The , the navy of the German Empire, built a series of battlecruisers in the first half of the 20th century. The battlecruiser type was an outgrowth of older armored cruiser designs; they were intended to scout for the main battle fleet and attack the reconnaissance forces of opposing fleets. Kaiser Wilhelm II insisted that the new battlecruisers be able to fight in the line of battle with battleships to counter Germany's numerical inferiority compared to the British Royal Navy.

was the first German battlecruiser, built in 1908–1910. The eventually built four more battlecruisers before the start of the First World War to serve with the High Seas Fleet, and another two were completed during the conflict. A further seven were planned, including four of the and three of the ships. Two of the s—the name ship and —were launched but never completed, and the other two were in earlier stages of work when they were canceled towards the end of the war. Serious work never began on the three -class ships.

Six of the seven battlecruisers completed before or during World War I saw relatively heavy combat, primarily in the North Sea. All of the ships, with the exception of , which had been assigned to the German Mediterranean Division, were assigned to the I Scouting Group under the command of Admiral Franz von Hipper. The unit conducted several raids of the English coast between 1914 and 1916, which culminated in the Battle of Jutland during 31 May – 1 June 1916, in which they were expected to draw parts of the British fleet onto the German battleship line. The German flagship was scuttled by her crew, on the way back to port, and the other ships were heavily damaged. For their own part, during the battle sank her counterpart , sank , and and together destroyed . The four remaining battlecruisers—, , , and saw little further activity in 1917 and 1918, during which time they were reinforced by . The ships were interned with the bulk of the German fleet at the British naval base at Scapa Flow following the end of the war in November 1918. There, they were scuttled by their crews in 1919 to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Allied Powers. was transferred to the Ottoman Navy at the outbreak of hostilities, and operated against the Russian Black Sea Fleet for the majority of the war. She was heavily damaged by British naval mines near the end of the war, but was repaired and went on to serve the Turkish Navy until the 1950s; she was eventually broken up for scrap in the 1970s.

The eventual successor to the , the of Nazi Germany, considered building three s before World War II as part of the Plan Z buildup of the navy. The outbreak of war in 1939 caused the plans to be shelved, and none of these ships were built.

+ Key Main guns The number and type of the main battery guns Displacement Ship displacement at full combat load Propulsion Number of shafts, type of propulsion system, and top speed generated Service The dates work began and finished on the ship and its ultimate fate Laid down The date the keel began to be assembled Commissioned The date the ship was Commissioned __TOC__

Kaiserliche Marine SMS Von der Tann

SMS was the first German battlecruiser, ordered in 1907. She was designed in response to the British s, construction on which had begun the previous year. As the first of a new type, the design process for was highly controversial. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the State Secretary for the Imperial German Navy, wanted the ship to follow the British example, incorporating large guns, relatively light armor, and high speed. Kaiser Wilhelm II, along with other senior navy officers instead argued that, owing to Germany's numerical inferiority, the new ships should have armor strong enough to permit their use in the battle line. The ships would therefore sacrifice the caliber of their main batteries to offset the greater weight of heavier armor protection. A significant increase in speed compared to earlier armored cruisers was obtained by replacing old triple-expansion steam engines with more powerful steam turbines; was the first large German warship to be fitted with turbine propulsion.

Upon entering service, joined the fleet's main reconnaissance unit, I Scouting Group. The ship was present for most of the German fleet operations during World War I, including several raids of the English coast between 1914 and 1916. At the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916, was the last ship in the German battlecruiser squadron. She engaged and, after 15 minutes of firing, scored a hit with one of her 28 cm shells that caused a magazine explosion, destroying Indefatigable. was herself badly damaged in the course of the action, and had at one point had all four of her turrets disabled, but was repaired after the battle and returned to service. She saw no further action, however, as the Germans turned to the U-boat campaign against British merchant shipping after Jutland. At the end of the war, was interned in Scapa Flow and eventually scuttled with the rest of the fleet. She was raised in 1930 and broken up for scrap between 1931 and 1934.

+ Summary of the class Ship Armament Displacement Propulsion Service Laid down Commissioned Fate 8 × SK L/45 guns 4 screws, Parsons steam turbines, 21 March 1908 1 September 1910 Scuttled at Scapa Flow on 21 June 1919, wreck raised 1930s and scrapped, 1931–1934

Moltke class

and , improvements over the preceding , were ordered in 1908 and 1909, respectively. While their design was not as contentious as with the , there were still disagreements between Tirpitz and elements of the German naval administration over whether the main battery guns should be increased in number or caliber. Tirpitz and the Construction Office favored the increase to ten guns, while the General Office preferred repeating but with eight guns, to mirror the development from the contemporary and es of dreadnought battleships. It was eventually decided that ten 28 cm guns would be mounted, though new, longer-barreled versions were adopted. The longer barrels increased muzzle velocity, which in turn offered improved armor penetration. In addition to the increased main battery, the two -class ships were slightly larger and better armored than .

