Knesebeck
Tier VIII · Cruiser · Germany
Rating D (Bottom tier within its tier and class · overall score 2) · Balanced cruiser
A German large cruiser based on Schill, but with much weaker main guns. Its six 305 mm guns reload in a battleship-like 19.0 s, so main battery DPM is 51% below average, and dispersion at 10 km is about 318 m, 43% wider. Acceleration is also battleship-slow at 29.72 s, leaving almost no room for evasive maneuvering. On the plus side, secondary DPM is 59% above average, and Precision Guidance I adds +30% secondary range and +43% secondary accuracy for 20 s, making it threatening up close. Its 7.5 km torpedoes are also long for a German cruiser, and Sonar I helps find nearby destroyers.
Key stats
- HP: 38,350
- Top speed: 32.25 kn
- Surface detectability: 8.88 km
- Main battery: 305 mm 2X3 · reload 19 s · range 11.94 km
Heavy cruiser representing a hypothetical version of the P-class design with a 305 mm main battery. Guns of this caliber were considered by the German Navy command in the 1930s as promising armament for new ships. Ultimately, both the P-class cruisers and the new 305 mm guns remained on paper, as from 1939 onward, priority shifted to designing larger ships with more powerful artillery.