The first German battleships of the 1st class (from February 27, 1899, battleships) of the Brandenburg type, in relation to the composition of the artillery weapons used on them, turned out to be very unusual and unlike the contemporary battleships of the main naval powers, which caused a lot of controversy in German naval circles. But after the first tests, the correctness of the concept embedded in them was confirmed, and they turned out to be successful ships. The continuation of the history of the development of German 1st class battleships must begin with the first series of battleships of the Kaiser type, or, as they began to be designated in 1912, the Kaiser Friedrich III type. As the lead series of German pre-dreadnought battleships, she was one of four series of ships of the same type, on which all existing problems with equipment and artillery weapons arose and were resolved, before the appearance of dreadnought battleships in the German fleet.