What if Germany continued developing the Deutschland class instead of building the Admiral Hipper class?
Short answerGermany gains more specialized raiders but gives up the more capable and dangerous Hipper-type heavy cruiser.
NotesA larger family of Deutschland-type ships would preserve long-range commerce-raiding potential and heavy guns on a cruiser-sized hull. The Admiral Hipper class would still be the more dangerous fighting ship. Britain would therefore find a continued pocket-battleship programme troublesome but comparatively manageable. The comparison highlights the difference between optimizing a ship for independent raiding and building a stronger general-purpose heavy cruiser.