What might Graf Zeppelin have accomplished if completed for Norway in 1940 or later in 1941-42?
Short answerAn early ship would be operationally immature and vulnerable to Renown; a later ship would face a much stronger British carrier response.
NotesAn early-1940 Graf Zeppelin might accompany Scharnhorst and Gneisenau during the Norwegian campaign, but fragile Bf 109T undercarriages and inexperienced operations could quickly erode its air group. That air group could then face British Skua fighters while the carrier itself met an angry Renown. Renown might prioritize the carrier, and a comparable number of hits could destroy it. A 1941-42 entry could substitute a navalized Focke-Wulf Fw 190 for the Bf 109, but it would confront a Royal Navy already reinforced and alerted by earlier carrier warfare.