Fast battleship
Encyclopedia
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
which emphasized speed without - in concept - undo compromise of either armor or armament. The term is especially appropriate when applied to a design which was not only faster than the preceding battleship class
Ship class
A ship class is a group of ships of a similar design. This is distinct from a ship-type, which might reflect a similarity of tonnage or intended use. For example, the is a nuclear aircraft carrier of the Nimitz class....
, but faster than subsequent classes as well. The extra speed of a fast battleship was normally required so as to equip the vessel for roles additional to the normal service of a battleship within the line of battle
Line of battle
In naval warfare, the line of battle is a tactic in which the ships of the fleet form a line end to end. A primitive form had been used by the Portuguese under Vasco Da Gama in 1502 near Malabar against a Muslim fleet.,Maarten Tromp used it in the Action of 18 September 1639 while its first use in...
.
A fast battleship was distinguished from a battlecruiser
Battlecruiser
Battlecruisers were large capital ships built in the first half of the 20th century. They were developed in the first decade of the century as the successor to the armoured cruiser, but their evolution was more closely linked to that of the dreadnought battleship...
in that it would have been expected to be able to engage hostile battleships in sustained combat on at least equal terms. The requirement to deliver increased speed without compromising fighting ability or protection was the principal challenge of fast battleship design.
While increasing length-to-beam ratio was the most direct method of attaining a higher speed, this meant a bigger ship that was considerably more costly and/or could exceed the naval treaty tonnage limits (where these applied—such as the Washington Naval Treaty
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...
shaping Naval fleet
Naval fleet
A fleet, or naval fleet, is a large formation of warships, and the largest formation in any navy. A fleet at sea is the direct equivalent of an army on land....
composition before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
). It took technological advancements such as propulsion improvements and light high-strength armor plating in order to make fast battleships feasible.
Unlike battlecruiser, which became official Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
usage in 1911, the term fast battleship was essentially an informal one. The warships of the Queen Elizabeth class
Queen Elizabeth class battleship
The Queen Elizabeth-class battleships were a class of five super-dreadnoughts of the Royal Navy. The lead ship was named after Elizabeth I of England...
were collectively termed the Fast Division when operating with the Grand Fleet. Otherwise, fast battleships were not distinguished from conventional battleships in official documentation; nor were they recognized as a distinctive category in contemporary ship lists or treaties. There is no separate code for fast battleships in the US Navy's
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
hull classification system
Hull classification symbol
The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration use hull classification symbols to identify their ship types and each individual ship within each type...
, all battleships, fast or slow, being rated as “BB”.
Origins
Between the origins of the armoured battleship with the French Gloire and the Royal Navy’s WarriorHMS Warrior (1860)
HMS Warrior was the first iron-hulled, armour-plated warship, built for the Royal Navy in response to the first ironclad warship, the French Gloire, launched a year earlier....
at the start of the 1860s, and the genesis of the Royal Navy’s Queen Elizabeth class in 1911, a number of battleship classes appeared which set new standards of speed. The Warrior herself, at over 14 knots (27 km/h) under steam, was the fastest warship of her day as well as the most powerful. Due to the increasing weight of guns and armour, this speed was not exceeded until Monarch
HMS Monarch (1868)
HMS Monarch was the first sea-going warship to carry her guns in turrets, and the first British warship to carry guns of calibre.-Design:...
(1868) achieved 15 knots (29 km/h) under steam. The Italian Italia of 1880 was a radical design, with a speed of 18 knots (35 km/h), heavy guns and no belt armour; this speed was not matched until the 1890s, when higher speeds came to be associated with second-class designs such as the Renown
HMS Renown (1895)
HMS Renown was a predreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy. Third and last of the lightly armed, long-range Centurion class, she had an upgraded design compared to her two sister ships HMS Centurion and HMS Barfleur....
of 1895 (18 knots) and the Swiftsure
HMS Swiftsure (1903)
HMS Swiftsure was the lead ship of the Swiftsure class of British predreadnought battleships.-Technical Characteristics:HMS Swiftsure was ordered by Chile as Constitución and laid down by Armstrong Whitworth at Elswick...
and Triumph
HMS Triumph (1903)
HMS Triumph was a Swiftsure class pre-dreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy.-Technical characteristics:HMS Triumph was ordered by Chile as Libertad, laid down by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness on 26 February 1902, and launched on 12 January 1903...
of 1903 (20 knots). In these late pre-dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought battleship is the general term for all of the types of sea-going battleships built between the mid-1890s and 1905. Pre-dreadnoughts replaced the ironclad warships of the 1870s and 1880s...
designs, the high speed may have been intended to compensate for their lesser staying power, allowing them to evade a more powerful opponent when necessary.
From about 1900, interest in the possibility of a major increase in the speed of Royal Navy battleships was provoked by Sir John (“Jackie”) Fisher, at that time Commander-in-Chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
of the Mediterranean Fleet. Possibly due to Fisher’s pressure, The Senior Officer’s War Course of January 1902 was asked to investigate whether a ship with lighter armour and quick-firing medium guns (6-inch to 10-inch (150 mm – 254 mm) calibre), with a 4 knots (8 km/h) advantage in speed, would obtain any tactical advantage over a conventional battleship. It was concluded that “gun power was more important than speed, provided both sides were determined to fight”; although the faster fleet would be able to choose the range at which it fought, it would be outmatched at any range. It was argued that, provided that the fighting was at long range, an attempt by the faster fleet to obtain a concentration of fire by ”crossing the T”
Crossing the T
Crossing the T or Capping the T is a classic naval warfare tactic attempted from the late 19th to mid 20th century, in which a line of warships crossed in front of a line of enemy ships, allowing the crossing line to bring all their guns to bear while receiving fire from only the forward guns of...
could be frustrated by a turn-away, leading to the slower fleet “turning inside the circle of the faster fleet at a radius proportional to the difference in speed” (Figure 1). War games conducted by the General Board of the US Navy in 1903 and 1904 came to very similar conclusions.
