Graf Zeppelin may have been found - Aircraft of World War II

Smokey · 07-26-2006, 06:21 PM

SimHQ Forums: OT: wreck of Graf Zeppelin located?

Two weeks ago, on the 12th of July 2006, a ship belonging to Petrobaltic (a Polish oil company) found a 265 m. long wreck close to the port of Łeba which may be the Graf Zeppelin

Quote:

As the end of World War II neared, the roughly completed carrier was scuttled in shallow water at Stettin (now Szczecin) on 25 April 1945, just before the Red Army captured the city. After Germany's surrender, though, its history and fate is unclear. According to the terms of the Allied Tripartite Commission, a "Category C" ship (damaged or scuttled) should have been destroyed or sunk in deep water by 15 August 1946. Instead, the Russians decided to repair the damaged ship. It was refloated in March, 1946. The last known photo of the carrier shows it leaving Swinemuende (now Swinoujscie on 7 April 1947 (see picture). The photo appears to show the carrier deck loaded with various containers, boxes and construction elements, hence the supposition that it was probably used to carry looted factory equipment from Poland and Germany to the Soviet Union.

For many years no other information about the ship's fate was available. There was some speculation that it was very unlikely that the hull made it to Leningrad, as it was argued that the arrival of such a large and unusual vessel would have been noticed by Western intelligence services. This assumption seemed to imply that the hull was lost at sea during transfer between Swinemuende and Leningrad. One account concluded that it struck a mine north of Rügen on 15 August 1947, but Rügen, west of Swinemuende, is not on the sailing route to Leningrad. Further north, in the Gulf of Finland, a heavily-mined area difficult for Western observers to monitor, seemed more likely.

After the opening of the Soviet archives, new light was shed on the mystery. It appears that the carrier was towed to Leningrad. There, after unloading, it was designated as "PO-101" (Floating Base Number 101). The Russians hoped that the carrier could be repaired in Leningrad's shipyards (those in Szczecin were destroyed). When this proved impractical, the ship was towed out to sea, back to the Swinemuende area. There, on 16 August 1947, it was used as a practice target for Soviet ships and aircraft. Allegedly, the Soviets installed aerial bombs on the flight deck, in hangars and even inside the funnels (to simulate a load of combat munitions), and then dropped bombs from aircraft, fired shells, and shot torpedoes into it. This assault would both comply with the Tripartite mandate (albeit late) and provide the Soviets with experience in sinking an aircraft carrier. By this point, the Cold War had well begun, and the Soviets were well aware of the large numbers and central importance of aircraft carriers in the US Navy, which in the event of an actual war between the Soviet Union and America would be targets of high strategic importance. Hence, experience in sinking carriers by aircraft was much more valuable in 1947 than before 1945. After being hit by 24 bombs and projectiles, the ship did not sink and had to be finished off by torpedoes. The exact position of the wreck was unknown for decades. On 12 July 2006 a ship belonging to Petrobaltic (a Polish oil company) found a 265 m. long wreck close to the port of Łeba which probably is the Graf Zeppelin. [1]

From

German aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

MaritimeQuest - Graf Zeppelin

DerAdlerIstGelandet · 07-27-2006, 08:03 AM

Awesome that would be great if they found it!

Smokey · 07-27-2006, 04:56 PM

A guy claims that

Quote:

Btw, the Navy confirmed - it is the wreck of Graf Zeppelin

SimHQ Forums: OT: wreck of Graf Zeppelin located?

v2 · 07-27-2006, 05:43 PM

Graf Zeppelin in the sonar pics...

Hunter368 · 07-27-2006, 05:52 PM

Very cool

Gnomey · 07-27-2006, 07:11 PM

Yep, the sonar looks about right as well so it could well be her I guess we will find out soon enough.

v2 · 07-28-2006, 05:16 AM

Graf Zeppelin- model

mosquitoman · 07-28-2006, 06:08 AM

Nice! what scale is it?

loomaluftwaffe · 07-28-2006, 10:31 AM

nice, it is good to see 109s and Stukas flying off the carriers for a change

Henk · 07-30-2006, 06:00 PM

Cool I would love some pictures of the wreck.

DerAdlerIstGelandet · 07-30-2006, 06:40 PM

Yeah I hope they post some of the wreck soon.

It would be really neat if they would raise it and turn it into a museum over here in Germany.

Henk · 07-31-2006, 08:38 PM

Yes that would be great.

