Initially, twelve ships were ordered based on the P-class design. The ships were ordered under the provisional names P1 through P12; the contracts were awarded to a number of German shipyards, including Deutsche Werke in Kiel, Blohm & Voss in Hamburg, and the KM Dockyard in Wilhelmshaven. However, Plan Z was reduced in size, and the number of armored ships was pared down to only eight vessels. This caused several of the contracts to be shifted around amongst the various shipbuilding companies. The first keel was set to be laid on 1 Feb 1940. The revised version of Plan Z, approved on 27 July 1939, removed the P-class ships from the construction queue. Instead, the decision was made to build the O-class battlecruisers only.