Fisher appears to have been unimpressed by these demonstrations, and continued to press for radical increases in the speed of battleships. His ideas ultimately came to at least partial fruition in the Dreadnought
HMS Dreadnought (1906)
HMS Dreadnought was a battleship of the British Royal Navy that revolutionised naval power. Her entry into service in 1906 represented such a marked advance in naval technology that her name came to be associated with an entire generation of battleships, the "dreadnoughts", as well as the class of...
of 1906; like Warrior before her, Dreadnought was the fastest as well as the most powerful battleship in the world.
The Early Dreadnoughts
Dreadnought was the first major warship powered by turbinesSteam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....
. She also included a number of other features indicating an increased emphasis on speed:
- An improved hull form was developed, with increased length-to-beam ratio.
- The thickness of the main belt was reduced to 11 inches, compared to 12 inches for preceding classes.
- The belt terminated at the upper deck, the usual ‘upper belt’ being deleted
- The forecastle was raised, allowing higher sustained speed in heavy seas.
In the decade following the construction of the Dreadnought, the Royal Navy’s lead in capital ship speed was eroded, as rival navies responded with their own turbine-powered “dreadnoughts”. Meanwhile, in Britain, Fisher continued to press for still higher speeds, but the alarming cost of the new battleships and battlecruisers provoked increasing resistance, both within the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
and from the new Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
Government that took office in 1906. As a result, a number of potentially significant fast battleship designs failed to achieve fruition.
A notable abortive design was the 22,500-tons “X4” design of December 1905. This would have been a true fast battleship by the standards of the time, carrying the same armament and protection as Dreadnought at a speed of 25 knots (49 km/h). In the event, the British lead in dreadnought and battlecruiser construction was deemed to be so great that a further escalation in the size and cost of capital ships could not be justified. The X4 design is often described as a “fusion” of the Dreadnought concept with that of the battlecruiser, and it has been suggested that she “would have rendered the Invincibles
Invincible class battlecruiser
The three Invincible class battlecruisers were built for the Royal Navy and entered service in 1908 as the world's first battlecruisers. They were the brainchild of Admiral Sir John Fisher, the man who had sponsored the construction of the world's first "all big gun" warship,...
obsolete".
Fisher was again rebuffed in 1909 over the first of the 13.5in-gunned “super-dreadnoughts”, the Orion
Orion class battleship
The Orion class battleships were four super-dreadnoughts — the first ships of that type — of the Royal Navy. The lead ship, , was launched in 1910. They were the first Royal Navy dreadnoughts to have all their main guns in the centreline, although the U.S. South Carolina class had this advanced...
class; of the two alternative designs considered, one of 21 knots (41 km/h) and the other of 23 knots (45 km/h), the Board of Admiralty selected the slower and cheaper design. Fisher had his dissent recorded in the board minutes, complaining that “we should not be outclassed in any type of ship”.
The Queen Elizabeth class
In the event, Fisher’s aspirations for faster battleships were not fulfilled until after his retirement in 1910. Following the success of the 13.5 inches (343 mm) gun, the Admiralty decided to develop a 15 inchBL 15 inch /42 naval gun
The BL 15 inch Mark I succeeded the gun. It was the first British 15 inch gun design and the most widely used and longest lasting of any British designs, and arguably the most efficient heavy gun ever developed by the Royal Navy...
gun to equip the battleships of 1912 construction programme. The initial intention was that the new battleships would have the same configuration as the preceding Iron Duke
Iron Duke class battleship
The Iron Duke-class was a group of four dreadnought battleships built for the British Royal Navy before the First World War. The class comprised four ships: , , , and...
class, with five twin turrets and the then-standard speed of 21 knots (41 km/h). However, it was realized that, by dispensing with the amidships turret, it would be possible to free up weight and volume for a much enlarged power plant, and still fire a heavier broadside than the Iron Duke.
Although War College studies had earlier rejected the concept of a fast, light battlefleet (see Origins and Figure 1, above), they were now supportive of the concept of a Fast Division of 25 knots (49 km/h) or more, operating in conjunction with a conventional heavy battleline, which could use its advantage in speed to envelop the head of the enemy line (Figure 2). Compared to Fisher’s idea of speeding up the entire battlefleet, the advantages of this concept were that there would be no need to compromise the fighting power of the main fleet, and that it would be possible to retain the use of the existing (and still brand-new) 21-knot ships. Up to this time, it had been assumed that the role of a Fast Division could be fulfilled by the battlecruisers, of which there were at that time ten completed or on order. However, it was realized that there were now two problems with this assumption. The first was the likelihood that the battlecruisers would be fully committed in countering the growing and very capable German battlecruiser force. The second was that, as the then First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, put it, our beautiful “Cats” had thin skins compared to the enemy’s strongest battleships. It is a rough game to pit … seven or nine inches of armour against twelve or thirteen”.
The new battleships would, in fact, be the most heavily armoured dreadnoughts in the fleet. The original 1912 programme envisaged three battleships and a battlecruiser. However, given the speed of the new ships, it was decided that a new battlecruiser would not be needed. In the event, five ships were built, the extra unit, Malaya, being funded by the Federated Malay States
Federated Malay States
The Federated Malay States was a federation of four protected states in the Malay Peninsula—Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang—established by the British government in 1895, which lasted until 1946, when they, together with the Straits Settlements and the Unfederated Malay...
. The battleship design for the following year’s programme, which became the Revenge
Revenge class battleship
The Revenge class battleships were five battleships of the Royal Navy, ordered as World War I loomed on the horizon, and launched in 1914–1916...
class, also had 15 inches (381 mm) guns, but reverted to the 21 knots (41 km/h) speed of the main battlefleet. Again, no battlecruiser was included, a decision which suggests that the fast battleships were perceived at that time as superseding the battlecruiser concept.
