On April 1st, 1933 the Germans came out with a new class of ships, the so-called «Pocket Battle Ships» which belonged to the same class as the «Deutschland», the «Graf Spee» and the «Admiral Scheer». Later on the «Deutschland» had to undergo a few changes and was renamed «Lützow». This change of name was made for the simple reason that Hitler could not bear the thought that a ship by the name of «Deutschland» might go down. Since the end of 1939 this ship was known as «Lützow». Judging the missions of these ships it has to be considered that they were only battlecruisers with the armament of battleships.
Technical data: Displacement: 11700 t – Length: 186 m – Capacity: 54000 hp – Crew: max. 1150 men– Max. speed: 26 knots – Range: 16210 km at 20 knots.
