German Pre-Dreadnought Battleship Zähringen

SMS Zähringen was the third of the Wittelsbach-class pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial German Navy. Laid down in 1899, and completed in October 1902. During most of her active career, she served with I Squadron of the German fleet . She was decommissioned in September 1910, but returned to service briefly for training in 1912, where she accidentally rammed and sank a torpedo boat. With the start of World War One, Zähringen was moved to active duty serving with IV Battle Squadron along with her sisters Wittelsbach, Wettin, Schwaben, and Mecklenburg. She saw limited duty in the North Sea and in the Baltic against Russia, including the Battle of the Gulf of Riga, although she saw no combat with Russian forces. The threat from British submarines and a shortage of crew forced the ship to be withdrawn from the Baltic in 1916. For the remainder of the war, Zähringen served as a target ship for torpedo training.

She was retained by the German Navy post-war and converted to a radio controlled target ship. She was used in this capacity until 1944, when she was sunk by British bombers in Gotenhafen. Retreating German forces raised the ship and moved her to the harbor mouth, where they scuttled her to block the port. Zähringen was broken up in situ in 1949–50.