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Posted on 07/26/2006 3:36:44 PM PDT by saganite
The location of the wreck of the Graf Zeppelin had been a mystery for more than half a century
POLISH divers have discovered the rusting wreckage of Nazi Germany’s only aircraft carrier, the Graf Zeppelin, solving one of the most enduring maritime riddles of the Second World War. For more than half a century the location of the huge vessel was kept secret by the Soviet authorities. Even the opening of the Moscow archives in the 1990s failed to produce a precise bearing. The once-proud ship was simply one of dozens of wrecks that littered the bed of the Baltic Sea near the Bay of Gdansk.
“We were carrying out soundings for possible oil exploration,” Krzysztof Grabowski, of the Petrobaltic exploration group, said. “Then we stumbled across a vessel that was over 260 metres (850ft) long at a depth of 250 metres.”
Divers confirmed this week that it was the German ship, though who owns her and what — if anything — will happen to her remains unclear.
When the Graf Zeppelin was launched in 1938, Adolf Hitler raised his right arm in salute to a warship that was supposed to help Germany to become master of the northern seas. But, when fleeing German troops scuttled her in April 1945, she had never seen service — a casualty of infighting within the Nazi elite and the changing tide of war.
The Graf Zeppelin was scuttled in shallow water near Szczecin and it proved easy for the Red Army to recover her after marching into the Polish port. According to an agreement with the Allies, German and Japanese warships should have been sunk in deep water or destroyed. The Russians repaired the ship, then used her to carry looted factory equipment back to the Soviet Union. In August 1947 Allied spies observed her being towed back to the Polish Baltic coast and then used for target practice at Leba by Soviet dive bombers. It appeared that the Russians were preparing for possible action against US aircraft carriers.
The Graf Zeppelin sank a second time, and remained undetected until now.
Lukasz Orlicki, a Polish maritime historian, said: “It is difficult to say why the Russians have always been so stubbornly reluctant to talk about the location of the wreck. Perhaps it was the usual obsession with secrecy, or perhaps there was some kind of suspect cargo.”
At 262 metres, the Graf Zeppelin was comparable to the biggest of the US carriers that played such a significant role in the Pacific. She had a range of 8,000 nautical miles, meaning that she could easily have reached the North Sea.
What/where is the Hezbollah navy.
In August 1939, Europa was about to enter the Atlantic on what was destined to be her last passenger crossing for some time, when she received orders to return to Bremerhaven, blacked out, and with radio silence. She offloaded her passengers, and then in a few days, World War II began. She was painted in gray, and was used as a permanently stationed accommodation ship for the German Navy.
In 1940, she sailed to Hamburg, just as was done with the Bremen, to be converted for use in Operation Sea Lion. The plan was ultimately abandoned, and Europa was returned to Bremerhaven. Unlike her sister, the Bremen, who was destroyed by fire, the Europa survived to see the United States forces reach her, despite Nazi orders to sink her at her pier. Inside Europa, there were signs of troopship conversion, but for voyages that were never made. In the end, she ended up being put under the U.S. flag, and was designated AP-177, the USS Europa.
She was repaired, and later dry-docked in New York Harbor before officially beginning her trooping service. She could carry up to 4,300 people with 900 crew. However, it was not exactly a great service. She was plagued by small fires caused by the Germans' removing her high-quality fittings, and replacement by inferior items as their war effort began to regress and they ran into material shortages. Even worse, serious hull cracks were uncovered, and that worried authorities regarding safety. Thus the Europa ended her troop ship service, and was handed over to the reparations commission in early 1946. The Europa ended up going to the French, who had the biggest need for a passenger liner after they lost the Normandie in New York Harbor in 1942. It was thought that with the proper modifications, the Europa could be made to appear French...
Seriesly, Shouldn't that be Hugh Manatee?
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Hmmmm, post 35 seems to show guns on the "other" starboard side - known sometimes as the port side. (Or is my naval parlance confused or are those guns not "anti-aircraft" guns?)
They're starboard -- the ship is sailing toward you in the photo. It looks like they were designed to train in any direction, although firing the forward guns at a target directly astern would have made life interesting on the bridge.
The calm is on the water,
and part of us would linger by the shore.
For ships are safe in harbor,
But that's not what ships are for.
If a ship is too valuable to risk, it is of no value as a warship. If I recall the history of the Bismarck, there were similar problems that the Nazis feared losing it too much to use it. Although it sank the Hood, the (german equivalent) Admiral, was attempting to run from the confrontation, and the captain finally more or less told the admiral he was fighting, as he would not be sunk running away, and that the adminal might accidentally fall overboard if he didn't allow the ship to defend itself.
This sounds like the same thing. Others study WWII history far more than me, but I think we were fortunate that the Germans did not use their large naval vessels as effectively as they could have.
Navy ping!
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