Development
During a May 1907 conference, the Germany Navy Office decided to follow up the Von der Tann unique battlecruiser with an enlarged design. The 44 million marks allocated for the 1908 fiscal year created the possibility of increasing the size of the main guns from the 28 cm (11 in) weapons of the preceding design to 30.5 cm (12 in). However, Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, along with the Construction Department, argued that increasing the number of guns from 8 to 10 would be preferable, as the 28 cm guns had been deemed sufficient to engage even battleships. Tirpitz also argued that, given the numerical superiority of the Royal Navy's reconnaissance forces, it would be more prudent to increase the number of main guns, rather than increase their caliber. The General Navy Department held that for the new design to fight in the battle line, 30.5 cm guns were necessary. Ultimately, Tirpitz and the Construction Department won the debate, and Moltke was to be equipped with ten 28 cm guns. It was also mandated by the Construction Department that the new ships have armor protection equal or superior to Von der Tann's and a top speed of at least 24.5 knots (45.4 km/h).
During the design process, there were many weight increases due to growth in the size of the citadel, armor thickness, additions to the ammunition stores, and the rearrangement of the boiler system. It was originally planned to build only one ship of the new design, but due to the strains being put on the Navy design staff, it was decided to build two ships of the new type. They were assigned under the contract names of "Cruiser G" and "Cruiser H". As Blohm & Voss made the lowest bid for "Cruiser G", the company also secured the contract for "Cruiser H". The former was assigned to the 1908–09 building year, while the latter was assigned to 1909–10.
The contract for "Cruiser G" was awarded on 17 September 1908, under building number 200. The keel was laid on 7 December 1908, and the ship was launched on 7 April 1910. "Cruiser G" was commissioned on 30 September 1911 as SMS Moltke. The ship's namesake was Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke, the Chief of Staff of the Prussian Army in the mid 19th century. "Cruiser H" was ordered on 8 April 1909 with the building number 201. The ship's keel was laid on 12 August 1909; the hull was launched on 28 March 1911. After fitting-out, "Cruiser H" was commissioned on 2 July 1912 as SMS Goeben. The ship was named for August Karl von Goeben, a Prussian general who served during the Franco-Prussian War.
Read more about this topic: Moltke Class Battlecruiser
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