On the night of 27–28 August 1942, while still moored at Gotenhafen, "Graf Zeppelin" was the target of the only Allied air attack aimed at her during the war. Three Royal Air Force Avro Lancaster heavy bombers from 106 Squadron were dispatched against the German aircraft carrier, each one carrying a single "Capital Ship" bomb, a device with a shaped charge warhead intended for armored targets. One pilot, who was unable to see the carrier due to haze, dropped his bomb instead on the estimated position of the . Another believed he had scored a direct hit on "Graf Zeppelin", but there is no known record of the ship suffering any damage from a bomb strike that night.