The pocket battleships (Panzerschiff - "armoured ship" in German, also known as Deutschland class) were a class of warships built by Germany in accordance with restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles. In fact they were not battleships, but big heavy cruisers, armed with guns larger, than other nations' cruisers. The three ships in the class were launched between 1931 and 1934.
- Deutschland, renamed Lützow in October 1939.
- Admiral Graf Spee
- Admiral Scheer
The Germans were dedicated to not making the same mistake twice, and used the panzerschiff purely as commerce-raiders on the high seas. This would make them very difficult to bring to task, as they could generally avoid any fight they didn't like. Speed is not enough to save a ship from a bad commander however, and three much less capable Royal Navy ships were able to damage the Graf Spee during the Battle of the River Plate. Just as in World War I, the ships then spent the vast majority of their time at anchor.