![]() She carried (16) 15cm Main Guns, (12) 10.5mm Anti-Aircraft Guns, (22) 37mm Auto-Cannon and (28) 20mm Auto-Guns. Her armament was impressive for a Carrier. The " Graf Zeppelin" was slated to crew over 1,700 men, with an attached Air Crew of over 300. She also was to gave a proposed 8,000-mile operational range for relative "long range" Ariel Operations. Her Geared Turbine Engines could produce over 200,000 HP, allowing her to achieve and easy 35-knots in open Sea. She stood roughly 103-feet tall in the water. The namesake of The Class, The " Graf Zeppelin", was a 34,000-ton displaced, 821-foot vessel. Germany managed to produce only 1 Aircraft Carrier, almost complete. The Kreigsmarine saw their potential Carriers as assets for the newly proposed (and prototyped), Jet Fighters in late 1943-44. Adapting design ideas from both American and Japanese Carrier designs, the proposed German Carriers would be designed much different. He placed more emphasis in his Air Superiority than The Naval assets (although he did allocate resources for The U-Boat Program). However, "in-fighting" between The Kreigsmarine and German Luftwaffe (Air Force) over weapons development, made such plans difficult to present to Germany's Leader Adolf Hitler. The original German Kreigsmarine (Navy) plan, was to have as many as 4 " Graf Zeppelin"-Class Aircraft Carriers, starting in 1936. Nazi Germany attempted to build several Aircraft Carriers early in World War II.
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