An alternate German surface fleet shows how a carrier and surface combatants could create a three-dimensional Atlantic threat. The hypothetical group combines 15-inch-armed Scharnhorsts with Graf Zeppelin, though the carrier remains a poor design in this assessment. Pre-positioned supply ships like those supporting German pocket battleships could help the force reach the North Atlantic and threaten convoy routes. Royal Navy numbers would probably prevail once battle was joined. Finding and defeating a carrier-centered raiding group would still create a larger operational problem than hunting U-boats alone.
Notable Point · 16:38-18:04
Surface raider carrier counterfactual
A counterfactual section weighs whether a German surface group with 15-inch Scharnhorsts and Graf Zeppelin would have posed a more complex Atlantic threat than U-boats alone.