List of battleships of Germany The German navies — specifically the Kaiserliche Marine and Kriegsmarine of Imperial and Nazi Germany , respectively — built a series of battleship s between the 1890s and 1940s . To defend its North and Baltic Sea coasts in wartime , Germany had previously built a series of smaller ironclad warship s , including coastal defense ship s , and armored frigates . With the accession to the throne of Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1888 , the Kaiserliche Marine began a program of naval expansion befitting a Great Power . The navy immediately pushed for the construction of the four s , after which soon followed five ships . The appointment of Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz to the post of State Secretary of the Navy in 1897 accelerated naval construction . Tirpitz ' s " risk theory " planned a fleet that would be sufficiently powerful so that Great Britain , then the world ' s preeminent naval power , would avoid risking war with Germany in order to preserve its superiority . Admiral von Tirpitz secured a series of Naval Laws between 1900 and 1912 that drastically increased the budget of the navy and authorized scores of battleships ; the final law envisioned a fleet of some 41 battleships , 25 of which would have been assigned to the High Seas Fleet , with the remainder in reserve . Following the " Kaiser Friedrich III " class were the , , and es , the last pre - dreadnought s built in Germany . The launch of the " all - big - gun " in 1906 revolutionized battleship construction , and forced von Tirpitz to radically alter his shipbuilding plan . In order to remain in the battleship race , Tirpitz secured the funds for the first four German dreadnought s , the , which were laid down beginning in June 1907 . The four s followed in 1908 , as well as the five s in 1909 – 10 . Four s were laid down in 1911 – 12 , and four s were laid down in 1913 – 15 , though only two — and — were completed . Germany ' s defeat in 1918 resulted in the internment of the majority of the High Seas Fleet in Scapa Flow ; the ships were eventually scuttled on 21 June 1919 to prevent them from being seized by the British Royal Navy . Of the ten battleships interned , only one , " Baden " , was prevented from sinking ; she was later expended as a gunnery target by the Royal Navy . Following the war , Germany was limited to eight pre - dreadnought battleships , two of which would be in reserve . New warships were severely limited in terms of armament and size . Admiral Erich Raeder was appointed the commander of the German navy in 1928 . Raeder initially employed a cautious strategy " vis a vis " the government of the Weimar Republic . However , the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in 1933 allowed Raeder opportunity to expand the fleet . Hitler ' s government negotiated the Anglo - German Naval Agreement in 1935 , which stipulated the German navy could rebuild to 35 percent of the strength of the Royal Navy . The first new battleships built in Germany were the two ships , and in 1935 . The two s followed in 1936 ; was completed in 1940 and in 1941 . Plan Z was formulated in 1939 to rebuild the German navy ; the plan called for six additional battleships of the H - 39 class . Two of them were laid down in mid - 1939 , though they were canceled within two months , due to the outbreak of World War II in September 1939 . The other four were canceled without any work being done . " Bismarck " , " Tirpitz " , and " Scharnhorst " were sunk during the war and " Gneisenau " was scuttled in Gotenhafen in 1945 . Further design studies were drawn up , culminating in the massive H - 44 class , but they were not serious proposals due to the infeasibility and expense of the ships . " Brandenburg " class . The " Brandenburg " - class ships were the first ocean - going battleships built for the German navy , and marked the beginning of German naval expansion . Previous classes included several types of ironclad ships , including coastal defense ships and armored frigates . The ships were unique for the time in that they were armed with six large - caliber guns instead of four , as was standard on contemporary ships in other navies . The class comprised four ships : " Brandenburg " , " Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm " , " Weissenburg " , and " Wörth " . Of the four ships , " Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm " and " Weissenburg " were more advanced , in that their armor was composed of higher quality steel . The four ships were commissioned into the I Battle Squadron . They saw overseas service during the Boxer Rebellion in China in 1900 – 01 under the command of Marshal Alfred von Waldersee . Following the return from China , the " Brandenburg " s were taken into drydock for modernization , which lasted from 1901 to 