In 1934, a technical design specification was developed for a draft design of a heavy cruiser. Drawing from the lessons learned from the Deutschland class ships, engineers discarded the idea of using diesel power plants and instead opted for turbines and boilers with high steam parameters. The lead cruiser, Admiral Hipper, participated in the invasions of Denmark and Norway during World War II and conducted several raids in the Atlantic. On December 31, 1942, Hipper participated in the Battle of the Barents Sea against the JW-51B convoy, where she took damage in the engagement.