Yorck

Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was permitted to retain six aging battleships of the Deutschland and Braunschweig classes. Upon reaching their designated age limits, these vessels could be replaced with ships weighing no more than 10,000 tons in displacement. In the 1920s, the heads of the Navy initiated extensive research into future ships to replace the old battleships. Several variants were proposed, including a design resembling the "Washington" cruisers. This particular project envisioned the use of eight 8-inch guns. The project was never implemented, but its further development led to the emergence of "pocket battleships."