Panzerschiff 100 HP

[rhettrongun]

They have even less HP than a light cruiser hull variant like the Liepzig Class. Does this make sense?

I admit that I don't have a great understanding of these ships historically speaking. I thought they were supposed to be "pocket battleships", which basically meant they had firepower on par with a battleship, but in a smaller frame. Were they this flimsy in real life though?

What's the best way to utilize them?

[ehconner46]

They were supposed to have the defense of a Heavy Cruiser and the guns of a Battle Cruiser. I believe they used the German 11" guns.

[Mikey]

the deutschland class was built to the limit of what the london and versailles treaties allowed germany to have (on paper)

They were only allowed cruisers, no battleships, and the cruisers were limited to 10.000 tons and having no larger than 11" guns

However for them to incorporate the 11" guns they had to strip everything off the ship that wasn't crucial for it's seaworthiness, hence the endearing term "pocket battleship".
They were armored like light cruisers but armed like battlecruisers

[Not online!!!]

I honestly would not reccomend you to build them until you get the better motors, also downgrade the main armament to tier 1 against the AI, since that will grant more speed. AND SPEED IS CRUCIAL WITH THESE.

[JustNotG00d]

In the earlier version of Hearts Of Iron, the "pocket battleships" were already in the building queue. But in this version, the Panzerschiff has only one single turret. The battle between three British cruisers showed the advantage of the 11 inch guns. The 8 inch guns could not fire at the Graf Spee unless they came in closer. Why can't I build a ship that is even close to the actual Deutschland class? In this game, the class is worthless.