An English Channel passage would have exposed Graf Zeppelin to an unnecessary risk. The Channel Dash was an exceptional success enabled by a British command failure rather than a repeatable model. The Kiel Canal offered a safer way to move between German waters without sending the carrier through confined sea room. In much of the Baltic, German land-based aircraft could perform missions that did not require a carrier nearby. Operations toward Sweden or Leningrad would still leave room for the carrier to remain behind cruisers and destroyers.
Notable Point · 10:25-12:31
Why Graf Zeppelin would avoid the Channel and Baltic narrows
German geography offered safer routes and land-based aviation, making an aircraft-carrier dash through the English Channel or close Baltic employment an unnecessary risk.