Pilot (icebreaker)

It had the bow altered to achieve an ice-clearing capability (20° raise from keel line).

That year the Elbe River and the port of Hamburg froze, which caused a prolonged halt of navigation and huge commercial losses.

In such circumstances, Germans purchased Pilot's design from Britnev for some 300 rubles.

Another contender for this title is icebreaker Yermak, built in England for Russia according to the design of Admiral Stepan Makarov and under his supervision.

Makarov borrowed the main principles from Pilot and applied them for creation of the first polar icebreaker, which was able to run over and crush pack ice.