The German arrangement drew on experience with seaplane carriers supporting postal-service operations. Scaling up familiar machinery reduced the conceptual leap for Graf Zeppelin's designers. Such a system could launch an aircraft in difficult weather, but it was not designed to send many aircraft away quickly. A carrier's machinery and deck arrangements must match its intended operational tempo rather than merely prove that aircraft can be launched.
Notable Point · 24:33-25:39
Why Graf Zeppelin's catapult system was a poor carrier fit
Graf Zeppelin's launch arrangement is compared with a seaplane-carrier system that suited limited operations better than sustained carrier flying.