Combat Experience at the Battle of Jutland
When the fast battleship concept was put to the test at the Battle of JutlandBattle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
, the Queen Elizabeths had been temporarily attached to Vice-Admiral Beatty’s
David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty
Admiral of the Fleet David Richard Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty, GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO was an admiral in the Royal Navy...
Battlecruiser Fleet at Rosyth
Rosyth
Rosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 12,790....
(this was to release the Invincible class battlecruisers of the Third Battlecruiser Squadron for gunnery practice at Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow
right|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about...
). The Queen Elizabeths proved an outstanding success, firing with great rapidity, accuracy and effect, while surviving large numbers of hits from German 28.4 cm (11-inch) and 30.5 cm (12-inch) shells, and successfully evading the main German battlefleet during the so-called run to the North. In the fighting, Warspite
HMS Warspite (1913)
HMS Warspite was a Queen Elizabeth-class battleship of the British Royal Navy. During World War II Warspite gained the nickname "The Grand Old Lady" after a comment made by Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham in 1943....
was severely damaged, suffered a steering failure and was obliged to withdraw, while Malaya suffered a serious cordite fire which nearly caused her loss. However, both ships returned safely to port. This was in notable contrast to the performance of the battlecruisers, of which three (out of nine present) were destroyed by magazine explosions after a relatively small number of hits.
When the main body of the Grand Fleet came into action, the Queen Elizabeths were unable to reach their intended station ahead of the battleline, and instead joined the rear of the line, seeing little further action. Meanwhile, the six surviving battlecruisers assumed the “Fast Division” role, operating ahead of the battleline with some success, exploiting their advantage of speed to damage the head of the German line with virtual impunity.
Jutland was a crippling blow to the reputation of the existing battlecruisers. However, it also reinforced the views of the commander-in-chief, Sir John Jellicoe
John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe
Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, GCB, OM, GCVO was a British Royal Navy admiral who commanded the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland in World War I...
, that the Queen Elizabeths were too slow to operate with the Battlecruiser Fleet on a permanent basis. Based on combat reports, Jellicoe credited the German König class battleships
König class battleship
The König class was a group of four battleships built for the German Kaiserliche Marine on the eve of World War I. The class was composed of , , , and . The most powerful warships of the German High Seas Fleet at the outbreak of war in 1914, the class operated as a unit throughout World War...
with 23 knots (45 km/h), which would mean that Queen Elizabeths, which were good for just 24 knots (47 km/h), would be in serious danger if they were surprised by a battlefleet headed by these ships.
The Admiral Class
Even before Jutland, Jellicoe and Beatty had expressed concern at the lack of new construction for the Battlecruiser Fleet, and the inadequacy of the ships already provided. Early in 1916, they had rejected proposals for a new fast battleship design, similar to the Queen Elizabeth but with reduced draught, pointing out that, with the five new Revenge class nearing completion, the fleet already had a sufficient margin of superiority in battleships, whereas the absence of battlecruisers from the 1912 and 1913 programmes had left Beatty’s force with no reply to the new 30.5 cm (12-inch) –gunned German battlecruisers. Jellicoe had believed that the Germans intended to build still more powerful ships, with speeds of up to 29 knots (57 km/h), and hence had called for 30 knots (59 km/h) ships to fight them. Although two new battlecruisers (HMS RenownHMS Renown (1916)
HMS Renown was the lead ship of her class of battlecruisers of the Royal Navy built during the First World War. She was originally laid down as an improved version of the s. Her construction was suspended on the outbreak of war on the grounds she would not be ready in a timely manner...
and Repulse
HMS Repulse (1916)
HMS Repulse was a Renown-class battlecruiser of the Royal Navy built during the First World War. She was originally laid down as an improved version of the s. Her construction was suspended on the outbreak of war on the grounds she would not be ready in a timely manner...
) had been ordered in 1914, and were being constructed remarkably quickly, Jellicoe had argued that, although their speed was adequate, their armour protection (dramatically reduced at Fisher’s insistence) was insufficient.
The 1915 design had therefore been recast as a 36,000 ton battlecruiser with 8 15 inches (381 mm) guns, and a speed of 32 knots (63 km/h). The main belt was only 8 inches thick, sloped outwards to give the same protection as a vertical 9-inch belt. A class of four ships had been authorised, the first being laid down on 31 May – the day that Jutland was fought.
The losses at Jutland led to a reappraisal of the design. As noted above, the British were now convinced that their fast battleships were battleworthy but too slow, and their battlecruisers - even the largest - unfit for sustained battle. As a result, the new ships were radically redesigned in order to achieve the survivability of the Queen Elizabeths while still meeting the requirement for 32 knots (63 km/h) battlecruisers, although this reworking was flawed. The resulting ships would be the Admiral class battlecruiser
Admiral class battlecruiser
The Admiral-class battlecruisers were a class of four British Royal Navy battlecruisers designed near the end of World War I. Their design began as a improved version of the s, but it was recast as a battlecruiser after Admiral John Jellicoe, commander of the Grand Fleet, pointed out that there was...
s; at 42,000 tons by far the largest warships in the world. In 1917 construction was slowed down, to release resources for the construction of anti-submarine vessels; when it became clear that the threatened new German battlecruisers would not be completed, the last three were suspended and ultimately canceled, leaving only the lead ship to complete as the famous HMS Hood.
