German submarine numbers would not follow their historical wartime growth curve while surface construction competed for resources. The discussion describes overlapping design committees as an obstacle to decisions, with an anecdotal estimate of about seventy committees arising from research discussed with a German historian. That figure illustrates a tangled decision process rather than a precise audited count. H-39 construction could begin, but a ship laid down around 1940 would not be ready in 1942. Germany would also lack access to Dutch submarine research obtained through wartime conquest. Its larger ships would still force opponents to retain countering forces, even though yards, finance, and competing service demands prevented completion of Plan Z.
Chapter · 50:12-1:01:01
Why a 1942 Plan Z remains constrained
Germany might finish more cruisers and begin H-class construction, yet its design bureaucracy, shipyard scale, budget, and competing army and air-force demands rule out a completed Plan Z by 1942.