HealzDevo · 10-30-2006, 01:34 AM

I think give it a version of the Horton 229 flying off the decks as a naval fighter and we could see an interesting result. Regardless it is fascinating. There is a little bit of a question- if the wreck is WW2 and not Graf Zeppelin then who or what is it? It certainly does seem the right size, and shape. From memory Graf Zeppelin was a battleship being converted into an aircraft carrier. Therefore we can't actually be totally sure how she would have performed in any weather.

DerAdlerIstGelandet · 10-31-2006, 12:49 PM

It has been confirmed as the wreck of the GZ. I cant wait till someone goes down there though and takes some pics of it. She was a beautiful ship and I would love too see what she looks like now.

Henk · 10-31-2006, 06:37 PM

Great news, can also not wait to see some pics of the wreck.

07-27-2006, 08:03 AM	#2
DerAdlerIstGelandet Der Crewchief Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Ansbach, Germany Posts: 33,152	Awesome that would be great if they found it! __________________ fly boy:"isnt that the first jet bomber becasue i have flown one in a flight sim before and i know how it handles"[/I]

07-27-2006, 05:52 PM	#5
Hunter368 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Winnipeg Posts: 2,240	Very cool __________________ "Ivan the Terrible or Russian Achilles" Ivan Kozhedub - Hero of the USSR (x3), Order of Lenin (x2), Order of Red Banner (x7), Order of Alexander Nevsky, Order of the Great Patriotic War (x2), Order of the Red Star (x2), 62 kills during 1943-1945

07-27-2006, 07:11 PM	#6
Gnomey "World Traveller" Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Royal Deeside/St Andrews, Scotland, UK Posts: 15,224	Yep, the sonar looks about right as well so it could well be her I guess we will find out soon enough. __________________ "Success is not Final, Failure is not Fatal, it is the Courage to Continue that Counts" Sir Winston Churchill "To him the People of the World Largely owe the Freedom and Liberties they Enjoy Today" Enscription on Hugh Dowding's (AOC Fighter Command 1936-40) statue in London WW2 Talk: A WW2 Discussion Forum My Photo Collections on Flickr

07-28-2006, 06:08 AM	#8
mosquitoman Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Saffron Walden/Sheffield Posts: 2,991	Nice! what scale is it? __________________ When you realise that the light at the end of the tunnel is actually an oncoming train, you know it's time to run for your life

07-28-2006, 10:31 AM	#9
loomaluftwaffe Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 1,848	nice, it is good to see 109s and Stukas flying off the carriers for a change __________________ "The German Luftwaffe always fought without any reserves. This is also the reason why we have pilots with extremely high numbers of victories." - General der Jagdflieger Adolf Galland"

07-30-2006, 06:00 PM	#10
Henk Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: George - South Africa Posts: 2,780	Cool I would love some pictures of the wreck. __________________ The ultimate revolution in aircraft designs during WW2

07-30-2006, 06:40 PM	#11
DerAdlerIstGelandet Der Crewchief Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Ansbach, Germany Posts: 33,152	Yeah I hope they post some of the wreck soon. It would be really neat if they would raise it and turn it into a museum over here in Germany. __________________ fly boy:"isnt that the first jet bomber becasue i have flown one in a flight sim before and i know how it handles"[/I]

07-31-2006, 08:38 PM	#12
Henk Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: George - South Africa Posts: 2,780	Yes that would be great. __________________ The ultimate revolution in aircraft designs during WW2

10-30-2006, 01:34 AM	#13
HealzDevo Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Queensland Posts: 1,249	I think give it a version of the Horton 229 flying off the decks as a naval fighter and we could see an interesting result. Regardless it is fascinating. There is a little bit of a question- if the wreck is WW2 and not Graf Zeppelin then who or what is it? It certainly does seem the right size, and shape. From memory Graf Zeppelin was a battleship being converted into an aircraft carrier. Therefore we can't actually be totally sure how she would have performed in any weather.

10-31-2006, 12:49 PM	#14
DerAdlerIstGelandet Der Crewchief Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Ansbach, Germany Posts: 33,152	It has been confirmed as the wreck of the GZ. I cant wait till someone goes down there though and takes some pics of it. She was a beautiful ship and I would love too see what she looks like now. __________________ fly boy:"isnt that the first jet bomber becasue i have flown one in a flight sim before and i know how it handles"[/I]

10-31-2006, 06:37 PM	#15
Henk Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: George - South Africa Posts: 2,780	Great news, can also not wait to see some pics of the wreck. __________________ The ultimate revolution in aircraft designs during WW2

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