Although the Royal Navy always designated Hood as a battlecruiser, some modern writers such as Anthony Preston
Anthony Preston (naval historian)
Antony Preston was an English naval historian and editor, specialising in the area of 19th and 20th-century naval history and warship design.-Life:...
have characterised her as a fast battleship, as she theoretically had the protection of the Queen Elizabeths while being significantly faster. On the other hand, the British were well aware of the protection flaws remaining despite her revised design, so she was intended for the duties of a battlecruiser and served in the battlecruiser squadrons throughout her career. Moreover, the scale of her protection, though adequate for the Jutland era, was at best marginal against the new generation of 16 inches (406 mm) gunned capital ships that emerged soon after her completion in 1920, typified by the US Colorado class
Colorado class battleship
The Colorado class battleships was a group of four battleships built by the United States Navy after World War I. However, only three of the ships were completed: , , and . The fourth, , was over 75% completed when she was canceled under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty in 1922...
and the Japanese Nagato class
Nagato class battleship
The were two battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The name Nagato comes from the Nagato province. They were the first battleships to be built entirely in Japan...
.
Other designs, 1912-1923
During the First World War, the Royal Navy was unique in operating both a Fast Division of purpose-built battleships and a separate force of battlecruisers. However, the period 1912-1923 period saw a series of advances in marine engineering which would eventually lead to a dramatic increase in the speeds specified for new battleship designs, a process terminated only by the advent of the Washington Naval TreatyWashington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...
. These advances included:
- small-tube boilers, allowing more efficient transfer of heat from boiler to propulsive steam;
- increases in steam pressure;
- reduction gearing, which allowed propellers to rotate at a slower, and more efficient, speed than the turbines that powered them;
By the early 1920s, the wealth of the USA and the ambition of Japan (the two Great Powers least ravaged by World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
) were forcing the pace of capital ship design. The Nagato
Japanese battleship Nagato
Nagato was a battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy; the lead ship of her class. She was the first battleship in the world to mount 16 inch guns, her armour protection and speed made her one of the most powerful capital ships at the time of her commissioning.She was the flagship of Admiral...
class set a new standard for fast battleships, with 16 inches (406 mm) guns and a speed of 26.5 knots (51.9 km/h). The Japanese appear to have shared Fisher’s aspiration for a progressive increase in the speed of the whole battlefleet, influenced partly by their success at outmanoeuvring the Russian fleet at Tsushima
Battle of Tsushima
The Battle of Tsushima , commonly known as the “Sea of Japan Naval Battle” in Japan and the “Battle of Tsushima Strait”, was the major naval battle fought between Russia and Japan during the Russo-Japanese War...
, and partly by the need to retain the tactical initiative against potentially larger hostile fleets. The immediate influence of the Nagatos was limited by the fact that the Japanese kept their actual speed a closely guarded secret, admitting to only 23 knots (45 km/h). As a result, the US Navy, which had hitherto adhered steadily to a 21 knots (41 km/h) battlefleet, settled for a modest increase to 23 knots (45 km/h) in the abortive South Dakota class
South Dakota class battleship (1920)
The first South Dakota class was a class of six battleships, laid down in 1920 but never completed. These battleships would have been the last dreadnoughts to be commissioned, if the Washington Naval Treaty not caused their cancellation one-third of the way through their construction, they would...
of 1920.
The Japanese planned to follow up the Nagatos with the Kii class, (ten 16 inches (406 mm) guns, 29.75 knots, 39,900 tons) described as "fast capital ships" and, according to Conway’s, representing a fusion of the battlecruiser and battleship types. Meanwhile, the Royal Navy, alarmed at the rapid erosion of its pre-eminence in capital ships, was developing even more radical designs; the 18 inches (457 mm) gunned N3 battleship and the 32 knots (63 km/h), 16 inches (406 mm) gunned G3 class
G3 battlecruiser
The G3 battlecruisers were a class of battlecruisers planned by the Royal Navy after the end of World War I in response to naval expansion programs by the United States and Japan. The four ships of this class would have been larger, faster and more heavily-armed than any existing battleship...
both of some 48,000 tons. Officially described as battlecruisers, the G3s were far better protected than any previous British capital ship, and have generally been regarded, like the Kiis, as true fast battleships. The G3s were given priority over the N3s, showing that they were considered fit for the line of battle, and orders were actually placed. However, both the British and the Japanese governments baulked at the monstrous cost of their respective programmes, and ultimately were forced to accede to US proposals for an arms limitation conference
Washington Naval Conference
The Washington Naval Conference also called the Washington Arms Conference, was a military conference called by President Warren G. Harding and held in Washington from 12 November 1921 to 6 February 1922. Conducted outside the auspices of the League of Nations, it was attended by nine nations...
; this convened at Washington DC in 1921, and resulted in the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...
. This treaty saw the demise of the giant fast battleship designs, although the British used a scaled-down version of the G3 design to build two new battleships permitted under the treaty; the resulting Nelson class vessels were completed with the modest speed of 23 knots (45 km/h).
The Washington Treaty Era
The signatories of the Washington Treaty were the USA, UK, Japan, France and Italy; at that time the only nations in the world with significant battlefleets. As a result, the terms of the Washington Treaty, and the subsequent treaties of London 1930London Naval Treaty
The London Naval Treaty was an agreement between the United Kingdom, the Empire of Japan, France, Italy and the United States, signed on April 22, 1930, which regulated submarine warfare and limited naval shipbuilding. Ratifications were exchanged in London on October 27, 1930, and the treaty went...
and London 1936
Second London Naval Treaty
The Second London Naval Disarmament Conference opened in London, the United Kingdom, on 9 December 1935. It resulted in the Second London Naval Treaty which was signed on 25 March 1936.- Description :...
had a decisive effect on the future of capital ship design.
The treaties extended the definition of capital ship
Capital ship
The capital ships of a navy are its most important warships; they generally possess the heaviest firepower and armor and are traditionally much larger than other naval vessels...
to cover all warships exceeding 10,000 tons standard displacement or carrying guns exceeding 8-inch calibre; imposed limits on the total tonnage of capital ships allowed to each signatory; and fixed an upper limit of 35,000 tons standard displacement for all future construction. These restrictions effectively signaled the end of the battlecruiser as a distinct category of warship, since any future big-gun cruiser would count against the capital ship tonnage allowance. It also greatly complicated the problem of fast battleship design, since the 35,000 ton limit closed off the most direct route to higher speed, as the increasing length-to-beam ratio would have meant a bigger ship.
