Nazi Germany tried to join the aircraft carrier racebut failed. Their only attempt, the Graf Zeppelin, was launched in 1938 but never completed. By wars end, it had been shuttled between ports, scuttled, salvaged, and finally sunk by the Soviets as target practice.
Why did the project fail? The Kriegsmarine saw carriers as support ships, not strike platforms. Göring blocked the Navy from developing specialized aircraft, forcing awkward conversions of land planes. Germany also lacked experience in carrier design: cramped decks, unreliable catapults, and space for just 40 planes versus 70+ on U.S. or Japanese carriers.
When WWII began, Hitler scrapped the project in favor of U-boats. Germany never truly embraced carrier warfare.
In our linked Short, we look at another ambitious naval project that fell flat: Why did Nazi Germany build two huge battleships only to rarely use them during WWII?
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