Let's play a Historical game of "What if."

[TheMightyFavog]

What if Nazi Germany had completed and put into operation the Carrier Graf Zeppelin in 1942?



What would they have used it for?

How would it have fared against what the Royal Navy and the US Navy could throw against it?

Would it have affected the balance of power in the Atlantic?

[Maddy McCall]

1. The same thing that happened when the dreadnought was built.

Other navies would have risen to the challenge. The war would have been prolonged.

[TheMightyFavog]

2. Why didn't the Germans at leat attempt to put this carrier into operation?

Didn't they see how effective Japan and the US were using carriers in the Pacific, not to mention the Royal Navy's use of carriers to take out German and Italian Navy assets.

No, let's just keep building more U-Boats that the US and Britian keep taking out with improved sonar and anti-sub weaponry. When you look back on it, Damn, the Nazi top brass were fucking stupid, weren't they?.

[tjwmason]

7. I'm reading 'Inside the Third Reich' by Albert Speer

One theme which runs through it is that, whilst the German military were allowed to fight as they wanted - they kept winning. Once the Nazis started to push their own ideas (and Hitler in particular), everything went rather belly-up.

[Kraklen]

3. It would have been sunk by allied bombers.

The same as Bismarck's sister ship, wossname (Turpitz?)

[TheMightyFavog]

5. The key term here is "operational"

By that I mean full compliments of fighter and attack squadrons battle ready.

I think they would have used it in the anti-shipping role, attacking convoys. I think the US might actually resort to sending one of its Pacific carriers over to the Atlantic if the Royal Navy couldn't handle it.

[Kraklen]

6. Yeah, operational.

Like the Turpitz(?). I think it would have been overwhelmed by Allied air power.

Weren't many of the carriers built on the east coast anyways?

[RPM]

4. it never would have made it into the atlantic...

the whole german navy, save the u-boats, was hopelessly bottled up.

[One_Life_To_Give]

8. Having to pass thru British controled skies

on it'say to and from port calls. She probably would not have had much success before being sunk.