| abstract | - The O class was a planned class of three battlecruisers for the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) before the Second World War. Prompted by a perceived lack in ship numbers when compared with the British Royal Navy, the O class' design was born with the suggestion of modifying the P-class cruiser design with guns instead of . The ships were incorporated into the 1939 Plan Z; while an aircraft carrier, H-class battleships and smaller ships engaged convoy escorts, one or more O-class ships would attack the merchant ships. The O class' design reflected their intended role; a heavy main armament—six 380 mm guns in three dual turrets—for possible encounters with escorting -armed heavy cruisers, enough armor to defend against the same and nothing more, and a high top speed so that they could get away from slower but much better armored capital ships.
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