German armoured ships could move to a Bulgarian-aligned Black Sea role rather than undertake demanding ocean passages. In this enclosed theatre their 11-inch guns would face few equally powerful opponents, and their secondary battery would also overmatch much of the likely opposition. Shorter operating distances would place less strain on the class's unreliable diesel machinery. Bulgarian cooperation and access to the theatre are necessary assumptions, so this remains a speculative redeployment rather than a claim about German plans. Geography shortens the voyages and removes most heavily armed opponents, making an awkward ocean-going design more useful.
Notable Point · 5:37-7:20
A Black Sea role for the Deutschland class
The enclosed Black Sea could make Germany's Deutschland-class panzerschiffe more useful because their heavy guns would dominate likely opponents and short passages would spare unreliable diesels.