joined in the battlecruiser squadron upon her commissioning, and saw action against the British in the North Sea, including the Battle of Dogger Bank in January 1915, in addition to the coastal raids carried out in the first two years of the war. The ship also saw significant duty in the Baltic Sea against the Russian navy; in 1915 she was present at the Battle of the Gulf of Riga, where she was torpedoed by a British submarine, and in 1917, she returned to the Baltic as the flagship of the invasion force that conducted Operation Albion. was also interned in Scapa Flow at the end of the war and scuttled in 1919. , on the other hand, was assigned to the Mediterranean in 1912 to serve as the flagship of the Mediterranean Division. At the outbreak of war in 1914, and the light cruiser evaded the British fleet and escaped to Constantinople, where they were transferred to the Ottoman Navy, though they remained under German command and with their original crews. The ship primarily operated in the Black Sea against the Russians, seeing combat at the Battle of Cape Sarych and the actions of 10 May 1915 and 8 January 1916. She attacked British forces outside the Dardanelles in 1918 and struck three mines. The ship continued in Turkish service until 1973 when she was sold for scrapping.

+ Summary of the class Ship Armament Displacement Propulsion Service Laid down Commissioned Fate 10 × 28 cm SK L/50 guns 4 screws, Parsons steam turbines, 7 December 1908 30 August 1911 Scuttled at Scapa Flow on 21 June 1919, wreck raised 1927 and scrapped 4 screws, Parsons steam turbines, 28 August 1909 2 July 1912 Transferred to the Ottoman Empire on 16 August 1914, scrapped in 1973

SMS Seydlitz

represented an incremental improvement over the class; the limited nature of the improvements was in large part dictated by the (Imperial Diet), which rejected the possibility of any increase in cost for the next battlecruiser. Improvements to the design were secured only through pressure Tirpitz was able to place on steel suppliers and the ship's builder for discounts, which provided the necessary budgetary room to alter the design. Tirpitz still pressed for a British-style battlecruiser with light armor and larger guns, but his views were again rejected. was slightly larger than the two previous ships, carried slightly thicker belt armor, and had a taller forecastle to improve seakeeping in bad weather. mounted the same ten 28 cm guns as in the class in the same arrangement.

Upon commissioning into the fleet, became the flagship of Rear Admiral Franz von Hipper, the commander of I Scouting Group. The ship took part in most of the major fleet operations during the war. At the Battle of Dogger Bank, was hit in her after turrets by two or three 34.4 cm (13.5 in) shells from ; the shells burned out the turrets and nearly destroyed the ship. By April 1916, she had been replaced as Hipper's flagship by the new battlecruiser . At Jutland, and inflicted fatal damage on the British battlecruiser early in the action. was badly mauled in later parts of the battle, receiving 21 large-caliber hits, suffering more than 150 casualties, and taking in over of water. Despite the immense damage, was able to make the trip back to Wilhelmshaven, where she was repaired. As with and , was interned and eventually scuttled in Scapa Flow.

+ Summary of the class Ship Armament Displacement Propulsion Service Laid down Commissioned Fate 10 × 28 cm SK L/50 guns 4 screws, Parsons steam turbines, 4 February 1911 22 May 1913 Scuttled at Scapa Flow on 21 June 1919, wreck raised 1928 and scrapped

Derfflinger class

The three -class ships were the last battlecruisers completed for the German navy. The ships' primary armament was radically modified compared to the older ships. The number of guns was reduced to eight, but their diameter was increased to 30.5 cm (12 in). They were also placed in two superfiring pairs, fore and aft of the main superstructure. The first unit, the name ship, was completed shortly after the outbreak of World War I. followed in August 1915, and joined the fleet in May 1917. was involved in most of the fleet actions during the war. At Jutland she fired on Queen Mary and contributed to her destruction, along with . and later concentrated their fire on and destroyed her. However, during the battle, was severely damaged by at least 24 heavy-caliber shells and was unable to make it back to Germany. She was scuttled early the following morning. s career was much less eventful; she was completed so late in the war that she saw no significant action against the British fleet. She and were interned and scuttled in Scapa Flow with the rest of the fleet.

+ Summary of the class Ship Armament Displacement Propulsion Service Laid down Commissioned Fate 8 × SK L/50 guns 4 screws, Parsons steam turbines, 30 March 1912 1 September 1914 Scuttled in Scapa Flow on 21 June 1919, wreck raised 1939, broken up after 1946 4 screws, Parsons steam turbines, May 1912 8 August 1915 Scuttled after severe damage at the Battle of Jutland, 1 June 1916 4 screws, Parsons steam turbines, 1 October 1913 10 May 1917 Scuttled in Scapa Flow on 21 June 1919, wreck raised 1930, scrapped 1930–1932

Mackensen class