As the German Navy had a shortage of capital ships compared with the Royal Navy, they tended to prefer an offensive role for their light forces. The torpedo was considered the main weapon, intended to sink capital ships, and small craft with only light artillery armament were preferred for that role. To counter that, Britain relied on similar craft with more artillery and less torpedoes in order to keep attacking torpedo boats in check, called (torpedo boat) destroyers - in German, that would be Zerstörer.At the beginning of the war, the German Navy became interested in the concept, as they would now have need of a light vessel with a stronger emphasis on artillery, and ordered seven craft of the kind. As there was no design at hand right then, the Blohm & Voss shipyards came up with a des