Flugzeugträger B

History
Name	Flugzeugträger B
Builder	Germaniawerft, Kiel
Laid down	1938
Fate	Scrapped between February–June, 1940
General characteristics
Displacement	33,550 tonnes (33,020 long tons)
Length	262.5 m (861 ft)
Beam	31.5 m (103 ft)
Draft	7.6 m (25 ft)
Propulsion	Geared turbines, 200,000 hp (149,100 kW) 4 screws
Speed	35 knots (65 km/h)
Range	8,000 nmi (14,816 km) at 19 kn (35 km/h)
Complement	1,720 crew 306 flight personnel
Armament	16 × Sk. 15 cm guns 12 × 10.5 cm Flak 22 × 3.7 cm Flak 28 × 2.0 cm Flak
Aircraft carried	Complement of 50: 10 × Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters 20 × Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers 20 × Fieseler Fi 167 torpedo bombers

The Flugzeugträger B (Flugzeugträger is German for aircraft carrier) was the sister ship of the Kriegsmarine's only launched aircraft carrier, the Graf Zeppelin.

The contract to build the ship was awarded to the Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft in Kiel in 1938, with a planned launch date on July 1, 1940. The hull was never launched, however, as construction stopped on September 19, 1939. Scrapping of the uncompleted carrier was started on February 28, 1940, a process taking four months.

The Kriegsmarine never named a vessel before it was launched, so it was only given the designation "B" ("A" was the Graf Zeppelin's designation before launch). Had it been completed, the aircraft carrier could have been named Peter Strasser in honour of the World War I Luftschiffer (Airship Fleet) Chief Commander Peter Strasser. But this name was never confirmed.

See also

• List of aircraft carriers
• Plan Z
• German aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin