed out of Stettin in September 1947, but she never arrived in Leningrad; they speculated that a mine sank the ship while she was under tow.<ref name=GC227/>

According to Soviet records, on 19 March 1947, the Council of Ministers decreed the destruction of former German ships. The first ship to be sunk, ''[[German cruiser Deutschland|Lützow]]'', was sunk off Swinemunde on 22 July 1947. On 14 August ''Graf Zeppelin'' was towed into Swinemunde harbor, and two days later to its final position. It was subjected to five series of controlled explosions of {{convert|180|mm|abbr=on}} shells and [[General-purpose bomb#Soviet and Russian GP bombs|FAB series]] bombs. The first test imitated a FAB-1000 detonation in the exhaust funnel and lesser bombs below the flight deck. The second in the series was a single FAB-1000 explosion above the flight deck. The third, the fourth and the fifth series imitated penetration of FAB-100, FAB-250 and FAB-500 bombs at flight deck, hangar deck and gun battery deck levels. These bombs were placed in cutouts in their target decks to imitate the effects of dive bombing. ''Graf Zeppelin'' remained afloat, and Admiral [[Yury Rall]] ordered a [[torpedo]] strike. A torpedo fired from an [[PT boat#Elco|Elco PT boat]] exploded in the [[anti-torpedo bulge]] but did not penetrate the [[belt armor]]. A torpedo fired by the destroyer ''[[Soviet destroyer Slavny (1939)|Slavny]]'' penetrated the unprotected hull section below the bow [[Elevator#Aircraft elevators|elevator]]; ''Graf Zeppelin'' sank 25 minutes later.<ref name=S2>Shirokorad, pp. 108&ndash;112.</ref>

===Discovery in 2006===
The exact position of the wreck was unknown for decades. On 12 July 2006, the [[research vessel]] {{ship|RV|St. Barbara}}, a ship belonging to the Polish oil company [[Petrobaltic]], found a {{convert|265|m|ft|adj=mid|-long|sp=us}} wreck {{convert|55|km|abbr=on}} north of [[Władysławowo]], which they thought was most likely ''Graf Zeppelin''. The wreck rests at a depth of more than {{convert|80|m|abbr=on}} below the surface. After the wreck was located, the [[Polish Navy]] began a two-day survey of the wreckage to confirm its identity. Using remote-controlled underwater robots, they concluded that they were "99% certain" it was ''Graf Zeppelin''.<ref>{{cite news|date= 28 July 2006|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5223514.stm|title='Nazi aircraft carrier' located|work=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Boyes|first=Roger|title=Divers find Hitler's aircraft carrier|url=http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/europe/article2601404.ece|newspaper=[[The Times]]|date=27 July 2006|access-date=2 June 2013|archive-date=17 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150517173001/http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/europe/article2601404.ece|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{Commons|German aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin}}

