He said that Germany could not match Britain in naval strength and that attempts to do so were a waste because geography had stacked the deck against Germany. While imperfect in its details, Wegener's thesis was essentially correct, but by making these statements during the war, he made himself something of an outcast. As you might imagine, the upper echelons didn't want to hear that message, so they tapped one of their talented up-and-comers to write a rebuttal which pointed out Wegener's errors--the fact that it couldn't rebut the fundamental argument was overlooked. The author of this rebuttal was named Raeder....
This explains how it was possible for the Germans to commit the same grotesque miscalculation in WWII. The German naval build-up of the 1930's was one without strategic purpose,
http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3328
A large U-boat fleet and Pocket Battleships better than Z-plan with attendant large Battleships.
As a side note, distance from Egilsstadir airport, ( east Iceland) to Bergen is 704 miles, Herdla airbase even less. JU 52 with extra fuel goes 790 miles with 4000 pound load. The jest of which is that an air bridge between Iceland/Norway is feasible.
Distance from Egilsstadir, Iceland to Flesland, Bergen, Norway is 704.7 miles, 1134.1 km, or 612 nm
http://www.distancefrom.info/Egilsstadir/Iceland/
JU 52.
The normal range is 530 miles with a 5,000 pound load, or 790 miles with maximum fuel and a 4,000 pound load.
http://www.fjr2.be/Pagina%2025%20-%20Airplanes%20of%20the%20fallschirmj%E4ger.htm
Egilsstadir airport
http://www.photo.is/fly/pages/kps0704%20881.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egilssta%C3%B0ir
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