Evidence of continued interest in high-speed capital ships is given by the fact that, although the signatories of the treaties were allowed to build 16 inches (406 mm) gunned ships as their existing tonnage became due for replacement, most of them passed up the opportunity to do so, preferring instead lighter-armed but faster ships. A British Admiralty paper of 1935 concludes that a balanced design with 16 inches (406 mm) guns would not be possible within the 35,000 ton limit, since it would be either insufficiently armoured or too slow; it is clear that by this date the 23 knots (45 km/h) speed of the Nelsons was considered insufficient. The recommended design (never built) was one with nine 15 inches (381 mm) guns and speed “not less than 29 knots (57 km/h)”.
The 15 inches (381 mm) gunned Littorio
Littorio class battleship
The Littorio class, also known as the Vittorio Veneto class,Vittorio Veneto and Littorio were laid down on the same date, so ambiguity exists in the naming of the class. was a class of battleship of the Regia Marina, the Italian navy. The class was composed of four ships: Littorio, Vittorio Veneto,...
and Richelieu
Richelieu class battleship
The Richelieu class battleships were the last and largest battleships of the French Navy, staying in service into the 1960s. They still remain to this day the largest warships ever built by France...
classes, built in the 1930s by Italy and France respectively, reflect similar priorities to the British.
Four capital ships of the treaty era were built to displacements appreciably less than the 35,000 limit; the French Dunkerque
French battleship Dunkerque
The Dunkerque was the first unit of a new class of warships of the French Navy built in the 1930s, officially rated as battleships, or even «navires de ligne» , as Dunkerque and Strasbourg constituted, from the commissionig of Strasbourg to some days after Mers-el Kebir, the «1ère Division de Ligne»...
and Strasbourg
French battleship Strasbourg
The Strasbourg was a more heavily armoured Dunkerque-class battleship of the French Navy, labeled as a "fast battleship". Faster than full battleships, but not as heavily armed or armoured as them, they were designed to counter the threat of the German "pocket battleships" - the Deutschland-class...
, and the German Scharnhorst
German battleship Scharnhorst
Scharnhorst was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of the German Kriegsmarine. She was the lead ship of her class, which included one other ship, Gneisenau. The ship was built at the Kriegsmarinewerft dockyard in Wilhelmshaven; she was laid down on 15...
and Gneisenau
German battleship Gneisenau
Gneisenau was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of the German Kriegsmarine. She was the second vessel of her class, which included one other ship, Scharnhorst. The ship was built at the Deutsche Werke dockyard in Kiel; she was laid down on 6 May 1935...
. The Dunkerque class
Dunkerque class battleship
The Dunkerque class was a new type of warship of the French Navy built during the 1930s, labeled as 'fast battleships'. Not as large as other contemporary battleships, they were designed to counter the threat of the German pocket battleships of the Deutschland class. They had a specific main...
was built in response to the German Panzerschiff (or “pocket battleship”) Deutschland
Deutschland class cruiser
The Deutschland class was a series of three panzerschiffe , a form of heavily armed cruiser, built by the Reichsmarine officially in accordance with restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles...
. The Panzerschiffe were, in effect, a revival of the late 19th century concept of the commerce-raiding armoured cruiser; long-ranged, heavily armed, and fast enough to evade a conventional capital ship. Likewise, the Dunkerque, can be regarded as a revival of the armoured cruiser’s nemesis, the battlecruiser. With 29 knots (57 km/h) speed and 330 mm (13 inch) guns, she could operate independently of the fleet, relying on her speed to avoid confrontation with a more powerful adversary, and could easily overtake and overwhelm a Panzerschiff, just as Sturdee’s
Doveton Sturdee
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Frederick Charles Doveton Sturdee, 1st Baronet, GCB, KCMG, CVO was a British admiral.-Naval career:...
battlecruisers had done to von Spee’s
Maximilian von Spee
Vice Admiral Maximilian Reichsgraf von Spee was a German admiral. Although he was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, the counts von Spee belonged to the prominent families of the Rhenish nobility. He joined the Kaiserliche Marine in 1878. In 1887–88 he commanded the Kamerun ports, in German West...
cruisers at the Falkland Islands
Battle of the Falkland Islands
The Battle of the Falkland Islands was a British naval victory over the Imperial German Navy on 8 December 1914 during the First World War in the South Atlantic...
in 1914. On the other hand, as a member of the line of battle, alongside the elderly and slow dreadnoughts that made up the rest of the French battlefleet, the design would make no sense, since her speed would lose its value and neither her armament nor her protection would be at all effective against a modern 16 inches (406 mm) gunned battleship such as Nelson.
The Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were Germany’s response to the Dunkerques. They were an attempt to redress the inadequacies of the Panzerschiff design in speed, survivability and powerplant (the diesel engine
Diesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
s of the Panzerschiffe were unreliable and produced severe vibration at high speed), and used much material assembled for the Panzerschiffe programme (most significantly, the six triple 11 inches (279 mm) gun mountings originally intended for Panzerschiffe D to F). Although much larger than the Dunkerques, the Gneisenaus were also not intended for the line of battle; apart from their insufficient armament, set-piece battles against the vastly more numerous Allied battlefleets had no place in Germany’s strategic requirements. Instead, the two German ships relied throughout their career on their superlative speed (over 32 knots) to evade the attentions of Allied capital ships.
