Shipbucket

Well, you realised my hints about free places, perfect for flak, and the big, mssive doors, capable to let tanks in?
Be sure, the troop transport conversion is coming.

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For the 1946 invasion the Vaterland was converted to a troop transport.

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Nice ship, but converting a passenger-liner into a troopship, is best seen in pictures of USS America as liner and troopship

troopship

liner

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"Never fear to try on something new. Remember that the Titanic was built by professionals, and the Ark by an amateur"

I beleive there may be a confusion here; with other liners used as troop transports the practice was not to use them to disembark on the beachead or under fire; instead transfering to smaller ships. Here, we have a large ship bristling with weapons and sophisticated radars etc. even tanks and aircraft, and its role is limited to the English channel; it just seems to go against every other application of amphibious operations.

But hang on! its AU, right?

Mostly correct, Bill.

It's to carry troops & vehicle & stuff to a secured harbour. It was built as an ocean liner with the option to get converted to a troop transport. Therefor were places left for the installation of arms & directors & and all that stuff. Deck 3 is high & strong enough to carry even battle tanks. This ship is no usual ocean liner, it is made to look like that until conversion into its real task.

There will be a third version for afterwar duties.

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Nice work, but the Vaterland I was referring to was much bigger. She was launched in 1940, but was destroyed by bombs in 1943, finally being scrapped in 1948. I've only seen two pics of a model to show how she would've looked as completed.

-Matt

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That's ok; but (and I know its nit picking), if the harbours are secured, presumably after the actions to secure them, then why bother with all that weaponry? Anyway, Its an attractive design and still light years ahead of a lot of AU stuff I've been seeing lately.

@Matt: Yes, you referred to Vaterland 2. I wasn't able to find usable data about that ship, just it was launched in emergency action in 1940 (bombing raid?) and scrapped 1948. An unsure record says 824" and 41.000 tons. A single picture at Blohm & Voss and this model photo:

Have you got any more?

@Bill: the same reason why even civil cargo transports were armed. Air Force bombers don't ask, they shoot and sink their targets, if they wear the wrong flag. Even the red cross is no all time protection against loads of ammo. So any ship being a part of task forces was armed. Required ocean liners down to the smallest LSIs.
And the AU-Vaterland was built for action.

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1947 after the sudden fall of the UK homeland, the Kriegsmarine was faced with the ruins of the big empire the UK was, with no chance to control it. Dozens of ships were hastily converted into aux cruisers, including the Vaterland. While she was a warship at core, others were simply armed freighters.
Here comes Vaterland on World Peace Tour...

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It's all camo! The Vaterland now wears 3 6"-lightweight-turrets and the vehicle deck is reduced by chambers for four torpedo launchers and stores. The 6"-twins are the same as on the 1936-destroyer class, so the Vaterland really can carry them. The catapults are replaced by enlarged deckspace for some Weserflug VTOLs. Beefed up that way she was sent to several colonies in order to disarm the british troops there. As expected that disarming was mostly a less peaceful job. Dozens of Royal Navy crews didn't accept the situation and fled to Canada or Australia. Some were detained were the were, some changed their flag to the jolly roger. The Vaterland and her batallion managed that in a great manor until she surprisingly met the well hidden HMS Anson. Not able to flee or to fight the battleship Vaterland was sunk near Singapor. HMS Anson escaped to Australia.


I know, it's very AU...

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