page_title: Deutschland-class cruiser
section_title: Construction
hierarchical_section_title: Deutschland-class cruiser / Construction
caption_attribution_description: For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. Der Panzerkreuzer "A" wurde vom Reichspräsidenten von Hindenburg auf den Namen "Deutschland" auf der Germania-Werft in Kiel getauft. Der Panzerkreuzer Deutschland während des Stapellaufes, umjubelt von einer vieltausendköpfigen Menschenmenge.
context_page_description: 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 ships of the class, Deutschland, Admiral Scheer and Admiral Graf Spee, were all stated to displace 10,000 long tons in accordance with the Treaty, though they actually displaced 10,600 to 12,340 long tons at standard displacement. Despite violating the weight limit, the design for the ships incorporated several radical innovations to save weight. They were the first major warships to use welding and all-diesel propulsion. Due to their heavy armament of six 28 cm guns and lighter weight, the British began referring to the vessels as "pocket battleships". The Deutschland-class ships were initially classified as Panzerschiffe but the Kriegsmarine reclassified them as heavy cruisers in February 1940.
  The three ships were built between 1929 and 1936 by the Deutsche Werke in Kiel and the Reichsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven, seeing much service with the German Navy. All three vessels served on non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War.
context_section_description: Deutschland was laid down at the Deutsche Werke shipyard in Kiel on 5 February 1929, under the contract name Panzerschiff A, as a replacement for the old battleship Preussen. Work began under construction number 219. The ship was launched on 19 May 1931; at her launching, she was christened by German Chancellor Heinrich Brüning. The ship accidentally started sliding down the slipway while Brüning was giving his christening speech. After the completion of fitting out work, initial sea trials began in November 1932. The ship was commissioned into the Reichsmarine on 1 April 1933.
  Serious political opposition to the ships continued after the authorization for Deutschland, and a political crisis over the second ship, Admiral Scheer, was averted only after the Social Democrats abstained from voting. As a result of the opposition, Panzerschiff B was not authorized until 1931. A replacement for the old battleship Lothringen, her keel was laid on 25 June 1931 at the Reichsmarinewerft shipyard in Wilhelmshaven, under construction number 123. The ship was launched on 1 April 1933; at her launching, she was christened by Marianne Besserer, the daughter of Admiral Reinhard Scheer, after whom the ship was named. She was completed slightly over a year and a half later on 12 November 1934, the day she was commissioned into the German fleet.
  Admiral Graf Spee, the third and final member of the class, was also ordered by the Reichsmarine from the Kriegsmarinewerft shipyard in Wilhelmshaven. She was ordered under the contract name Panzerschiff C to replace the battleship Braunschweig. Her keel was laid on 1 October 1932, under construction number 125. The ship was launched on 30 June 1934; at her launching, she was christened by the daughter of Admiral Maximilian von Spee, after whom the ship was named. She was completed slightly over a year and a half later on 6 January 1936, the day she was commissioned into the German fleet.
caption: Deutschland at her launching
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