The treaties also allowed the reconstruction of surviving battleships from the First World War, including up to 3,000 tons additional protection against torpedoes, high-altitude bombing and long-range gunnery. In the late 1930s, the Italian and Japanese navies opted for extremely radical reconstructions: in addition to replacing the powerplant in their existing ships, they lengthened the ships by adding extra sections amidships or aft. This had a double benefit; the extra space allowed the size of the powerplant to be increased, while the extra length improved the speed/length ratio and so reduced the resistance of the hull. As a result, both navies realised significant increases in speed; for example the Japanese Ise class
Ise class battleship
Originally intended as sister ships of the preceding Fusō class, the of the Imperial Japanese Navy were considered sufficiently different to warrant separate classification....
was increased from 23 to 25 knots (49 km/h), and the Italian Cavour
Conte di Cavour class battleship
The Conte di Cavour class was a battleship class of the Regia Marina in World War I and World War II.-Design:This class was the second group of dreadnoughts in the Regia Marina. The ships were designed by Admiral Edoardo Masdea....
class from 21 knots (41 km/h) to 27 knots (53 km/h). France, the UK and the US took a less radical approach, rebuilding their ships within their original hulls; boilers were converted to oil-firing or replaced, as were the engines in some cases, but increases in the output of the powerplant were generally canceled out by increases in the weight of armour, anti-aircraft armament and other equipments.
The exception to the European battleship trend was Japan, which refused to sign the Second London Treaty. It rather uncharacteristically settled for a moderate speed of 27 knots (53 km/h), for the sake of heroic level of protection and firepower in the 18.1 inches (460 mm) gunned 64,000 ton displacement Yamato
Yamato class battleship
The were battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy constructed and operated during World War II. Displacing at full load, the vessels were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed. The class carried the largest naval artillery ever fitted to a warship, nine naval...
class.
After much debate, the US settled on two 35,000 ton classes, also with a speed of 27 knots (53 km/h), in the North Carolina
North Carolina class battleship
The North Carolina class was a group of two fast battleships, North Carolina and Washington, built for the United States Navy in the late 1930s and early 1940s...
and South Dakota
South Dakota class battleship (1939)
The South Dakota-class was a group of four fast battleships built by the United States Navy. They were the second class of battleships to be named after the 40th State; the first class was designed in the 1920s and canceled under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. The class comprised four...
classes. Due to treaty restrictions, firepower and protection were emphasized first, although both did manage respectable speed increases compared to their WWI contemporaries to be able to operate as carrier escorts. The US signed the Second London Treaty but was quick to invoke an “escalator clause” to up the main battleship caliber from 14 inches (356 mm) to 16 inches (406 mm) as Italy and Japan refused to adopt it. This made the North Carolina
North Carolina class battleship
The North Carolina class was a group of two fast battleships, North Carolina and Washington, built for the United States Navy in the late 1930s and early 1940s...
a somewhat unbalanced ship, being designed to resist shells from the 14 inches (356 mm) guns that it was originally intended to carry, but being up-gunned during construction. The South Dakota rectified this with protection proof against 16 inches (406 mm) guns. In order to counter the increase in armor weight and stay within tonnage limits, the South Dakota class had to go with a shorter hull to reduce the length of the required protected area, compensating by installing more powerful machinery than the North Carolinas, and this made the ships somewhat cramped. The US also used the treaty's “escalator clause” to order the 45,000 ton, 33 knots (65 km/h) Iowa class
Iowa class battleship
The Iowa-class battleships were a class of fast battleships ordered by the United States Navy in 1939 and 1940 to escort the Fast Carrier Task Forces which would operate in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Six were ordered during the course of World War II, but only four were completed in...
after Japan's withdrawal from the treaty. Being free of treaty limitations, the Iowa class had new 16 inches (406 mm) guns with a greater maximum range, and it had even more powerful engines and a lengthened hull for a significantly faster speed over the North Carolinas and South Dakotas.
World War II Designs
In 1938 the USA, Britain and France agreed to invoke the above-mentioned escalator clause of the Second London Treaty, allowing them to build up to 45,000 tons standard. By this time, all three allied nations were already committed to new 35,000-ton designs: the US North Carolinas (two ships) and South Dakotas (four), the British King George VKing George V class battleship (1939)
The King George V-class battleships were the most modern British battleships used during World War II. Five ships of this class were built and commissioned: King George V , Prince of Wales , Duke of York , Howe , and Anson .The Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 limiting all of the number,...
class (five ships) and the French Richelieus (two completed out of four planned, the last of the class, Gascogne, to a greatly modified design).
The UK and US laid down follow-on classes, designed to the new 45,000 ton standard, in 1939 and 1940 respectively. The US succeeded in completing four of the intended six Iowas, but the British Lion class
Lion class battleship
The Lion class battleships were a class of six fast battleships designed for the Royal Navy in the late 1930s. They were a larger, improved version of the King George V class with guns. Only two ships were laid down before World War II began in September 1939 and a third was ordered during the...
would prove abortive; two of the planned four units were laid down, in the summer of 1939, but neither was completed. They would have embarked 9 16 inches (406 mm) guns and, at 29 to 30 knots (58.8 km/h), would have been significantly faster than the King George V class. The UK did complete one final battleship to an “emergency” design, the Vanguard
HMS Vanguard (23)
HMS Vanguard was a British fast battleship built during World War II and commissioned after the end of the war. She was the only ship of her class and was the biggest, fastest and last of the Royal Navy's dreadnoughts, and the final battleship to be launched in the world...
, built around the 15 inches (381 mm) gun mountings removed from the cruisers Courageous
HMS Courageous (50)
HMS Courageous was the lead ship of the cruisers built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. Designed to support the Baltic Project championed by the First Sea Lord, John Fisher, the ship was very lightly armoured and armed with only a few heavy guns. Courageous was completed in late...
and Glorious
HMS Glorious (77)
HMS Glorious was the second of the cruisers built for the British Royal Navy during the First World War. Designed to support the Baltic Project championed by the First Sea Lord, Lord Fisher, they were very lightly armoured and armed with only a few heavy guns. Glorious was completed in late 1916...
after their conversion to aircraft carriers. Completed in 1946, she was similar in speed to the Lions.