===Footnotes===

{{notes}}

===Citations===
{{reflist|colwidth=20em}}

==References==
* {{cite journal|author=Barker, Lt. Cmdr Edward L. |title=War Without Aircraft Carriers |publisher=United States Naval Institute Proceedings|journal=[[Proceedings (magazine)|Proceedings]]|location=Annapolis|date=March 1954|oclc=61522996}}
* {{cite book|last=Burke |first=Stephen |title=Without Wings: The Story of Hitler's Aircraft Carrier |publisher=Trafford Publishing |date=Sep 2007 |isbn= 978-1-4251-2216-4|location=Victoria}}
* {{cite book|last=Breyer |first=Siegfried |title=Graf Zeppelin: The German Aircraft Carrier |location=Atglen|publisher=Schiffer Publishing Ltd |year=1989|isbn=0887402429}}
* {{cite book | last = Chesneau | first = Roger | title = Aircraft Carriers of the World, 1914 to the Present An Illustrated Encyclopedia | publisher = Brockhampton Press | year = 1998 | location = London | pages = 288 | isbn = 1-86019-875-9 }}
* {{cite book
  | last = Gröner
  | first = Erich
  |author-link=Erich Gröner
  | year = 1990
  | title = German Warships: 1815–1945
  | volume = I: Major Surface Vessels
  | publisher = Naval Institute Press
  | location = Annapolis
  | isbn = 978-0-87021-790-6
  | ref ={{sfnRef|Gröner}}
  }}
* {{cite book|last=Israel |first=Ulrich H.-J. |title=Graf Zeppelin: Einziger Deutscher Flugzeugträger |location=Hamburg |publisher=Verlag Koehler/Mittler |year=1994|isbn=3782206029}}
* {{cite journal | last1 = Kuzin| first1 = V. P.|last2=Litinskii|first2=D. Iu.|year=2008| title =Avianosets "Graf Zeppelin"&mdash;boevoi trofei Krasnoi Armii [Aircraft Carrier Graf Zeppelin&mdash;Battle Trophy of the Red Army]| journal = Warship International | volume = 45|issue=2|pages=161&ndash;165| location = Toledo| publisher = International Naval Research Organization | issn = 0043-0374 | oclc = 1647131 }}
* {{cite book|last=Lake| first=Jon|title=Lancaster Squadrons 1942-43|publisher=Osprey|location=Oxford|year=2002|isbn=1-84176-313-6}}
* {{cite book| last1 = Mann| first1 = Chris| last2 = Jörgensen| first2 = Christer| year = 2003| title = Hitler's Arctic War: the German campaigns in Norway, Finland, and the USSR, 1940–1945| publisher = Thomas Dunne Books| location = New York| isbn = 978-0-312-31100-1| url-access = registration| url = https://archive.org/details/hitlersarcticwar00mann  |name-list-style=amp}}
* {{cite book|last=Marshall |first=Francis L. |title=Sea Eagles: The Operational History of the Messerschmitt Bf 109T|location=Walton on Thames|publisher=Air Research Publications |year=1994|isbn=1871187230}}
* {{cite journal|author=Reynolds, Clark G. |title=Hitler's Flattop: The End of the Beginning |publisher=United States Naval Institute Proceedings |date=January 1967|journal=Proceedings|oclc=61522996}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Rohwer|first1=Jürgen|last2=Monakov|first2=Mikhail S.|title=Stalin's Ocean-going Fleet|year=2001|publisher=Frank Cass|isbn=0714648957|location=London  |name-list-style=amp}}
* {{cite journal | last = Schenk| first = Peter|year=2008| title =German Aircraft Carrier Developments| journal = Warship International | volume = 45|issue=2|pages=129&ndash;158| location = Toledo|publisher = International Naval Research Organization | issn = 0043-0374 | oclc = 1647131 }}
*{{cite book|last=Shirokorad|first=Alexander|year=2004|language=ru|title=Флот, который уничтожил Хрущёв (Flot, kotoryi unichtozhil Khruschev|publisher=AST publishers|isbn=5-9602-0027-9|location=Moscow}}
* {{cite book|author=Whitley, M.J. |title=Warship 31: Graf Zeppelin, Part 1 |location=Annapolis|publisher=United States Naval Institute Press |date=July 1984|isbn=0-85177-354-0|volume=VIII}}
* {{cite book|author=Whitley, M.J. |title=Warship 33: Graf Zeppelin, Part 2 |location=Annapolis|publisher=United States Naval Institute Press| year=1985|volume=IX|isbn=0-87021-984-7}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite journal |last1=Willigenburg|first1=Henk van|title=Graft Zeppelin Afloat |journal=Air Enthusiast |date=March–April 2001|issue=92|pages=59–65 |issn=0143-5450}}

==External links==
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bglqEXoeBes Launching Ceremony of the ''Graf Zeppelin'']

{{Graf Zeppelin class aircraft carrier}}
{{April 1945 shipwrecks}}
{{1947 shipwrecks}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Graf Zeppelin}}
[[Category:Graf Zeppelin-class aircraft carriers]]
[[Category:World War II aircraft carriers of Germany]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea]]
[[Category:Proposed aircraft carriers]]
[[Category:Germany–Soviet Union relations]]
[[Category:1938 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in April 1945]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1947]]
[[Category:Ships sunk as targets]]
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[[Category:Ships built in Kiel]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of Poland]]