 The Derfflinger class was a class of three battlecruisers ( German : Schlachtkreuzer ) of the Imperial German Navy . The ships were ordered for the 1912 – 13 Naval Building Program of the German Imperial Navy as a reply to the Royal Navy 's three new Lion @-@ class battlecruisers that had been launched a few years earlier . The preceding Moltke class and the incrementally improved Seydlitz represented the end of the evolution of Germany 's first generation of battlecruisers . The Derfflinger class had considerable improvements , including a larger primary armament , all of which was mounted on the centerline , eliminating the restricted arc of the amidships turret . The ships were also larger than the preceding classes . The Derfflinger class used a similar propulsion system , and as a result of the increased displacement were slightly slower . 
 The Derfflinger class was a class of three battlecruisers ( German : Schlachtkreuzer ) of the Imperial German Navy . The ships <a href='uninflect' title='1'><mark>were</mark></a> ordered for the 1912 – 13 Naval Building Program of the German Imperial Navy as a reply to the Royal Navy <a href='null_genetive' title='2'><mark>'s</mark></a>three new Lion @-@ class battlecruisers <a href='null_relcl' title='3'><mark>that</mark></a><a href='been_done' title='4'><mark>had</mark></a> been launched a few years earlier . The preceding Moltke class and the incrementally improved Seydlitz represented the end of the evolution of Germany <a href='null_genetive' title='5'><mark>'s</mark></a>first generation of battlecruisers . The Derfflinger class had considerable improvements , including a larger primary armament , all of which was mounted on the centerline , eliminating the restricted arc of the amidships turret . The ships <a href='uninflect' title='6'><mark>were</mark></a> also larger than the preceding classes . The Derfflinger class used a similar propulsion system , and as a result of the increased displacement <a href='uninflect' title='7'><mark>were</mark></a> slightly slower . 
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