A German carrier reshapes Allied deployments worldwide

Without a German carrier threat, the Royal Navy could send HMS Victorious to support the United States in the Pacific before the British Pacific Fleet arrived, producing the deployment remembered as USS Robin. A working Graf Zeppelin would instead encourage Britain to hold carriers with the Home Fleet to guard Atlantic convoys and counter German sorties. That requirement would reduce the carrier support available to the Americans during a period of acute Pacific need. The loss of HMS Courageous also gave both navies an early wartime lesson to study when considering carrier operations. A credible German carrier could therefore change force allocation far beyond the theater where it operated.