Would Germany have been better served by maritime strike aircraft than by building major surface combatants?
Short answerWhatever the preferred force mix, Germany's central large-warship problem was inadequate yard capacity, which prevented it from completing battleships and Graf Zeppelin together at useful speed.
NotesGermany lacked enough suitable yards to build multiple large surface ships and an aircraft carrier concurrently. Graf Zeppelin therefore competed directly with battleship construction for scarce facilities, labor, and machinery. A stronger maritime air arm might have offered more units per quantity of material, but it could not make the unfinished carrier program independent of the yard bottleneck. Force design has to be tested against the industrial system able to deliver it.