The Kriegsmarine Gets Wings: Take Three

Reader mode
Prologue
  • Index

    • Lost Freeway

    Banned
    I know what you're thinking: "you're rebooting this TL again?" You see, no matter how muc I tried to make it work, there was no simply no way the opening scenario could happen, and simply editing the whole opening post would create confusion. So, I simply decided to start over once more.


    So without further ado, I present The Kriegsmarine Gets Wings: Take Three

    Prologue
    ​
    December 29, 1944

    The Atlantic Ocean, 150 miles southeast of New York City

    As the sun rose over the water of the Atlantic, U-807 emerged bow-first from the waters. She and her sister vessels U-808 and U-809 had braved impossible odds to get to this point, having dodged rigorous Allied submarine patrols.

    These were not ordinary U-boats. On their decks were catapults for launching floatlanes and hangars for storing three such planes. It was the Japanese that had come up with this design, but the Germans would be the one to put it into action.

    The nine floatplanes each carried a single 1,000 pound bomb. Each bomb contained a special payload that was sure to end the war-or so the Fuhrer had promised.

    Once they were ready, the planes were placed on the catapult and launched one by one, all heading towards New York City. The men inside knew their chances of surviving the mission were very slim, but they were willing to accept the danger to ensure the survival of the Third Reich...
     
  • Index

    • Just Leo

    000000x.png

    9 of these?
     
    Chapter One
  • Index

    • Lost Freeway

    Banned
    Chapter One​

    The mid-late 1930s

    Nazi Germany.

    The Graf Zeppelin-class aircraft carriers had their roots in the Anglo-German naval treaty of 1935. The Kriegsmarine was limited to 35% of the tonnage of the Royal Navy. The Germans hoped that the treaty would be the beginning of an alliance between the United Kingdom and Germany, while the British hoped the treaty would act as a check on German rearmament. In the end, both sides proved to be wrong, and German rearmament continued.

    The treaty allowed Germany to build aircraft carriers with a maximum total displacement of up to 38,500 tons. Shortly afterwards, plans for such vessels began. Graf Zeppelin was laid down on December 28, 1936 and launched on December 8, 1938.

    The operation of aircraft carriers by Germany was initially opposed by Luftwaffe head Hermann Goering, who viewed it as an attempt to steal aircraft and resources from the Luftwaffe. To placate him, Hitler promised that any air groups embarked on German carriers would be under control of the Luftwaffe.

    Graf Zeppelin's launch did not go unnoticed by the Royal Navy, who worried about the threat of a resurgent Germany navy. Even as the British government tried to appease Hitler, the RN made plans to counter the Kriegsmarine. First off, the Admiralty lobbied to have the Fleet Air Arm returned to their control, a demand that was eventually granted in May 1938.
     
  • Index
    • Chapter Two
  • Index

    • Lost Freeway

    Banned
    Chapter Two
    ​
    On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later.

    On September 17, the aircraft carrier HMS Courageous had a narrow escape when she was attacked by the U-boat U-29. Courageous was hit by two torpedoes, but the second torpedo failed to detonate. U-29 was subsequently driven off by Courageous's escorts, and the carrier was able to limp home.

    On October 6, Germany completed its conquest of Poland. This marked the beginning of a period of relative inactivity in Europe that would be dubbed the "Phoney War."

    On December 13, the German cruiser Admiral Graf Spee was cornered by the cruisers HMS Exeter, HMS Ajax, and HMNZS Achilles in the South Atlantic. In the ensuing battle, Graf Spee managed to damage Exeter, but was heavily damaged herself. Graf Spee retreated towards the neutral port of Montevideo-and right into a trap. Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers from HMS Ark Royal descended on the wounded cruiser. Her AA gunners managed to down four Swordfish, but Graf Spee proved to be easy meat for the torpedo bombers. She took three torpedoes in her port side and one in starboard, going down with nearly 60% of her crew.

    Admiral_Graf_Spee_Flames.jpg

    The final moments of Admiral Graf Spee
     
  • Index

    • Some Bloke

    So the RN gets control of the Fleet Air Arm a year ahead of OTL (although the OTL decision had been made in 1936).

    As to the floatplane attack,
    Chemical?
    Biological?
    Thermobaric?

    I think we can rule out nuclear.
     

    Some Bloke

    Seeing as Outrageous nearly got sunk here, do the RN learn the carrier vs sub lessons slightly earlier and butterfly her loss in Norway?

    Or do the Germans improve their torpedoes earlier?
     
    Chapter Three
  • Index

    • Lost Freeway

    Banned
    Chapter Three
    ​
    On April 9, 1940, Germany began Operation Weserübung, the invasion of Denmark and Norway. Denmark capitulated in six hours, but Norway would continue to fight until June 10.

    During the onset of the invasion, the German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau tangled with the British battlecruiser HMS Renown near Lofoten. The German ships sustained heavy damage, but they managed to delay the British from interfering with the landings in Norway.

    On May 10, Germany commenced the invasion of the Low Countries. Holland and Belgium would surrender on May 14 and May 28 respectively, giving Germany a springboard for the invasion of France. On June 5, the Wehrmacht began pushing into France in force. The French army tried to put up a fight, but their efforts were in vain. On June 22, the French government capitulated. France was divided between a rump state in the south based out of Vichy, and a German-occupied zone in the north.

    The fall of France caused great alarm in London. Of particular concern was the Marine Nationale, which the British feared would be handed to the Germans by the Vichy government.

    On July 3, the Royal Navy went to Mers-el-Kebir, the largest concentration of French warships, and offered an ultimatium: the French could either take their ships to Martinique or some other French port far from Europe, allowed themselves to be interned in British ports, or join the Royal Navy in the fight against Germany.

    After some deliberation, the French finally agreed to sail to Martinique. While the British were somewhat disappointed that the French did not join them, they were glad that a potential threat had been removed.
    ​
     
    Last edited:
  • Index
    • Chapter Four
  • Index

    • Lost Freeway

    Banned
    Chapter Four
    ​
    The flight of the French fleet was of great concern to Germany. While the French had promised to demilitarize their ships upon arrival in Martinique, they could still rejoin the conflict at a later date. This fear was amplified on July 8 when the crew of the French battleship Richelieu, which had been stationed in Dakar, agreed to the same terms as the fleet at Mers-el-Kebir and departed for Martinique. The thought of France's most modern battleship joining the fight caused great agitation to Hitler and the Kriegsmarine brass.

    On August 30, Graf Zeppelin was formally commissioned. Her air group consisted of 10 Bf109T fighters, 20 Fi167 torpedo bombers, and 12 Ju87C dive bombers.

    On November 11, the Royal Navy launched an attack on the Italian navy anchorage of Taranto. Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers from HMS Illustrious and HMS Glorious succeeded in damaging several battleships-two of which, Conte di Cavor and Andrea Doria, were declared constructive total losses.

    The attack on Taranto gave Hitler an idea. On November 14, Graf Zeppelin departed from Hamburg with three destroyers for escorts. On the morning of November 16, her air group launched an attack on the Royal Navy anchorage at Scapa Flow.

    The attack turned out to be an unmitigated disaster. Out of the 42 German aircraft, 36 were shot down in exchange for 15 British planes. In return, they only managed to damage the battleship HMS Malaya and two destroyers.

    Things got even worse for the Germans when Graf Zeppelin was torpedoed by the submarine HMS Unity while recovering her planes. She went down with almost half of her crew.
     
  • Index
    • Reader mode
    You must log in or register to reply here.
    Top
    Top