Manufacturer: Revell
Scale: 1/720
Additional parts: parts from a Zhengdefu 1/800 Kitty Hawy, scratch build components
Model build: Nov 2012 - Sep 2013
Bundesmarine Flugzeugträger Graf Zeppelin
Revell / Scratchbuild
1/720
1/720
Baltic Ballet: 1975
Captain Erik Schmidt stood on the bridge of the "Graf Zeppelin," the crisp Baltic air whipping his hair as her gaze swept across the glistening water. The year was 1975, and the "Graf Zeppelin," a veteran of another era, patrolled the delicate peace of the Cold War. Today, however, wasn't about war games or military exercises. Today, they were on a different mission.
Sunlight danced on the water as a lone Soviet research vessel, the "Mikhail Lermontov," approached the designated rendezvous point. The "Graf Zeppelin," with its angled flight deck and modern jet fighters, presented a stark contrast to the older, more utilitarian Soviet ship. Tensions had been high lately, and this joint operation was a symbol of fragile cooperation between the two superpowers.
The mission: a daring scientific exchange. The Soviets were studying the migratory patterns of humpback whales in the Baltic, and the Germans possessed cutting-edge tracking technology that could significantly enhance the research. After months of negotiation, they had agreed to an unprecedented collaboration.
As the "Mikhail Lermontov" drew closer, a squadron of four German A-7 Corsair attack planes, recently added to the "Graf Zeppelin's" arsenal, performed a breathtaking flyover in salute. The Soviet helicopter on the "Lermontov's" deck responded with a friendly dip.
On deck, a tense formality gave way to cautious camaraderie as German and Soviet scientists exchanged greetings and equipment. Dr. Anna Hoffmann, the lead German researcher, a young woman with a bright smile and determined eyes, shook hands with her Soviet counterpart, the grizzled Dr. Dmitri Petrov. Despite the language barrier, a mutual respect for their shared passion for the ocean and its inhabitants was evident.
Over the next few days, the two ships worked in tandem. German helicopters launched from the "Graf Zeppelin" deployed tracking devices on the whales, guided by the expertise of Dr. Petrov's team. The results were impressive. The combined data revealed previously unknown migration routes and feeding grounds.
One afternoon, a tense moment arose. A Soviet fighter jet, unfamiliar and aggressive, entered the airspace. Alarms blared on both ships. But the moment passed. The fighter, likely on a routine patrol unaware of the joint operation, banked away and disappeared into the horizon. Relief washed over everyone. Communication, it seemed, was key, even amidst the constant shadow of war.
As the exchange concluded, a bittersweet feeling hung in the air. Dr. Hoffmann and Dr. Petrov, their initial skepticism replaced by mutual respect, exchanged final handshakes. The two ships, symbols of opposing ideologies, had come together for a common purpose.
The "Graf Zeppelin" and the "Mikhail Lermontov" steamed away in different directions, but a newfound understanding lingered. The mission, a success on a scientific level, served as a beacon of hope in a world teetering on the brink. Perhaps, in the vast ocean with its magnificent creatures, they could find a way to navigate the complexities of the human world. The "Baltic Ballet," as the operation came to be known, may not have been a show of military might, but it was a powerful display of cooperation, a small dance towards a more peaceful future.
The Aircraft Carrier "Graf Zeppelin":
The "Graf Zeppelin" was the only aircraft carrier ever build in Germany. Laid down on 08.12.1938 in Kiel, it was initially planned to complete the ship in 1940. However, after the start of WW2, construction was stopped in April 1940. In 1942, it was obvious thatan aircraft carrier would be very useful to support naval operations, therefore it was planned to complete the ship by winter 1943. But after the battle of the Barents sea, the construction was stopped again while the ship was completed by 80-85%.
At the end of he war, the unfinished ship was taken over by the Soviet army and was sunk during weapons tests in 1947. In 2006, the wreck was detected in the Baltic Sea, 55 km off the polish coast in a depth of 80 meters.
So much about the real ship, now lets see the what-if....
Aircraft Carrier "Graf Zeppelin", Bundesmarine, 1975:
The construction of the "Graf Zeppelin" was not stopped in 1940. Instead, the ship was completed by mid 1942.
The carrier was put into service in late 1942 with its original planned aircraft, the Me 109T as a fighter, the Ju87 as dive bomber and the Fi167 as torpedo bomber.