The last two US capital ship designs were the first since 1922 to be entirely free of treaty constraints, and were sharply contrasted. The huge Montana class
Montana class battleship
The Montana-class battleships of the United States Navy were planned as successors to the , being slower but larger, better armored, and having superior firepower...
battleships represent a return to “normal American practice” in battleship design, with massive protection, heavy firepower, and moderate speed (27 knots). At 60,500 tons standard, they approached the size of the Yamatos, which they resembled in concept. Four of these ships were ordered, but they were ill-suited to the needs of fast carrier task force operations, and none were laid down. The Alaska class
Alaska class cruiser
The Alaska-class cruisers were a class of six very large cruisers ordered prior to World War II for the United States Navy. Although often called battlecruisers, officially the Navy classed them as Large Cruisers . Their intermediate status is reflected in their names relative to typical U.S....
(six ordered, of which two were completed) were very fast, with 12 inches (305 mm) guns and corresponding armour: they were rated as “large cruisers”, and given the unique CB designation. Similar to the Dunkerques, though faster, they were intended to counter Japan’s large force of fast and powerful cruisers. As such, they correspond more closely than any other ship of their era to Fisher’s original concept of the battlecruiser.
Summary of "fast battleship" classes
The following classes of warship have been considered to be fast battleships, in accordance with the definition used in this article and/or with contemporary usage. The list includes all new construction of the 1930s and 1940s, along with some reconstructions; this reflects the fact that, while not all of these ships were notably fast by contemporary standards of new construction, they were all much faster that the considerable number of capital ships built in the pre-Treaty era and still in service at that time. All speeds are design speeds, sourced from Conway’s; these speeds were often exceeded on trial, though rarely in service.Royal Navy
- Queen Elizabeth classQueen Elizabeth class battleshipThe Queen Elizabeth-class battleships were a class of five super-dreadnoughts of the Royal Navy. The lead ship was named after Elizabeth I of England...
(25 knots): the prototype fast battleship class - King George V classKing George V class battleship (1939)The King George V-class battleships were the most modern British battleships used during World War II. Five ships of this class were built and commissioned: King George V , Prince of Wales , Duke of York , Howe , and Anson .The Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 limiting all of the number,...
(28 knots) - VanguardHMS Vanguard (23)HMS Vanguard was a British fast battleship built during World War II and commissioned after the end of the war. She was the only ship of her class and was the biggest, fastest and last of the Royal Navy's dreadnoughts, and the final battleship to be launched in the world...
(30 knots)
United States Navy
- North Carolina classNorth Carolina class battleshipThe North Carolina class was a group of two fast battleships, North Carolina and Washington, built for the United States Navy in the late 1930s and early 1940s...
(28 knots) - South Dakota class (1939)South Dakota class battleship (1939)The South Dakota-class was a group of four fast battleships built by the United States Navy. They were the second class of battleships to be named after the 40th State; the first class was designed in the 1920s and canceled under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. The class comprised four...
(27.5 knots) - Iowa classIowa class battleshipThe Iowa-class battleships were a class of fast battleships ordered by the United States Navy in 1939 and 1940 to escort the Fast Carrier Task Forces which would operate in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Six were ordered during the course of World War II, but only four were completed in...
(32.5 knots)
Imperial Japanese Navy (Dai-Nippon Teikoku Kaigun)
- Kongo classKongo class battlecruiserThe were a class of ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy constructed immediately before World War I. Designed by British naval architect George Thurston, the lead ship of the class was the last Japanese capital ship constructed outside of Japan. Displacing upon completion, the vessels of this...
– as reconstructed (30.5 knots). Originally classified as battlecruisers, these ships were reclassified as battleships after their first reconstruction in 1929-1931. Even after a second reconstruction in the late 1930s, they remained relatively weak in armament and protection by Second World War standards. - Nagato classJapanese battleship NagatoNagato was a battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy; the lead ship of her class. She was the first battleship in the world to mount 16 inch guns, her armour protection and speed made her one of the most powerful capital ships at the time of her commissioning.She was the flagship of Admiral...
– as completed (26.5 knots). Unusually for a Japanese design, the speed was reduced to 25 knots (49 km/h) when the class was reconstructed in 1934-36. - Yamato classYamato class battleshipThe were battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy constructed and operated during World War II. Displacing at full load, the vessels were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed. The class carried the largest naval artillery ever fitted to a warship, nine naval...
(27 knots)
German Navy (Kriegsmarine)
- Scharnhorst classScharnhorst class battleshipThe Scharnhorst class were the first capital ships, alternatively referred to as battlecruisers or battleships, built for the German Navy after World War I. The class comprised two vessels: the lead ship Scharnhorst and Gneisenau...
(also known as the Gneisenau class) (32 knots). These ships were officially designated kleine Schlachtschiffe ("small battleships"). The contemporary Royal Navy termed them "battlecruisers", on the basis of their exceptionally high speed and weak armament. - Bismarck classBismarck class battleshipThe Bismarck class was a pair of battleships built by the German Kriegsmarine shortly before the outbreak of World War II. The ships were the largest warships built by the German Navy and the heaviest capital ships ever completed in Europe...
(30.8 knots)
French Navy (Marine Nationale)
- Dunkerque classDunkerque class battleshipThe Dunkerque class was a new type of warship of the French Navy built during the 1930s, labeled as 'fast battleships'. Not as large as other contemporary battleships, they were designed to counter the threat of the German pocket battleships of the Deutschland class. They had a specific main...
(29.5 knots). As with the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, the contemporary Royal Navy termed these ships "battlecruisers". Some modern French-language sources also characterise these ships as battlecruisers (croiseurs de bataille) rather than battleships (cuirassés or bâtiments de ligne). - Richelieu classRichelieu class battleshipThe Richelieu class battleships were the last and largest battleships of the French Navy, staying in service into the 1960s. They still remain to this day the largest warships ever built by France...