1905 depending on the ship . During the reconstruction the superstructure was cut down , a second conning tower was added , and the steam boiler s were replaced with newer models . " Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm " and " Weissenburg " were sold to the Ottoman Empire in 1910 and renamed " Barbaros Hayreddin " and " Turgut Reis " , respectively . " Brandenburg " and " Wörth " were decommissioned and placed into reserve . At the start of World War I , both ships were recalled to active service as coastal defense ships , but due to their age they were quickly demobilized . They spent the remainder of the war as barracks ships before being broken up in 1920 . " Kaiser Friedrich III " class . The five " Kaiser Friedrich III " - class ships set the standard for later German pre - dreadnought battleships : they carried smaller main guns than their foreign contemporaries , but a heavier secondary battery . This was in accordance with the " hail of fire " theory , which emphasized smaller , rapid firing guns over larger and slower guns . The ships of the class were also the first German battleships to use three screws , as opposed to two in the " Brandenburg " s . The class was composed of five ships : " Kaiser Friedrich III " , " Kaiser Wilhelm II " , " Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse " , " Kaiser Karl der Grosse " , and " Kaiser Barbarossa " . All of the ships were named for German emperors . Upon commissioning , the five ships were assigned to the I Squadron of the Home Fleet ( " Heimatflotte " ) . " Kaiser Wilhelm II " saw service as the fleet flagship until 1906 . After ten years of fleet service , they were replaced with newer ships . They were transferred to the III Squadron of the fleet , which had by then been reorganized as the High Seas Fleet , and placed in reserve . In 1907 , all five ships were taken into drydock for significant rebuilding . The funnels were made taller , the superstructure was cut down , and the secondary guns were rearranged ; work lasted until 1910 . The five ships saw no front - line service during World War I ; they were all disarmed and relegated to secondary duties . " Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse " was used as a torpedo training ship , " Kaiser Wilhelm II " was used as a headquarters ship , while the other three became prison ships . They were all broken up between 1919 and 1922 . " Wittelsbach " class . The " Wittelsbach " class represented an incremental improvement over the preceding " Kaiser Friedrich III " class . They were equipped with the same armament of four 24 cm guns , but were given an additional torpedo tube . They had improved defensive capabilities , as they were protected by a more extensive armored belt . They also differed from the preceding ships in their main deck , the entire length of which was flush . The " Kaiser Friedrich III " had a cut - down quarterdeck . The ships of the class , which included " Wittelsbach " , " Wettin " , " Zähringen " , " Schwaben " , and " Mecklenburg " , were the first battleships built under the first Naval Law of 1898 . After joining the fleet , the " Wittelsbach " class ships were assigned to the I Battle Squadron , where they replaced the older " Brandenburg " - class ships . Like the " Kaiser Friedrich III " - class ships , the " Wittelsbach " s were withdrawn from active service after the advent of the dreadnoughts . The five ships were recalled to active service at the outbreak of war in 1914 . They were assigned to the IV Battle Squadron and deployed to the Baltic . However , due to their age and vulnerability , they were withdrawn from active service by 1916 . They were used as training ships , with the exception of " Mecklenburg " , which was used as a prison ship . In 1919 , " Wittelsbach " and " Schwaben " were converted into depot ships for minesweepers . By 1922 , all of the ships had been broken up for scrap , with the exception of " Zähringen " . She was converted into a radio - controlled target ship in 1926 – 27 . RAF bombers sank the ship in Gotenhafen in 1944 ; the wreck was broken up in 1949 – 50 . " Braunschweig " class . The " Braunschweig " class , which consisted of " Braunschweig " , " Elsass " , " Hessen " , " Preussen " , and " Lothringen " , was a considerable improvement over the preceding types of battleships in the German navy . They were equipped with much more powerful 28 cm guns for their main battery , although this was still smaller than the standard guns used on British ships . The main battery turrets were mounted on the forecastle deck , as opposed to one deck higher as in the older ships . They were also larger and faster than their predecessors , though armor protection was largely the same . These ships were authorized under the Naval Law of 1900 . In 1907 the II Battle Squadron was organized ; the five " Braunschweig " - class battleships were assigned to it , along with the five new " Deutschland " - class ships . When war broke out in 1914 , four of the " Braunschweig " - class ships were assigned to the IV Squadron alongside the " Wittelsbach " - class ships . " Braunschweig " and " Elsass " took part in the Battle of the Gulf of Riga in 1915 . " Hessen " remained in the II Battle Squadron and saw action at the Battle of Jutland in 1916 . After the war , " Lothringen " and " Preussen " were converted into depot ships for minesweepers . They were eventually scrapped in 1931 . A long section of " Preussen " was retained for use as an explosives target ; it was eventually bombed and sunk in April 1945 . The hulk was raised and broken up in 1954 . The other three ships were used as coastal defense ships , though between 1931 and 1935 , they too were withdrawn from service and broken up , with the exception of " Hessen " . " Hessen " was converted into a radio - controlled target ship in 1935 and served in that capacity until the end of World War II in 1945 . She was then ceded to the Soviet Navy and renamed " Tsel " . " Deutschland " class . The five " Deutschland " - class battleships — " Deutschland " , " Hannover " , " Pommern " , " Schlesien " , and " Schleswig - Holstein " — were the last pre - dreadnoughts built by the German navy . They were similar to the " Braunschweig " - class ships , though their armor was thicker . The ships were built despite rumors of the capabilities of the revolutionary . Admiral von Tirpitz insisted on their construction as larger ships would have necessitated widening the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal ; this would have put an enormous strain on the naval budget for the year . Following their commissioning starting in 1906 , they were assigned to the new II Battle Squadron ; " Deutschland " replaced " Kaiser Wilhelm II " as the fleet flagship . During World War I , the ships remained in the II Battle Squadron and saw combat at the Battle of Jutland in 1916 . Their slow speed hindered the more modern dreadnoughts of the High Seas Fleet . Early on the second day of the battle , " Pommern " was sunk by a single torpedo that triggered an ammunition magazine explosion . Following the battle the " Deutschland " s were withdrawn from fleet duty and ultimately out of service completely in August 1917 . " Deutschland " was broken up in 1920 . The three remaining ships saw continued service in the German navy ; " Hannover " was struck in 1935 and eventually broken up in 1944 – 46 . " Schlesien " and " Schleswig - Holstein " were both sunk during World War II but later raised . " Schlesien " was broken up in 1949 – 70 , while " Schleswig - Holstein " was transferred to the Soviet Navy in 1946 . " Nassau " class . The " Nassau " class , which was composed of " Nassau " , " Westfalen " , " Rheinland " , and " Posen " , was the German response to the arrival of HMS " Dreadnought " , the first " all - big - gun " battleship , in 1906 . The ships were unique in their main - armament configuration , which was hexagonal . They retained triple - expansion engines instead of more powerful turbine engines , and as a result , were slower than their British contemporaries . After their commissioning into the German fleet , all four ships served in the II Division of I Battle Squadron . Two of the ships , " Nassau " and " Posen " , took part in the inconclusive Battle of the Gulf of Riga in 1915 , during which they engaged the Russian pre - dreadnought " Slava " . The four " Nassau " - class ships took part in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May and 1 June 1916 ; they suffered only a handful of secondary battery hits and limited casualties . In early 1918 " Rheinland " and " Westfalen " were sent to Finland to support the White Finns in their civil war , but " Rheinland " ran aground off the Åland Islands in April and was severely damaged . At the end of World War I , the four ships were seized as war prizes by the victorious Allied powers and sold for scrapping . " Helgoland " class . The " Helgoland " class was the second type of German dreadnoughts , built during 1908 – 1912 . The class was composed of four ships : " Helgoland " , " Oldenburg " , " Ostfriesland " , and " Thüringen " . The ships incorporated significant improvements over the previous " Nassau " type , including more powerful main guns and an improved propulsion system . The " Helgoland " s were easily distinguished from the preceding " Nassau " s by the three funnels that were closely arranged , compared to the two larger funnels of the previous class . The ships retained the unusual hexagonal main battery layout of the " Nassau " class . The ships served as a unit in the I Division , I Battle Squadron alongside the " Nassau " - class ships in the II Division of the I Battle