List of heavy cruisers of Germany The German navies of the 1920s through 1945 — the Reichsmarine and later Kriegsmarine — built or planned a series of heavy cruiser s starting in the late 1920s , initially classified as " Panzerschiffe " ( armored ships ) . Four different designs — the , , , and es , comprising twenty - two ships in total — were prepared in the period , though only the three " Deutschland " - class ships and three of the five " Admiral Hipper " - class cruisers were ever built . The terms of the Treaty of Versailles , which ended World War I , limited German warships to a displacement of . The first class of ships designed under these restrictions was the " Deutschland " class , designed in the late 1920s , and commonly referred to as " pocket battleships " . They incorporated a series of radical innovations to save weight , including extensive use of welded construction and diesel engines . An improved version , the D class , was planned for 1934 , but escalating design requirements in response to the French s resulted in the replacement of the D class with the two s . Plans for an improved " Panzerschiff " were renewed in 1937 with the P class . Initially intended to comprise twelve ships , the P class was a central component of Grand Admiral Erich Raeder ' s Plan Z fleet , which was designed for a commerce war against Great Britain . Subsequent versions of Plan Z reduced the number of ships to eight and then removed them altogether , replacing them with the s by 1939 . The five ships of the " Admiral Hipper " class were authorized under the terms of the Anglo - German Naval Agreement , signed in 1935 , which permitted Germany of heavy cruisers . Of these ships , only three were completed ; the outbreak of World War II in September 1939 caused work to be halted on the last two ships . In total , Germany completed six heavy cruisers , all of which saw extensive service with the fleet . The three " Deutschland " - class ships served on several non - intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War in 1936 – 1938 . Most of the heavy cruisers were used as commerce raiders during World War II , of which " Admiral Scheer " was the most successful ; was scuttled after the Battle of the River Plate . was sunk by Norwegian coastal batteries during Operation " Weserübung " , the German invasion of Denmark and Norway , just four days after the ship joined the fleet . , one of the two incomplete " Admiral Hipper " - class ships , was intended to be converted into an aircraft carrier , though the work was never completed . , the second unfinished ship , was sold to the Soviet Union , and subsequently shelled German soldiers advancing on Leningrad until German bombers sank her . " Deutschland " — by now renamed " Lützow " — " Admiral Scheer " , and were all destroyed by British bombers at the end of the war ; only survived the conflict . She was ceded to the US Navy as a war prize and used in nuclear testing in the Bikini Atoll . " Deutschland " class . Initially ordered as " Panzerschiffe " , the three " Deutschland " - class ships were designed to meet the limitations imposed on the German Navy by the Treaty of Versailles . The treaty limited large German warships to a displacement of , but did not restrict the caliber of main battery guns . Several innovations were incorporated into the design , including extensive use of welding and all - diesel propulsion , which saved weight and allowed for the heavier main armament and armor . Nevertheless , the ships exceeded the weight restriction by several thousand tons , though the German Navy claimed the vessels were within the limitations . The three ships , " Deutschland " , " Admiral Scheer " , and " Admiral Graf Spee " , were built between 1929 and 1936 . Design changes were made over the course of the construction program , resulting in slightly differing characteristics of each ship . Commonly referred to as " pocket battleships " due to their heavy armament , all three ships saw service in the non - intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War in 1936 – 1938 . They served as commerce raiders early in World War II ; " Admiral Graf Spee " was scuttled outside Montevideo in December 1939 following the Battle of the River Plate . " Deutschland " conducted one cruise into the North Atlantic without significant success , before returning to Germany to be renamed " Lützow " . She and " Admiral Scheer " were also re - rated as heavy cruisers . She then participated in Operation Weserübung , where she was badly damaged by Norwegian coastal batteries and a British torpedo . After repairs , she was deployed to occupied Norway to operate against convoys to the Soviet Union . There she was joined by " Admiral Scheer " , which had completed the most successful raiding cruise conducted by a major surface unit . Both ships ultimately returned to German waters by the end of 1943 , where they were sunk by British bombers in the final weeks of the war . " Lützow " was re - floated by the Soviet Navy and expended as a target in July 1947 . D class . In 1933 , German dictator Adolf Hitler authorized the Kriegsmarine to order designs for an improved version of the preceding s . The ships were intended to counter a new French naval construction program . Displacement increased to , but Hitler only allowed increases to armor , prohibiting additions to the ships ' main battery . Only one of the two ships was laid down , but it was canceled less than five months after the keel was laid . It was determined that the designs should be enlarged to counter the new French ships , which necessitated a third triple turret . The construction contracts for both ships were superseded by the two s . P class . The P class , which was to have comprised twelve ships , was authorized in 1937 . Design work began that year and continued until 1939 ; at least nine designs were considered . The final design was armed with six quick - firing guns in two triple turrets , as in the preceding " Deutschland " class . The ships were designated as " Panzerschiff " , and given the preliminary names P1 – P12 . They were an improved design over the preceding planned D - class cruisers , which had been canceled in 1934 . The new design was significantly heavier and faster , and returned to diesel propulsion , which significantly increased cruising range . The ships were part of the original version of Plan Z submitted by the Navy , and were the primary component of Grand Admiral Erich Raeder ' s plans for a commerce war against Britain . A revised version reduced the number of ships to eight , and another revision removed them entirely before work began , replacing them with three s . The O - class ships would have been significantly larger , faster , and more powerful . These ships , however , were also not built . " Admiral Hipper " class . The " Admiral Hipper " class was the second and final group of heavy cruisers built by the German Navy . Their design was prepared in 1934 – 1936 , while Germany was negotiating the Anglo - German Naval Agreement . The treaty , signed in 1935 , permitted Germany to build of heavy cruisers , enough for five 10 , 000 - long ton ships . Of the five ships , only " Admiral Hipper " , " Blücher " , and " Prinz Eugen " were completed ; " Seydlitz " was 95 % complete when the decision was made to convert her into an aircraft carrier . The conversion was not completed , however , and the vessel was ceded to the Soviet Union and broken up for scrap . " Lützow " was sold , incomplete , to the Soviet Union in 1940 . The ship , renamed " Petropavlovsk " , assisted in the defense of Leningrad during the German invasion of the Soviet Union before being damaged by German dive - bombers . After being raised and repaired , the ship continued in limited service until the late 1950s , when she was scrapped , either in 1958 – 1959 , or 1960 . " Admiral Hipper " and " Blücher " both participated in the invasion of Norway ; the latter was sunk by Norwegian coastal guns outside Oslo . After the operation , " Admiral Hipper " conducted two sorties into the North Atlantic to raid merchant shipping . " Prinz Eugen " joined the battleship " Bismarck " for a major operation in the Atlantic ; she participated in the Battle of the Denmark Strait , which saw the battlecruiser destroyed . " Bismarck " was subsequently sunk during the operation , but " Prinz Eugen " successfully returned to port . After the Channel Dash in 1942 , she joined " Admiral Hipper " in Norway . After arriving , " Prinz Eugen " was torpedoed by a British submarine , necessitating repairs in Germany . " Admiral Hipper " meanwhile saw action at the Battle of the Barents Sea at the end of 1942 . Both ships returned to Germany and operated in the Baltic Sea in 1945 . " Admiral Hipper " s crew scuttled the ship after she sustained heavy damage from RAF bombers . " Prinz Eugen " survived the war and was ceded as a war prize to the US Navy , which scuttled the ship after she survived two atomic bomb tests in the Bikini Atoll in 1946 . Notes . Footnotes Citations