I think you are right, the Germans just didn't know how to use capital ships like the "Bismarck" and the "Tirpitz".

Look at the "Bismarck"s erratic odyssé across the Atlantic, breaking radio silence for long periods of time, allowing the british to track her.

The best of German engineering and craftmanship wasted for nothing, exept for one more or less obsolete british battleship, the HMS "Hood".

The same thing happened with the "Tirpitz", lying idle in a Norwegian fjord for months and years until she was sunk. The germans just didn't know what to do with this formidable battleship.

And the "Scharnhorst", leaving her escorts behind and heading right into the jaws of an allied task force!

Regards
RAM