What a first Panzerschiff could teach designers

What design problems could Germany have resolved by testing Deutschland before committing to later ships?

A trial ship could expose limits in diesel power, weapons, armour, optics, radar, and industrial production before follow-on designs were fixed.

Testing Deutschland could answer far more than whether its bow needed alteration. Designers could measure how much power late-1920s diesel machinery reliably produced and decide whether a follow-on should return to turbines. The ship would also test Germany's ability to make 11-inch guns, dual-purpose secondary weapons, armour plate, and optical rangefinders. Later trials could show how to keep radar working under the blast of heavy guns. Hull form and seakeeping belonged to the same evidence base. In the meantime, the ship kept industry employed, displayed German technical recovery, and helped provoke the French Dunkerque response. The result links warship design to the factories and specialist trades that decide which paper improvements are buildable.