The P class was a German Navy group of twelve heavy cruisers; they were the successor to the Deutschland-class cruisers. Design work began in 1937 and continued until 1939; at least nine designs were considered. The final design was armed with six quick-firing guns in two triple turrets, as in the preceding Deutschland class. The ships were designated as Panzerschiff (armored ship), and given the preliminary names P1–P12. They were an improved design over the preceding planned D-class cruisers, which had been canceled in 1934. Although the ships were already assigned to shipyards, construction never began on the P-class ships after the O-class battlecruiser design superseded them.