Graf Zepplinski becomes the Red Fleet's carrier schoolhouse

Graf Zepplinski gets Soviet naval aviation to sea and supports a planned six-carrier force. Her first completion retains enough German structure to begin training, while the later rebuild removes nearly everything inside the outer hull plating and replaces the temperamental machinery. Soviet planners accept that reconstruction could cost more than a new ship because they lack experience specifying an angled-deck carrier. Operating the inherited hull lets them develop flight-deck routines and train aircrews while testing air-group organization before ordering a purpose-built design.