 The fourth and final Naval Law , passed in 1912 , governed the building program of the German navy during World War I. The Imperial Naval Office ( Reichsmarineamt ) decided the Navy should construct one battleship and one battlecruiser every year between 1913 and 1917 , with an additional unit of both types in 1913 and 1916 . Design work on the new class began in 1912 , with construction intended to begin in the 1914 budget year . The question about the main battery for the new battlecruisers was the most pressing ; the previous Derfflinger class was armed with 30 @.@ 5 @-@ centimeter ( 12 @.@ 0 in ) guns , though some consideration had been given to redesigning the last two ships — SMS Lützow and Hindenburg — with 35 cm ( 14 in ) guns . 
