Design
Design work on Roon and her sister ship Yorck was completed in 1901. The design for the Roon class can be traced back to the first German armored cruiser, Fürst Bismarck, built between 1896–1900, and the preceding Victoria Louise class of protected cruisers that came before it. The German armored cruisers were designed for overseas service, specifically to serve as station ships in the German colonies in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific.
Roon and her sister Yorck were improved versions of the preceding Prinz Adalbert class. The two ships were slightly larger and faster than the Prinz Adalbert class and had a slightly different armor layout; the Roon class ships had thinner armor on the turret faces, and slightly thinner armored decks. They shared many of the same layout characteristics as the contemporary German pre-dreadnought battleships, including a smaller main armament but heavier secondary battery than their foreign equivalents. As a result, they compared unfavorably with their British contemporaries. Taylor describes the ships as "poorly protected and not a successful class in service."
Read more about this topic: Roon Class Armored Cruiser
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