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Blücher
Admiral Hipper class
General characteristics
Displacement:	14,050 t standard; 18,600 t full load
Length:	212.5 m overall
Width:	21.8& m
Draft:	7.9 m standard 10.2 m full load
Armament:	8 × 203 mm (8 in) (4×2) 12 × 105 mm (4.1 in) (6×2) 12 × 37 mm (12×1) 8 × 20 mm (20 × 1) 12 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes 160 mines
Aircraft:	3, with 1 double-ended catapult
Propulsion:	3 Blohm & Voss steam turbines; 3 three-blade propellers 100,000 hp(75 MW) 32.5 knots
Range:	7,000 nautical miles (13,000 km) @ 20 knots (37 km/h)
Complement:	1,600+ (officers, non-commissioned officers and enlisted men)

The Admiral Hipper-class was a series of five heavy cruisers of which three served with the Kriegsmarine of Germany in World War II, one was sold unfinished to the Soviet Union in 1939, and one was converted to an aircraft carrier but never completed. The lead ship, and thus the class, was named after Admiral Franz von Hipper.

Designed as a treaty cruiser, Germany nonetheless gave little consideration to the treaty limit of 10,000 tons displacement. The design for the Hipper-class began at 12,500 tons and increased steadily during development. To some degree, the ships were a German response to the French Algérie-class, armed with 8-inch (203 mm) guns. Several calibers were considered, but finally a battery of eight 8-inch (203 mm) guns was selected for the Hipper. This gave them comparable firepower to a British County class cruiser, despite being considerably larger. Troublesome propulsion limited cruising range to 5,000 nautical miles (9,000 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h) - far less than the original design goal of 6,500 nautical miles (12,000 km) at 17 knots (31 km/h). After construction of Hipper and Blücher, the design was slightly enlarged, although major features remained similar. Of this new design, only one was completed, Prinz Eugen.

The Admiral Hipper-class ships, while comparable to heavy cruisers of other navies and considered beautiful ships, suffered from some problems and were thus less suited for some of the circumstances of World War II. Designed as part of a larger Kriegsmarine, they were meant to perform either as commerce raiders or support units to other naval units and ground forces, proving themselves effective in the latter. As commerce raiders, however, they were less successful, having rather short range, lacking the cruising diesel engines of the Gneisenau-class battlecruisers and the pocket battleships. Additionally, their power plants suffered from unreliability. Admiral Hipper was affected by machinery breakdowns in Atlantic and North Sea, restricting her effectiveness. Prinz Eugen suffered engine problems during Operation Rheinübung after separating from battleship Bismarck, causing her to terminate her anti-commerce cruise.

• Main armament - Eight 8 inch / 60 calibre guns:
  • Shell weight: 269 lb. (broadside of 2,150 lb.)
  • Range: 36,680 yards (33,540 m)
  • Rate of fire: 5 rounds per minute
• Secondary armament - Twelve 10.5 cm / 65 calibre dual-purpose guns:
  • Shell weight: 33 lb.
  • Range: 19,360 yards (ceiling of 41,000 ft)
  • Rate of fire: 17 rounds per minute

• Operational history of Lützow/ Petropavlovsk