Squadron . They saw combat during World War I , including the Battle of Jutland in the North Sea and the Battle of the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic . All four survived the war , but were not taken as part of the German fleet that was interned at Scapa Flow . After the German fleet at Scapa Flow were scuttled , the four " Helgoland " s were ceded as war reparations to the victorious Allied powers in the sunken ships ' stead . " Ostfriesland " was taken by the US Navy and expended as a target during Billy Mitchell ' s air power demonstration in July 1921 . " Helgoland " and " Oldenburg " were allotted to Britain and Japan respectively , and broken up in 1921 . " Thüringen " was delivered to France in 1920 , and was used as a target ship for the French navy . The ship was eventually broken up between 1923 and 1933 . " Kaiser " class . The " Kaiser " class , which comprised , , , , and , was the third class of German dreadnoughts , and the first to feature turbine engines and superfiring turrets . As was usual for German battleships of the period , the " Kaiser " class mounted main guns that were smaller than those of their British rivals : , compared to the guns of the British . The ten SK L / 50 guns were mounted in five twin turrets ; one turret was mounted fore , two aft in a superfiring arrangement , and the other two in a staggered " wing " arrangement amidships . All five ships saw action in the North Sea during the war ; they served together as the VI Division of the III Battle Squadron , with " Friedrich der Grosse " serving as the fleet flagship . Four were present during the Battle of Jutland ; was in dock at the time . Of the four ships that took part in the battle , only " Kaiser " was damaged , being struck by two heavy - caliber shells . The ships also took part in Operation Albion in the Baltic Sea ; during the operation they were reorganized as the IV Battle Squadron , under the command of Vice Admiral Wilhelm Souchon . At the end of the war , all five ships were interned at the British naval base in Scapa Flow . On 21 June 1919 , they were scuttled to prevent their seizure by the Royal Navy . The ships were subsequently raised and broken up for scrap between 1929 and 1937 . " König " class . " König " , " Grosser Kurfürst " , " Markgraf " , and " Kronprinz " , the four ships of the " König " class , were the most powerful warships of the High Seas Fleet at the outbreak of war in 1914 . The " König " s were an improvement over the preceding ; one of the wing turrets was moved forward and placed in a superfiring arrangement , while the second wing turret was moved to the centerline amidships . This allowed for a wider angle of fire on the broadside , as all 10 guns could fire on a larger area compared to the earlier " Kaiser " s . The class operated as a unit throughout World War I — the V Division of the III Battle Squadron . The ships took part in a number of fleet operations during the war , including the Battle of Jutland , where they acted as the vanguard of the German line and were heavily engaged by the British fleet . The ships also took part in Operation Albion against the Russians in 1917 , where " König " sank the battleship . They survived the war and were interned at Scapa Flow in November 1918 . All four ships were scuttled there on 21 June 1919 . " Bayern " class . The four " Bayern " - class ships were the first super - dreadnought s built by the German navy . The class comprised " Bayern " , " Baden " , " Sachsen " , and " Württemberg " . Construction started on the ships shortly before World War I ; " Baden " was laid down in 1913 , " Bayern " and " Sachsen " followed in 1914 , and " Württemberg " , the final ship , was laid down in 1915 . Only " Baden " and " Bayern " were completed , as ship building priorities shifted as the war dragged on . It was determined that U - boat s were more valuable to the war effort , and so work on new battleships was slowed and ultimately stopped altogether . As a result , " Bayern " and " Baden " were the last German battleships completed by the Kaiserliche Marine . " Bayern " and " Baden " were commissioned into the fleet in July 1916 and March 1917 , respectively . This was too late for either ship to take part in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May and 1 June 1916 . " Bayern " was assigned to the naval force that drove the Imperial Russian Navy from the Gulf of Riga during Operation Albion in October 1917 , though the ship was severely damaged from a mine and had to be withdrawn to Kiel for repairs . " Baden " replaced " Friedrich der Grosse " as the flagship of the High Seas Fleet , but saw no combat . Both vessels were interned in Scapa Flow following the Armistice in November 1918 . " Bayern " was successfully scuttled on 21 July 1919 , but British guards managed to beach " Baden " to prevent her from sinking . The ship was eventually expended as a gunnery target in 1921 . " Sachsen " and " Württemberg " , both at various stages of completion when the war ended , were broken up for scrap metal in the early 1920s . L 20 α class . The L 20 α design was a plan for an unknown number of battleships to be built in 1918 for the German navy . The design was selected on 2 October 1917 , and construction was to have started 11 September 1918 . The ships would have been significantly larger than the preceding " Bayern " class , at more than longer than the preceding ships . The ships would have been the first German warship to have mounted guns larger than 16 in ( 40 . 