German aircraft carrier I (1942)

Class overview
Name	I
Builders	Blohm & Voss
Preceded by	Graf Zeppelin class
Succeeded by	Jade class
Planned	1
Cancelled	1
General characteristics
Type	Aircraft carrier
Displacement	Design: 44,000 t (43,000 long tons; 49,000 short tons); Full load: 56,500 t (55,600 long tons; 62,300 short tons);
Length	291.5 m (956 ft)
Beam	37 m (121 ft)
Draft	10.3 m (34 ft)
Propulsion	4-shaft Blohm & Voss geared turbines; 100,000 shp (75,000 kW); 8,500 t (8,400 long tons; 9,400 short tons) of fuel oil;
Speed	26.5 kn (49.1 km/h; 30.5 mph)
Range	At 27 kn (50 km/h; 31 mph): 5,000 nmi (9,300 km; 5,800 mi); At 19 kn (35 km/h; 22 mph): 10,000 nmi (19,000 km; 12,000 mi);
Armament	12 × 10.5 cm (4.1 in) AA guns; 20 × 37 mm (1.5 in) AA guns; 28–36 × 20 mm (0.79 in) AA guns;
Aircraft carried	18 × Ju 87C; 24 × Bf 109T;
Aviation facilities	1 hangar

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. Europa was one of several vessels selected for conversion into auxiliary aircraft carriers. As designed, the ship would have had an air complement of 24 Bf 109T fighters and 18 Ju 87C Stuka dive-bombers.

Conversion planning began in May 1942, and had the conversion been finished, she would have been the largest German aircraft carrier, longer even than the purpose-built Graf Zeppelin-class aircraft carriers. The work was canceled in November 1942, however, after design problems, including serious instability and structural weaknesses, proved to be uncorrectable. No work was done on the ship, which was eventually seized by the US Army and used as a troop transport following the end of the war.