Keeping Force Z in Europe is judged unlikely to make a large enough difference to the naval balance. Germany had lost Bismarck, but Tirpitz, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau still feature in the comparison of threats. The Italian fleet is another continuing commitment in this assessment, which also allows for battleships returning to service in the Mediterranean.
Notable Point · 2:19:27-2:20:35
Why keeping Force Z in Europe offered limited relief
The European comparison argues that two capital ships would provide limited relief against continuing German and Italian naval commitments.