6 cm cm ) . However , Germany ' s declining war situation meant that the ships were never built . " Scharnhorst " class . The two " Scharnhorst " - class battleships were the first capital ships built for the Kriegsmarine after the end of World War I . They marked the beginning of German naval rearmament after the Treaty of Versailles . The class comprised two vessels : " Scharnhorst " and " Gneisenau " . The ships were armed with nine 28 cm ( 11 in ) SK C / 34 guns in three triple turrets , though there were plans to replace these weapons with six 38 cm ( 15 in ) SK C / 34 guns in twin turrets . The two ships were laid down in 1935 , launched in late 1936 , and commissioned into the German fleet by early 1939 . " Scharnhorst " and " Gneisenau " operated together for much of the early portion of World War II , including sorties into the Atlantic to raid British merchant shipping . The two ships participated in Operation Weserübung , the German invasion of Norway . During operations off Norway , the two ships engaged the battlecruiser and sank the aircraft carrier — in the engagement with " Glorious " , " Scharnhorst " achieved one of the longest - range naval gunfire hits in history . In early 1942 , the two ships made a daylight dash up the English Channel from occupied France to Germany . In late 1942 , " Gneisenau " was heavily damaged in an Allied air raid against Kiel . In early 1943 , " Scharnhorst " joined the " Bismarck " - class battleship " Tirpitz " in Norway to interdict Allied convoys to the Soviet Union . " Scharnhorst " and several destroyer s sortied from Norway to attack a convoy ; the Germans were instead intercepted by British naval patrols . During the Battle of North Cape , the Royal Navy battleship sank " Scharnhorst " . In the meantime , repair work on " Gneisenau " had begun , and the ship was in the process of being rearmed . However , when " Scharnhorst " was sunk , work on her sister was abandoned . Instead , she was sunk as a blockship in Gdynia in 1945 ; the wreck was broken up for scrap in the 1950s . " Bismarck " class . " Bismarck " and " Tirpitz " were the last and largest battleships completed by the German navy , as well as the heaviest ever built in Europe . They were built according to the terms of the Anglo - German Naval Agreement signed in 1935 , and ostensibly displaced no more than the specified in the agreement . The ships were , in actuality , some heavier at full load . The ships were built to counter new French battleships then under construction . Both ships saw combat during World War II . " Bismarck " was deployed in May 1941 to raid British shipping in the Atlantic Ocean along with the heavy cruiser . During the operation , " Bismarck " sank the battlecruiser and heavily damaged the new battleship and forced her to retreat . All of the available British naval assets were mobilized in a massive hunt to track and destroy " Bismarck " . Several days later , " Bismarck " was disabled by a torpedo hit from a Fairey Swordfish launched from and subsequently destroyed by the battleships and on 27 May . " Tirpitz " s career was less active ; she spent the majority of the war as a fleet in being in occupied Norway . The Royal Navy attempted to sink her with midget submarine s , but these efforts were unsuccessful . In November 1944 , RAF Lancaster bombers hit the ship three times with bombs , which caused her to capsize and sink . The wreck was eventually broken up in 1948 – 57 . H - class proposals . The H - class was a series of battleship designs to fulfill the requirements of Plan Z in the late 1930s and early 1940s . The first variation , " H - 39 , " called for six ships to be built , essentially as enlarged s with guns . The " H - 41 " design improved the " H - 39 " ship with still larger main guns , with eight weapons . Two subsequent plans , " H - 42 " and " H - 43 " , increased the main battery yet again , with pieces , and the monstrous " H - 44 " design ultimately resulted with guns . Due to the outbreak of war in 1939 , none of the ships were ever built ; only two of the " H - 39 " ships were laid down , and what work had been accomplished was scrapped shortly thereafter .