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 a
The ship in her original guise as Europa
A Bf 109T-1, the type I would have carried
Messerschmitt Bf 109
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The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a monoplane fighter aircraft that was designed and initially produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Bayerische Flugzeugwerke. Together with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the
German aircraft carrier I (1942)
…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…
A Bf 109G-6 of JG 27 "Afrika" in flight, 1943
Messerschmitt Bf 109 V1
A drawing of the V1 prototype
JG 53 Bf 109E-3, c. 1939/1940