This is an interesting post. However looking at it and at the economic/political environment the post identifies I would have thought that the Panzershiffe would be the direction that the Reichsmarine would have chosen to follow, certainly under Raeder. It offers the most economic modernisation programme for the replacement of the old dreadnoughts.delcyros wrote:Considering that the Weimarian Republic went into some deep modernization programs with the aviable and allowed by Versalles Pre-Dreadnought force in 1922 to 1927 period, it´s not fully inconvincing that some of the HSF ships may have been modernized.
Germany would not buildt any Panzerschiffe.
The costs to upkeep this force would put a severe burden on the economical developement of the country
The political environment absent of Versailles would make it more difficult for the Nazis to rise in power
Modernization of the vessel would be very difficult as their protective schemes are dependent on the protective effect of coal.
Indeed the building of panzerschiffe instead of ''proper'' battleships would have made the British even more willing to sign the 1934 Naval Agreement with Germany. In that scenario, a second generation panzerschiffe and the development of naval aviation/aircraft carriers would be the logical progression - particulary in the absence of a Hitler and assuming admirals like Weber and perhaps Marschall had a greater influence on planning the future German Navy.