Submarine investment still forces Allied choices

Would Germany have been better off not building hundreds of U-boats?

Ending the programme would release German resources but also release far more Allied shipping and escort capacity, so the trade-off is not one-sided.

Abandoning a large U-boat programme could free German resources, but idle shipyards would not convert steel and workers directly into tanks or aircraft. It would also free Allied shipping, escorts, aircraft, and assault capacity from a costly maritime struggle. In this judgment, Germany had to contest the Atlantic, yet the Z Plan it chose was not necessarily the best available approach. Even a smaller, more advanced submarine force could still compel convoy escorts, though at a lower cost in merchant losses.