The Graf Zeppelin was Germany's only aircraft carrier during WWII. Launched in 1938, the ship never saw action. After Germany's defeat in 1945, the Soviet Union took control of the carrier, but the fate of the ship -- last seen in 1947 -- has been shrouded in mystery. Until today.
Earlier this month, Polish oil company Petrobaltic discovered a shipwreck on the floor of the Baltic Sea about 38 miles north of Gdansk. Since then, researches have been busy using ROVs and sonar and video equipment to collect digital images of the 850-foot-long ship. Today, Poland's Navy announced that it has identified within "99.9 percent" certainty that the shipwreck is the Graf Zeppelin. The Navy is still waiting to find the name "Graf Zeppelin" on the ship's sides before declaring with 100% certainty that it is, in fact, the German carrier.
1. Would be interesting to know what they planned to do with it. Back in WWI a German commander wanted to invade New York City using a fleet of Zeppelins. He was subsequently laughed at and dismissed as there was "no future in air warfare."
Posted at 11:51AM on Jul 28th 2006 by Eric Brodeur