Braunschweig - class battleship The " Braunschweig " - class battleships were pre - dreadnought battleship s of the Kaiserliche Marine ( the German Imperial Navy ) . The class comprised five ships : , , , , and . The ships were an improvement over the preceding ; the ships mounted a more powerful main battery , were two knots faster , and had better armor protection . The five ships all saw active service during World War I , primarily as coast defense ships in the IV Battle Squadron . " Hessen " was transferred to the II Battle Squadron in 1916 and took part in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1June 1916 . All five ships of the class were retained by the Reichsmarine following Germany ' s defeat in World War I , and saw further service in a variety of roles . " Hessen " was eventually rebuilt as a radio - controlled target ship , while " Preussen " and " Lothringen " were converted into minesweeper tenders . All of the ships , with the exception of " Hessen " , were broken up in the 1930s ; " Hessen " survived until the end of World War II , when she was taken over by the Soviet Navy , for continued use as a target ship . Design . General characteristics . The " Braunschweig " - class ships were 413 ft 3 in long at the waterline , and overall . The ships had a beam of , and a draft of . The ships had thirteen watertight compartments and a double bottom for 60 percent of the length of the hull . The ships displaced 13 , 208 tonnes at their designed weight , and 14 , 394 t at a full load . The ships were described as good sea - boats , but were prone to heavy pitching . The ships were responsive and had a tight turning radius at low speed , but at hard rudder of 12 degrees , the ships lost up to 70 percent speed . The ships had a crew of 35 officers and 708 men normally , and when serving as a squadron flagship , they had an additional 13 officers and 66 men . The ships carried a number of smaller boats aboard , including two picket boats , two launches , a pinnace ( later removed ) , two cutters , two yawls , and two dinghies . Propulsion . The ships of the " Braunschweig " - class were propelled by three shaft triple expansion engines that were rated at . The triple expansion engines were powered by eight Marine type boilers and six cylinder boilers . After 1915 , oil - firing capability was added to supplement the coal - fired boilers . The ships had a single rudder and three screws . The two outer propellers were three - bladed , and 4 . 8 m ( 5 . 24 yd ) in diameter . The center screw was four - bladed and 4 . 5 m ( 4 . 92 yd ) in diameter . The ships ' top speed was rated at . During trials , however , the engines produced between , and a top speed between . The ships of the class could steam at a cruising speed of 10 knots ( 19 km / h ) , with the exception of " Hessen " . " Hessen " suffered from unstable steering , which increased fuel consumption and shortened her operational range to at . The first two ships — " Braunschweig " and " Elsass " had four generators that produced 230 k $ 4 ( 74 $ 4 ) , while three following ships — " Hessen " , " Preussen " , and " Lothringen " had four turbo - generators that provided 260 kW ( 110 V ) . Armor . The ships were equipped with Krupp armor . The deck armor was 40 mm ( 1 . 57 in ) thick on the horizontal , and ranged between 140 – 75 – 140 mm ( 5 . 51 – 2 . 95 – 5 . 51 in ) in the sloped deck armor . The main armored belt was 250 mm ( 9 . 8 in ) thick . The forward conning tower had a 50 mm ( 1 . 97 in ) thick roof , while the sides were 300 mm ( 11 . 8 in ) thick . The aft conning tower had a roof protected by 30 mm ( 1 . 2 in ) of armor plating and 140 mm ( 5 . 51 in ) armor on the sides . The ship ' s citadel was also protected by 140 mm of armor . The main battery turrets had 50 mm thick roofs and 250 mm sides . The secondary battery turrets were protected by 150 mm ( 5 . 9 in ) of armor , while the casemated guns had gun shields 70 mm ( 2 . 75 in ) thick . Armament . The ships ' main armament was increased from previous designs , but still weaker than contemporary foreign battleships . The main armament comprised four SK L / 40 guns quick - firing guns in twin turrets , increased from four guns from previous designs , compared with the guns used on many foreign ships . The guns could depress down to −4 degrees , and elevate to + 30 degrees , which enabled a maximum range of 18 , 800 m ( 20 , 600 yd ) . The guns fired 529 lb shells at a muzzle velocity of 2690 feet per second ( 820 m / s ) The main battery had a total of 340 shells , for 85 shells per gun . The secondary battery consisted of fourteen SK L / 40 quick - firing guns , four of which were mounted in single turrets amidships , with the remaining ten in casemates around the superstructure . The guns fired 141 lb shells at a muzzle velocity of 2789 f / s ( 850 m / s ) . The turret - mounted guns could be elevated to 30 degrees , for a maximum range of 16 , 900 m ( 18 , 500 yds ) , while the casemated guns could only elevate to 22 degrees , and had a correspondingly lower range of 14 , 500 m ( 15 , 850 yd ) . These guns had a total of 1820 shells , for 130 rounds per gun . To transit the Kiel Canal , the three central 17 cm casemated guns had to be withdrawn into their housings , as they were unable to train fully flush with the sides of the ships . With the guns fully emplaced , the ships would have been too wide to fit in the canal . The ships also had fourteen SK L / 35 quick - firing guns in casemate s along the length of the ship . The guns fired 15 . 