Hessen

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Hessen was one of five Braunschweig Class battleships, the first class of German battleships to compare favorably to contemporary British designs. They were good sea boats, and very maneuverable. Some of their secondary guns were mounted in turrets at the main deck level, a departure from the practice of foreign navies, which put secondary guns in casemates and mounted an intermediate battery in turrets. German designers rejected the intermediate battery as causing too many fire-control issues. The center three casemate gun mountings were of a unique design, in that they could retract entirely into the hull to allow the otherwise too-wide ship to use the locks in the Kiel canal.

Hessen served with the High Seas Fleet until after the Battle of Jutland, when all pre-dreadnought were withdrawn from fleet service. She became a depot ship at Brunsbuttel, and was disarmed at the end of the war. As one of the pre-dreadnought retained by Germany under the Treaty of Versailles, she was re-armed and refitted 1923-25. The 6 cylindrical boilers were replaced with 2 Oil Marine boilers, but the 8 coal powered boilers were retained. She served as a coast defense ship until November 12, 1934, when she was retired again from service. She was stricken on March 31, 1935.

The old vessel was taken in hand for a full conversion in April 1935, to begin a new life as a target vessel. Her bow was lengthened by almost 30 feet, the old one being cut off at frame 84. Her turrets and superstructure were removed, and all casemates were plated over, while the number of watertight compartments was increased from 13 to 15. The original machinery was removed; oil-fired Marine-type boilers and two turbines driving two shafts with 3-bladed, 3.7-meter diameter propellers were installed. Additional armor was installed, with the bow being plated with 40mm of Wh steel, and the waterline being thickened to 170mm. Cork filled empty compartments, the electrical system was converted to 110V from the original 74V, and machinery and rudder controls were converted to radio control. Crew and operating rooms were moved to inside the rear barbette and under the armored deck, and a capstan installed in the bow barbette. Her crew was reduced to 80 officers and men. Oddly, a single underwater M5 torpedo tube was installed at the bow, angled 10-degrees to port, for experimental purposes.

In this guise she re-entered service in July 1937, and was first shot up by the cruiser Leipzig in August 1937. Controlled by an accompanying destroyer, she provided valuable service training ship gunners, shore battery personnel, and pilots. She survived the Second World War, and was claimed as a war prize by the Soviet Union. Turned over in January 1946, the old vessel was renamed Tsel. She continued in service as a radio-controlled target ship for many years. Sources give conflicting dates, but the old vessel finally went to the breakers in the mid 1950s.

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