 The four s were ordered as part of the Anglo-German naval arms race; they were the fourth generation of German dreadnought battleships, and they were built in response to the British that had been ordered in 1909.The "König"s represented a refinement of the earlier , with the primary improvement being a more efficient arrangement of the main battery.The ships had also been intended to use a diesel engine on the center propeller shaft to increase their cruising range, but development of the diesels proved to be more complicated than expected, so an all-steam turbine powerplant was retained.