4 lb shells at a muzzle velocity of 2 , 526 f / t ( 770 m / s ) , and could be elevated to 25 degrees for a maximum range of 9 , 090 m ( 9 , 940 yd ) . They were also armed with six torpedo tubes , with a total of 16 torpedoes . Construction . " Braunschweig " was laid down at the Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel in 1901 , was launched on 20 December 1902 , and commissioned into the fleet on 15 October 1904 . " Elsass " was built at Schichau in Danzig , starting in 1901 . The ship was launched on 26 May 1903 and commissioned on 29 November 1904 . " Hessen " was also built at Germaniawerft , starting in 1902 . She was launched on 18 September 1903 , and commissioned just over two years later on 19 September 1905 . " Preussen " was laid down in 1902 at the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin , launched on 30 October 1903 , and commissioned into the fleet on 12 July 1905 . " Lothringen " , the final ship of the class , was laid down at the Schichau dockyards in 1902 . She was launched on 27 May 1904 , and commissioned just under two years later on 18 May 1906 . Service history . World War I . At the start of the First World War , the members of the " Braunschweig " class were assigned to IV Battle Squadron under the command of Vice Admiral Erhard Schmidt , and tasked with coastal defense duties . " Braunschweig " and " Elsass " both participated in the early portion of the Battle of the Gulf of Riga . The two ships kept the Russian pre - dreadnought at bay while a Russian minefield was cleared , but the Russian forces put up a strong defense . Vice Admiral Schmidt decided to withdraw his forces when it became apparent that the mine clearing had taken too long , and there wasn ' t sufficient daylight left for the minelayer to lay a minefield of its own . In 1916 , " Hessen " was assigned to II Battle Squadron , and participated in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916 . Late in the day on the 31st , " Hessen " and the other pre - dreadnoughts of the II Battle Squadron briefly engaged Vice Admiral David Beatty ' s 1st Battlecruiser Squadron , and in doing so , covered the withdrawal of the battered German battlecruisers under the command of Franz von Hipper . Starting in 1916 , the ships of the " Braunschweig " class were withdrawn from active service , primarily because of manpower shortages . " Braunschweig " was used as a training ship , and on 20 August 1917 , was converted into a barracks ship in Kiel . " Elsass " was also used as a barracks and training ship in Kiel , having been withdrawn from active service on 25 July 1916 . " Hessen " was converted into a depot ship in Brunsbüttel in 1917 , while " Preussen " became a depot ship in Wilhelmshaven that same year . " Lothringen " was withdrawn from service in 1917 and used as an engineer training ship in Wilhelmshaven . Post - World War I . Because all of Germany ' s powerful dreadnought s had either been scuttled in Scapa Flow or ceded to the Allies as war prizes , the " Braunschweig " - class battleships were recommissioned into the newly reorganized Reichsmarine . In the years following World War I , " Braunschweig " , " Elsass " , and " Hessen " were to be rebuilt as coastal defense ships , although this plan was abandoned . " Braunschweig " served in the Reichsmarine from 1921 to 1926 , at which point she was withdrawn from active duty . On 31 May 1931 , she was stricken and converted into a hulk at Wilhelmshaven , and eventually scrapped . " Elsass " saw active duty in the fleet from 1924 until 25 February 1930 , at which point she was removed from active service . On 31 March 1931 , she was stricken , hulked in Wilhelmshaven . On 31 October 1935 , " Elsass " was sold to Norddeutscher - Lloyd in Bremerhaven , and scrapped in 1936 . " Hessen " served in the fleet from 1925 to 12 November 1934 , when she was withdrawn and converted into a target ship . Conversion work lasted from 31 March 1935 to 1 April 1937 , when she was recommissioned as a target . She served in this capacity until 1945 ; at the end of World War II , she was renamed " Tsel " and ceded to the Soviet Union . The ship was eventually scrapped in the 1960s . " Preussen " saw active service with the fleet as a minesweeper depot ship from 1919 to 5 April 1929 , when she was stricken from the navy list . The ship was sold for breaking on 25 February 1931 for 216 , 800 Mark , and scrapped in Wilhelmshaven . A 63 m ( 68 . 9 yd ) section of the hull was kept for use as a torpedo target and other explosives . The hull section was bombed and sunk by Allied aircraft in April 1945 . The wreck was eventually raised and scrapped in 1954 . " Lothringen " was also converted into a minesweeper depot ship , and she served in this capacity from 1922 to 1926 . The ship was stricken on 31 March 1931 , sold for scrapping for 269 , 650 Marks , and broken up by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg .