- The quenching and partitioning (Q&P) heat treatment enables a higher deformability of high strength martensitic steels. The Q&P heat treatment was applied on the martensitic stainless steel 1.4034 (X46Cr13) to study the influence of partitioning time. Therefore, extensive characterizations of the mechanical properties, focussing on the materials behaviour under different mechanical load scenarios, were performed. A comprehensive analysis of the microstructural evolution was per-formed for different heat treatment and mechanical loading states. A complete solution of chromium carbides was detected to be a first requirement for successful Q&P heat treatment. The comparison of common quenching and tempering with the Q&P heat treatment verifies the extensively enhanced materials strength whereat the formability is still acceptable. The microstructural reason was detected to be an increasing aus-tenite fraction due to austenite reversion at subgrain boundaries of martensite besides theThe quenching and partitioning (Q&P) heat treatment enables a higher deformability of high strength martensitic steels. The Q&P heat treatment was applied on the martensitic stainless steel 1.4034 (X46Cr13) to study the influence of partitioning time. Therefore, extensive characterizations of the mechanical properties, focussing on the materials behaviour under different mechanical load scenarios, were performed. A comprehensive analysis of the microstructural evolution was per-formed for different heat treatment and mechanical loading states. A complete solution of chromium carbides was detected to be a first requirement for successful Q&P heat treatment. The comparison of common quenching and tempering with the Q&P heat treatment verifies the extensively enhanced materials strength whereat the formability is still acceptable. The microstructural reason was detected to be an increasing aus-tenite fraction due to austenite reversion at subgrain boundaries of martensite besides the stabilising of retained austenite. Further a distinctive strength differential effect was observed.…