The Deutschland class combined Baltic utility and long-range presence with six 11-inch guns. Heavy shells could inflict serious damage when they hit, but a slow rate of fire limited opportunities to correct aim against fast, maneuvering opponents. The River Plate illustrates the difficulty of fighting six-inch cruisers, while maneuvering destroyers similarly limited opportunities for accurate heavy-gun fire. The secondary battery offered an imperfect answer. Its eight 5.9-inch guns occupied dispersed single mounts on both sides of the ship, and the criticism is that this arrangement gave insufficient accuracy and ability to bring fire onto changing targets. Nominal gun size therefore gives an incomplete account of the class's usefulness in a close surface action.
Notable Point · 42:43-45:42
Why Deutschland-class guns struggled against maneuvering destroyers
Heavy main guns and dispersed secondary mounts gave the Deutschland class less practical advantage against fast opponents than its nominal armament suggested.