A commissioning date does not establish when the proposed German force could fight. The comparison places German commissioning before trials and British commissioning after them, leaving Tirpitz short of operational readiness until about June 1941 despite her February commission. Graf Zeppelin would need a determined construction effort beginning around October or November 1940. Raeder could use British operations in Norway and at Taranto to argue for a group containing two battleships, a carrier, and cruisers. Even with that support, the group is unlikely to be ready before June or July 1941.
Notable Point · 1:11:39-1:14:01
Tirpitz and Graf Zeppelin need more than commissioning dates
Trials and preparing the combined German force delay its proposed sortie until at least June or July 1941.