O class battlecruiser

The O Class battlecruisers was a group of three of the Kreuzer P Class panzerschiff that were modified to receive a 38cm main battery instead of the 28cm guns of their half-sisterships. As a development of the Kreuzer P class ships, they were intended as a replacement for the famous "Admiral Graf Spee", "Admiral Scheer" and "Lützow". The ships were part of the Plan Z fleet. The design studies for the three battlecruisers of the O-class were simultaneous started to those of the new Panzerschiff design (Kreuzer P) in 1937.

In 1939 it was decided to replace three of the "Deutschland" class with the same number of these new battlecruisers. Construction orders were given to Deutsche Werke, Kiel, the Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven and the Germaniawerft in Kiel in the same year, but none of the ships were started.

Those ships were planned with the idea of commerce war in mind. Therefore, they should get a mixed propulsion system, diesel engines for long range medium speed cruises and additional turbines for high speed combat action. The main task for this kind of battlecruisers was to engage enemy convoys and destroy transports and cargo ships.

Schlachtkreuzer O
*Laid down: Deutsche Werke Kiel (projected) Schlachtkreuzer P
*Laid down: Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven (projected) Schlachtkreuzer Q
*Laid down: Germaniawerft Kiel (projected)

ee also

*Plan Z