The Deutschland class as an industrial compromise

The Deutschland-class ships could not always escape stronger opponents. Hood, Renown, Repulse, and much of the Royal Navy could challenge their speed, while rapid-firing six-inch guns remained dangerous to their limited armour. Little evidence is identified for a convincing operational strategy that reconciled the class's battleship-calibre guns with cruiser protection and mobility. In this interpretation, Germany needed a programme to keep its maritime industry active, producing a hybrid with many of the disadvantages of both cruiser and battleship. The ships looked fast and impressive, but those qualities did not by themselves solve their wartime employment problem. An explicitly counterfactual comparison finds them more naturally useful as heavily armed convoy escorts for the Royal Navy than as German commerce raiders.