Mackensen Class Battlecruiser

Mackensen Class Battlecruiser

The Mackensen class was the last class of battlecruisers to be built by Germany in World War I. The class was to have comprised four ships: Mackensen, the name ship, Graf Spee, Prinz Eitel Friedrich, and Fürst Bismarck. None of the vessels were completed, as shipbuilding priorities were redirected towards U-boats. They were broken up in the early 1920s.

The design of the Mackensens was a much improved version of the previous Derfflinger. They featured a new, more powerful 35 cm (13.8 inch) gun. The Mackensen class ships featured more powerful engines that gave the ships a higher top speed and a significantly higher cruising range. The Mackensen design provided the basis for the subsequent Ersatz Yorck, which incorporated even larger 38 cm (15 inch) main-battery guns, as a response to the Royal Navy's Renown class battlecruiser. These last three ships are referred to as the Ersatz Yorck class, as the first ship of the class was designed to replace the armored cruiser Yorck, which had struck German mines early in the war and sunk. However, very little construction progress was made on these later ships.

In response to the Mackensen class ships, the British laid down the Admiral class battlecruisers for the Royal Navy, all but one of which would eventually be canceled; the sole survivor, HMS Hood, was completed after the end of the war.