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Very well. Let us imagine that in 1933, when Hitler came to power and threw off the terms of the Versailles treaty, he made the decision (and only he could have made it) to build commerce destroyer aircraft carriers, over the heated protests of both the battleship admirals of the KM and Hermann Goering.
And let us suppose that he decided to go down the 'Collossus" route instead of the "Graf Zeppelin" route. Carriers with AA armament only, no armour, no fancy advanced turn-on-a-dime cycloidal propellers, just slim merchant or second class passenger liner hulls with the diesel powerplant of the Graf Spees. Buildable in two years. Let's say three, to be conservative.
Laid down in, say, 1934. Finished in 1937.
Two years to shake out the carriers in their expected hunting ground...THE ATLANTIC.
How many could they have built? If they kept the Bismark and Tirpitz but cancelled the Scharnorst and Gniesenau, they could have built at least four. I think six, but let's say four.
So in 1939 you have four 26-28 knot carriers, capable of travelling up to 19,000 miles at 10 knots, and using diesel power.
AND with two years at least of Atlantic experience.
How should they have been used?
In aircraft the germans would probably be equipped with Me 109fs and Ju87D carrier based equivalents. Ranged against this the Brits would be equipped with Fireflies, Seafires and Sea Hurricanes. I dont think the US types would have been as well represented, but if they were, the brits would have some Corsairs, Hellcats, Avengers as well. in that scenario the Germans would have been completely outclassed, outnumbered, and outranged.
Outclassed ? Hardly seeing that the 109F4 outperformed all the mentioned a/c in 43.
Syscom 3's post is accurate - except for one thing. Time.
I believe, Syscom, that we are talking at cross-purposes.
In my posts I have based my premise on the possibility of the KM having four carriers having two years of Atlantic Weather Experience and ready to fight in 1939.
In 1939. Way, wayyy before the USA got into the war. Way before even the illustrious class was ready. Way before even the sea hurricane was ready. Way before the British had absorbed the lesson of carriers combined with other ships used efficiently - lessons that would be driven home only after many ships, including the Ark Royal, had been sunk through a shocking misunderstanding of how best to use and protect carriers... the list goes on and on...
I think Parsifal, too, has made this misconception. Parsifal, I believe you are still thinking that I am only tinkering with the Z plan (I'm aware of it). No. What I am positing is a radical redrawing of the Z plan, using even less resources than it called for (the plan was an economic impossibility, as I'm sure you know very well!) but redistributing those resources radically.