SMS Hessen
| 300px Hessen ca. 1931 | |
| Career (Germany) | Kaiser |
|---|---|
| Name: | Hessen |
| Namesake: | Hesse |
| Builder: | Germaniawerft, Kiel |
| Laid down: | April 1902 |
| Launched: | 18 September 1903 |
| Commissioned: | 19 September 1905 |
| Fate: | Ceded to the Soviet Union following World War II, renamed Tsel and scrapped in 1960 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Braunschweig-class battleship |
| Displacement: | 14,167 tons |
| Length: | 419 ft (128 m) |
| Beam: | 73 ft (22 m) |
| Draught: | 26 ft (7.9 m) |
| Propulsion: |
3 shafts triple expansion 17,000 ihp (13,000 kW) |
| Speed: | 19 knots (35 km/h) |
| Range: | 4,530 nautical miles (8,000 km); 10 knots (20 km/h) |
| Complement: | 743 |
| Armament: |
2 × 2 - 28 cm (11 in) SK L/40 guns 14 × 17 cm (6.7 in) guns 14 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns 45 cm (18 in) torpedo tubes |
| Armor: |
Belt 9–4 inches turrets 10 inches (250 mm) deck 3 inches (76 mm) |
SMS Hessen[Note 1] was the third of five pre-dreadnought battleships of the Braunschweig class. She was laid down in 1902 and commissioned into the German Imperial Navy in 1905. She was named after the state of Hesse. Her sister ships were Braunschweig, Elsaß, Preußen, and Lothringen. Like all other pre-dreadnoughts built at the turn of the century, Hessen was quickly made obsolete by the launching of HMS Dreadnought in 1906; as a result, she saw only limited service with the German fleet.
During World War I, Hessen saw action in the Battle of Jutland as the second ship of the III Division of the II Battle Squadron. After the battle, the vessel was disarmed and used as a depot ship. Hessen was one of the few obsolete battleships Germany was permitted to retain under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. In 1935, the ship was converted into a radio-controlled target. The ship was ceded to the Soviet Union in 1946 and, renamed Tsel, served until scrapped in 1960.
Contents
Service history
Hessen was laid down in 1902 in the Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel, launched on 18 September 1903, and commissioned into the fleet almost exactly two years later, on 19 September 1905. The ship cost 23,983 marks. Hessen joined II Battle Squadron in April 1906. During fleet excercises on 23 August 1911, Hessen accidentally rammed and sank the Danish steamer Askesund. The crew of the steamer was rescued and there were no reported injuries.[1] In October, the ship was badly damaged when she was rammed by the Danish steamer Argo.[2]
At the outbreak of hostilities, the ship was assigned to the IV Battle Squadron along with her four sisters, and served primarily in the Baltic Sea.[3] Hessen performed fleet duties up through the first two years of World War I.[4]
Battle of Jutland
Hessen took part in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May–1 June 1916. Hessen and the five ships of the Deutschland class formed the II Battle Squadron, under the command of Rear Admiral Franz Mauve. During the battle, Hessen and the Deutschland class ships performed a vital blocking action that covered the withdrawal of the German battlecruisers. Vice Admiral David Beatty's battlecruisers had attacked the German ships in the darkness, and when the German ships had turned westward to evade their attackers, Mauve continued in a southerly course, which placed his ships between the British and German battlecruisers. The British battlecruisers turned their attention to the pre-dreadnoughts, who in turn altered their course to the southwest in order to bring all of their guns to bear on the British ships. In the brief engagement, Hessen fired her main battery five times.[5]
At approximately 03:00 on 1 June, a group of British destroyers launched a torpedo attack against the German battle line. At 03:07, Hessen narrowly avoided a torpedo, but Pommern, the ship directly ahead of Hessen, was not so lucky. At 03:10, Pommern was struck by at least one torpedo, which is believed to have detonated one of the ship's 6.7 in (17 cm) shell magazines, destroying the ship. Hessen was undamaged.[6]
In 1917, Hessen was withdrawn from active service, disarmed, and used as a depot ship in Brunsbüttel.[4]
Post-war service
Hessen was one of eight old predreadnoughts, along with the other ships of her class and the Deutschland class battleships Schleswig-Holstein and Schlesien, that Germany was permitted to retain under the terms of Treaty of Versailles. After being refitted and rearmed, Hessen returned to service with the Reichsmarine in 1925.[4] The ship conducted several cruises to Norway, Spain, and the Mediterranean.
Conversion to target ship
On 12 November 1934, Hessen was withdrawn from fleet service. On 31 March 1935, Hessen was stricken from the reserve list and converted into target ship. The armament was removed, the hull was lengthened, and new machinery was installed. The original superstructure was replaced with a single funnel and a tower foremast. The ship had a crew of 80 but could be operated by remote control when being used as a target.[4]
Hessen was recommissioned on 1 April 1937 and served in the Kriegsmarine through World War II. She was ceded to the Soviet Union in 1946. Renamed Tsel, she continued to operate as a target ship until scrapped in 1960.[4]
Notes
Footnotes
References
- Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-790-9.
- Hore, Peter (2006). The Ironclads. Southwater. ISBN 1844762998.
- Naval Institute Proceedings, Volume 38. Annapolis: United States Naval Institute. 1912.
- Tarrant, V. E. (1995). Jutland: The German Perspective. Cassell Military Paperbacks. ISBN 0-304-35848-7.
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