The German Imperial Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) created a series of fleet cruiser designs—designated Flottenkreuzer—in 1916 to follow the Cöln-class cruisers ordered in 1915. They were initially intended to favor high speed for reconnaissance over the heavier gun armament of the Cöln class, though by the final iterations, they were as powerful as the earlier class. The design staff ultimately drew up five different designs: FK 1, FK 1a, FK 2, FK 3, and FK 4. The proposals ranged in size from 3,000 metric tons (3,000 long tons; 3,300 short tons) to 7,500 t (7,400 long tons; 8,300 short tons) designed displacement and were armed with a main battery of between five and eight 15 cm (5.9 in) guns. Each proposed design grew in size over the preceding draft, as the weaponry and propulsion systems