(30 knots)
Italian navy (Regia Marina)
- Conte di Cavour classConte di Cavour class battleshipThe Conte di Cavour class was a battleship class of the Regia Marina in World War I and World War II.-Design:This class was the second group of dreadnoughts in the Regia Marina. The ships were designed by Admiral Edoardo Masdea....
– as reconstructed, 1933-1937 (27 knots) - Andrea Doria classAndrea Doria class battleshipThe Andrea Doria class was a class of dreadnought battleships of the Regia Marina . Only two were built, in the La Spezia and Castellammare shipyards, in Italy, between 1912 and 1915....
– as reconstructed, 1937-1940 (26 knots) - Vittorio Veneto class (30 knots).
Other fast capital ships
In addition to the classes listed above, there are a number of other designs that can be regarded as "fast capital ships", on the basis of their speed and big-gun armament (11-in (about 28 cm) or greater), but were not designated as battleships in contemporary usage.Royal Navy
- Invincible classInvincible class battlecruiserThe three Invincible class battlecruisers were built for the Royal Navy and entered service in 1908 as the world's first battlecruisers. They were the brainchild of Admiral Sir John Fisher, the man who had sponsored the construction of the world's first "all big gun" warship,...
, Indefatigable classIndefatigable class battlecruiserThe Indefatigable class were the second class built of British battlecruisersThe Indefatigable-class ships were formally known as armoured cruisers until 1911 when they were redesignated as battlecruisers by an Admiralty order of 24 November 1911. Unofficially a number of designations were used...
, Lion classLion class battlecruiserThe Lion class were a class of battlecruisers built by the British Royal Navy before World War I. Nicknamed the "Splendid Cats", the ships were a significant improvement over their predecessors of the in terms of speed, armament and armour...
, HMS Queen MaryHMS Queen MaryHMS Queen Mary was a battlecruiser built by the British Royal Navy before World War I, the sole member of her class. She was similar to the s, though she differed in details from her half-sisters. She was the last battlecruiser completed before the war and participated in the Battle of Heligoland...
, HMS TigerHMS Tiger (1913)The 11th HMS Tiger was a battlecruiser of the Royal Navy, built by John Brown and Company, Clydebank, Scotland, and launched in 1913. Tiger was the most heavily armoured battlecruiser of the Royal Navy at the start of the First World War although she was still being finished when the war began...
, Renown classRenown class battlecruiserThe Renown class consisted of a pair of battlecruisers built during the First World War for the Royal Navy. They were originally laid down as improved versions of the s. Their construction was suspended on the outbreak of war on the grounds they would not be ready in a timely manner...
and HoodHMS Hood (51)HMS Hood was the last battlecruiser built for the Royal Navy. One of four s ordered in mid-1916, her design—although drastically revised after the Battle of Jutland and improved while she was under construction—still had serious limitations. For this reason she was the only ship of her class to be...
: all battlecruisers. Although HMS Hood was characterised by the Royal Navy as a battlecruiser throughout her lifetime, some modern authorities characterise her as a fast battleship. - CourageousHMS Courageous (50)HMS Courageous was the lead ship of the cruisers built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. Designed to support the Baltic Project championed by the First Sea Lord, John Fisher, the ship was very lightly armoured and armed with only a few heavy guns. Courageous was completed in late...
, GloriousHMS Glorious (77)HMS Glorious was the second of the cruisers built for the British Royal Navy during the First World War. Designed to support the Baltic Project championed by the First Sea Lord, Lord Fisher, they were very lightly armoured and armed with only a few heavy guns. Glorious was completed in late 1916...
and FuriousHMS Furious (47)HMS Furious was a modified cruiser built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. Designed to support the Baltic Project championed by the First Sea Lord of the Admiralty, Lord John Fisher, they were very lightly armoured and armed with only a few heavy guns. Furious was modified while...
: “large light cruisers” a small number of battleship-calibre guns but very light armour.
United States Navy
- Alaska classAlaska class cruiserThe Alaska-class cruisers were a class of six very large cruisers ordered prior to World War II for the United States Navy. Although often called battlecruisers, officially the Navy classed them as Large Cruisers . Their intermediate status is reflected in their names relative to typical U.S....
“large cruisers” (CB): designed to outmatch Japan's large force of 8 inches (203 mm) gunned cruisers. In concept, size and intended role, they were comparable to First World War battlecruisers.
German Navy
- SMS Von der TannSMS Von der TannSMS Von der Tann"SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" in German. was the first battlecruiser built for the German Kaiserliche Marine, as well as Germany's first major turbine-powered warship. At the time of her construction, Von der Tann was the fastest dreadnought-type...
, Moltke classMoltke class battlecruiserThe Moltke class was a class of two "all-big-gun" battlecruisersThe German navy classified the ships as Großen Kreuzer . These ships differed from older Großen Kreuzer, such as the Roon class, in that they carried a uniform main battery, instead of four large guns and a mixed array of smaller weapons...
, SMS SeydlitzSMS SeydlitzSMS Seydlitz"SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" in German. was a 25,000-metric ton battlecruiserAdmiral Alfred von Tirpitz referred to the ship as a large cruiser in his annual budgets in an attempt to reduce opposition from the Reichstag; the ship was not referred...
, Derfflinger classDerfflinger class battlecruiserThe Derfflinger class was a class of three battlecruisers of the German Imperial Navy. The ships were ordered for the 1912 to 1913 Naval Building Program of the German Imperial Navy as a reply to the Royal Navy's three new s that had been launched a few years earlier...
: all battlecruisers, but much more heavily armoured than was common for the period. - Deutschland classDeutschland class cruiserThe Deutschland class was a series of three panzerschiffe , a form of heavily armed cruiser, built by the Reichsmarine officially in accordance with restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles...
: popularly known in the English-speaking world as “pocket battleships”, these ships were originally designated Panzerschiffe (“armoured ships”); they were re-rated as schwere Kreuzer (“heavy cruisers”) in 1940.