Many problems were encountered with designing the ships, the most prevalent being armor. The required maximum speed of 34 kn (63 km/h; 39 mph) meant that the minimum length had to grow from the original 217 m (711 ft 11 in) to 229.50 m (752 ft 11 in). It also meant that the beam could be a minimum of 25 m (82 ft 0 in)—unless diesel engines, like those used in the Deutschland's, were desired; they would increase the beam by 2 m (6 ft 7 in). Unfortunately for the designers, the widened beam meant that an even longer hull was needed to maintain hydrodynamic efficiency. All of this complicated the armor arrangements, as more armor was needed to cover the longer length and widened beam. Eventually it was deemed that it was impossible to include diesel power on a 20,000-metric-ton (20,000-long-ton) displacement.[6] 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.[3]