The Imperial German risk-fleet concept sought enough strength to make Britain avoid battle for fear of becoming vulnerable to other navies. Its central weakness was that the Royal Navy could answer German construction with more ships of its own, built more quickly and for British requirements. The same faulty assumption underlies later claims about Plan Z. Of the force shown in the plan, only four modern German capital ships were completed, while one carrier received a hull but never entered service. Treating all the remaining silhouettes as a future fleet ignores the time, yards, labour, and money required to turn drawings into warships.
Chapter · 1:18:06-1:20:01
Risk-fleet theory and Plan Z's paper strength
Plan Z repeated the risk-fleet assumption that German construction could deter Britain, while most of its projected ships never approached completion.