Former German battleship Hessen active as ice breaker according to the Dutch newspaper De Indische courant dated13 January 1926

Braunschweig-class

Hessen as target

An item dated Nauen, Germany 12th reported that the former German battleship Hessen (1) arrived at Reval [nowadays Tallinn, Estonia] and was already preparing the needed measures to free the 25 ships there trapped in the ice. First was an ice free waterway of kilometres length to be created before she could even arrived at the trapped ships.

Note
1. Laid down with the contract name “L” at the Germaniawerft, Kiel with yard number 100 in April 1902, launched by princess Irene von Hessen-Darmstadt on 18 September 1903, commissioned on 19 September 1905,  target in the Baltic Sea in December 1916, decommissioned on 18 January 1917, disarmed and converted into an accommodation for submarine crews at Brunsbüttel, Germany nicknamed SMS Kleinste Fahrt, modernized in 1924, decommissioned on 5 January 1925, replaced by the pocket battleship Admiral Scheer decommissioned on 12 November 1934, converted into a radio-controlled target decommissioned on 1 April 1937, used as target and as icebreaker in the Baltic and North Sea between 1939-1945, ceded to Russia at Libau, Latvia in January 1946, renamed Tsel and finally broken up in 1960. Of the Braunschweig-class consisting of the Braunschweig, Elsass, Hessen, Lotharingen and Preussen. Preceded by the Wittelsbach-class and succeeded by the Deutschland-class.