Ka cika wannan jumla: A lokacin da Raeder ya sadu da Hitler don tattaunawa dalla-dalla game da dabarun sojan ruwa a watan Afrilu na 1942, an nuna amfanin masu jigilar jiragen sama a yaƙin zamani na zamani. Jirgin saman Birtaniya ya gurgunta rundunar Italiya a
Taranto a watan Nuwambar 1940, ya lalata mummunan rauni a watan Mayu 1941 kuma ya hana jirgin yaƙi daga kai hari ga jiragen ruwa biyu da ke zuwa Rasha a watan Maris na 1942. Bugu da ƙari, wani jirgin ruwa na Japan da ya kai wa Pearl Harbor hari ya hallaka rundunar sojojin Amurka a watan Disamba na shekara ta 1941. Raeder, yana ɗokin tabbatar da kariya ta iska ga rukunin "Kriegsmarine" masu nauyi, ya sanar da Hitler cewa "Graf Zeppelin" za a iya gama shi cikin kusan shekara guda, tare da wasu watanni shida da ake buƙata don gwajin teku da horo na jirgin sama. A ranar 13 ga Mayu, 1942, tare da izinin Hitler, Babban Kwamandan Sojan Ruwa na Jamus ya ba da umarnin a ci gaba da aiki a kan mai ɗaukar jirgin.