The carrier branch borrows Japanese design and operational ideas rather than pursuing the engineering complexity associated with Graf Zeppelin and the French Béarn. Individually elegant components and committee-backed pet projects can combine into a ship that is operationally weak, so the design must optimise the whole aviation system. Sōryū and Shōkaku show that a useful flight deck and hangar arrangement can fit dimensions comparable to the proposed hull. North Atlantic weather discourages deck parking, so the estimated air group is roughly 42-48 operational aircraft plus several reserve airframes. Japanese advice might strengthen the Bf 109's landing gear, advance the Fieseler Fi 167 torpedo bomber, and adapt the Ju 87 for carrier use. A notional 16-fighter, 16-dive-bomber, and 16-torpedo-bomber group would give Germany a coherent, if still inexperienced, carrier air arm.
Chapter · 31:45-38:28
A Japanese-inspired German fleet carrier
Japanese carrier practice produces a more operationally coherent Scharnhorst-hull carrier than Graf Zeppelin's over-engineered approach.