While it was too late to be used in Atlantic operations, the ship was send to Norway in spring of 1943 after doing its training and trieals in the Baltic Sea. There additional FW190 torpedo bombers were put on board.
The "Graf Zeppelin" operated together with other major German warships in actions against arctic convoys.
As the Me 109T were a very difficult aircraft to be used on the Graf Zeppelin, it was decided to replace them with eight captured Corsair fighters. On Oct 22 1943, the aircraft arrived on the ship which was directly send to Norway. The Corsairs formed the so called "Delphin-Staffel". There, the Graf Zeppelin operated together with Scharnhorst and Tirpitz. The Corsairs were very successful in providing air cover for the battelships during their few operations.
In May 1944, all three ships were returned to the Baltic Sea where they operated until the end of the war in 1945.
While being bac in the Baltic Sea, the first trirals with jet fighters - with the Me 262T - were made on the "Graf Zeppelin", but altough they showed the potential of those aircraft, the ship did not realy fit the needs of jet aircraft.
Im May 1945, war ended as we know it, but several Kriegsmarine ships survived.
The ships were divied between the Allied Nations, with "Graf Zeppelin" and "Tirpitz" given to the British, "Prinz Eugen" given to the USA, "Scharnhorst" and several destroyers & torpedo boats given to the Soviet Union.
As the tensions between the western states and the Soviet Union grew quickly after 1945, several of the ships given to the western Allies were used to form the core of a new Bundesmarine in 1948, with "Tirpitz" and "Graf Zeppelin" among them.
Put into service again with only minor modifications (mainly a removal of the 15 cm guns), the Bundesmarine first continued to operate the Corsairs and FW190 until the early 1950s.
Clearly outdated, they were then replaced by the first jet aircraft, the Grumman F-9 and the Hawker Sea Hawk. At that time, the "Graf Zeppelin" mainly operated in the Baltic Sea.
Im 1957, the ship was put out of service for a major modernization refit. It was equipped with an angled flight deck, new aircarft lifts and a completly rebuild superstructure. The catapult was replaced with a single, modernized steam catapult.
Besides this, there was a huge change in the armamanet. All heavy AA guns were removed and replaced by two twin RIM-2 Terrier missle launchers and their corresponding SPG-55 directors. Plus a few light mulitpurpose AA guns.
It took unitl early 1962 until the ship could be recommissiond. Since the refit, the ship mainly operated in the North Atlantic as part of the patrols at the GIUK-gap.
Still using the old aircraft, they were about to be replaced by more modern ones: A-4 as attack planes since 1968, F4-Phantom II since 1965, Blackburn Bucaneers since 1965, A7 Corsairs since 1975 and F8 Crusaders since 1972.
Because of the size of the ship, only a limited number fo aircraft (up to 25) could be used simulaniously.
In October 1980, a complete enigne breakdown took place on board of the "Graf Zeppelin" while it was on its way though the British Channel. It could be prevented that it run aground, and the ship was towed back to Wilhlemshaven for repairs.
But because of its age and the size of the damages, it was decided to put the ship out of service. Huge discusstion started to replace the ship with a new, bigger, modern carrier, but because of the costs for such a project, no new carrier was bought or build.
After sitting in the Marinearsenal in Wilhlemshaven for almost 10 years, the "Graf Zeppelin" was finally given to the Marinemuseum locate in Wilhlemshaven where it is still shown today, with a collection of almost all aircraft that were used on board of the ship.
The model should represent the "Graf Zeppelin" as it might have looked like in summer 1975 in the North Atlantic.
The model is based on the Revell 1/720 Graf Zeppelin kit. Hangar and flight deck are made from plasitc sheets, while the superstructure and several other parts were taken from a 1/800 Zhengdefu Kitty Hawk kit. Which has a really bad qulity.
The flight deck was not completly remade, instead I made extensions to the orignal one. Additionally two external aircraft lifts were added, plus a visible hangar allows you to look inside the model. Painting has been done with brush/airbrush using Revell Aqua Color colors, the deacals were taken from the Zhengdefu kit. Additionally quite a lot Eduard 1/700 navy personal figures were put on the ship.
19 Images
Graf Zeppelin Air-Wing over time
In its almost 40 years of operation, the Graf Zeppelin saw many different aircraft tyes on its flight deck. Here is a chronological overview about all aircraft used on the carrier.
