Graf Zeppelin illustrates a problem faced by navies that can afford or build only a few major hulls. When every ship must cover many missions, designers feel pressure to perfect the design and keep adding capabilities before construction is complete. Dutch hesitation over major units provides a parallel case, with scarce large investments still under review when war overtook the plans. A longer review cycle also gives successive officials more opportunities to insert their own requirements. Industrial scarcity made getting Graf Zeppelin right especially important, but that pressure encouraged the delay and complexity that prevented a workable first ship from entering service.
Notable Point · 1:07:26-1:09:57
Why scarce hulls attract too many requirements
Limited shipbuilding capacity made each rare hull too important to settle quickly, delaying Graf Zeppelin while its requirements multiplied.