German Reich planned several aircraft carrier

Aircraft carrier

An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...

s (Flugzeugträger), some of which made it to the construction stage, and one of which was launched, the German aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin

German aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin

German aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin was the lead ship in a class of two carriers ordered by the Kriegsmarine. She was the only aircraft carrier launched by Germany during World War II and represented part of the Kriegsmarine's attempt to create a well-balanced oceangoing fleet, capable of...

.

During World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, there was an attempt by the German Empire

German Empire

The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...

 to convert the unfinished Italian passenger liner Ausonia into an aircraft carrier, codenamed "I"

German aircraft carrier I (1915)

The aircraft carrier I"I" was the provisional name for the ship under which she was ordered; had she been completed she would have been assigned an actual name. was the first planned aircraft carrier conversion project of the German Imperial Navy during World War I...

. Plans were also afoot to convert SMS Roon

SMS Roon

SMS Roon"SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" in German. was the lead ship of her class of armored cruisers of the Imperial German Navy. The ship was authorized under the second Naval Law in 1902, and built at the Imperial Dockyard in Kiel at the cost of 15.3 million...

 to become a seaplane tender

Seaplane tender

A seaplane tender is a ship that provides facilities for operating seaplanes. These ships were the first aircraft carriers and appeared just before the First World War.-History:...

.

During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

 attempted to build several aircraft carriers, two of these were to be of the Graf Zeppelin

Graf Zeppelin class aircraft carrier

The Graf Zeppelin-class aircraft carriers were two German Kriegsmarine aircraft carriers laid down in the mid-1930s as part of the Plan Z rearmament program. Four ships were initially envisioned but reduced to two by Grand Admiral Erich Raeder in 1939...

 class, Flugzeugträger A Graf Zeppelin and Flugzeugträger B

Flugzeugträger B

The Flugzeugträger B was the sister ship of the Kriegsmarine's only launched aircraft carrier, the Graf Zeppelin....

 Peter Strasser. Only the Graf Zeppelin was launched. At the same time, there was an attempt to convert the ocean liner Europa into the carrier codenamed "I"

German aircraft carrier I (1942)

The German aircraft carrier I was a planned conversion of the transport ship Europa during World War II. The loss of the battleship Bismarck and near torpedoing of her sistership Tirpitz in May 1941 and March 1942, respectively, spurred the Kriegsmarine to acquire aircraft carriers...

. The incomplete German cruiser Seydlitz

German cruiser Seydlitz

Seydlitz was a heavy cruiser of the German Kriegsmarine, fourth in the , but was never completed. The ship was laid down in December 1936 and launched in January 1939, but the outbreak of World War II interrupted her completion at approximately 95 percent...

 was also started to be converted into an aircraft carrier.

List

Designation	Name	Other names	Project inception	Project abandonment	Fate	Notes
Flugzeugträger "I" German aircraft carrier I (1915) The aircraft carrier I"I" was the provisional name for the ship under which she was ordered; had she been completed she would have been assigned an actual name. was the first planned aircraft carrier conversion project of the German Imperial Navy during World War I...		SS Ausonia Blohm & Voss 236	1918	1918	1922 - Broken up for scrap
		SMS Roon SMS Roon SMS Roon"SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" in German. was the lead ship of her class of armored cruisers of the Imperial German Navy. The ship was authorized under the second Naval Law in 1902, and built at the Imperial Dockyard in Kiel at the cost of 15.3 million...	1916	1916	1921 - Broken up for scrap	It was to be a seaplane tender Seaplane tender A seaplane tender is a ship that provides facilities for operating seaplanes. These ships were the first aircraft carriers and appeared just before the First World War.-History:...
Flugzeugträger "A"	Graf Zeppelin		1935	1943	1945 - Scuttled	Graf Zeppelin class aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin class aircraft carrier The Graf Zeppelin-class aircraft carriers were two German Kriegsmarine aircraft carriers laid down in the mid-1930s as part of the Plan Z rearmament program. Four ships were initially envisioned but reduced to two by Grand Admiral Erich Raeder in 1939...
Flugzeugträger "B" Flugzeugträger B The Flugzeugträger B was the sister ship of the Kriegsmarine's only launched aircraft carrier, the Graf Zeppelin....	Peter Strasser		1938	1939	1940 - Broken up for scrap	Graf Zeppelin class aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin class aircraft carrier The Graf Zeppelin-class aircraft carriers were two German Kriegsmarine aircraft carriers laid down in the mid-1930s as part of the Plan Z rearmament program. Four ships were initially envisioned but reduced to two by Grand Admiral Erich Raeder in 1939...
Flugzeugträger "I" German aircraft carrier I (1942) The German aircraft carrier I was a planned conversion of the transport ship Europa during World War II. The loss of the battleship Bismarck and near torpedoing of her sistership Tirpitz in May 1941 and March 1942, respectively, spurred the Kriegsmarine to acquire aircraft carriers...		SS Europa USS Europa (AP-177) SS Liberté	1942	1942	1962 - Broken up for scrap
		Seydlitz German cruiser Seydlitz Seydlitz was a heavy cruiser of the German Kriegsmarine, fourth in the , but was never completed. The ship was laid down in December 1936 and launched in January 1939, but the outbreak of World War II interrupted her completion at approximately 95 percent...	1942	1943	1945 - Scuttled