Feth-i Bülend-class ironclad

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Painting depicting Feth-i Bülend's (left) battle with Vesta (center)
Class overview
Operators Ottoman Empire
Preceded byAvnillah-class ironclad
Succeeded byOttoman ironclad Iclaliye
Built1868–1874
In commission1870–1923
Completed2
Scrapped2
General characteristics
TypeCentral battery ship
Displacement2,762 metric tons (2,718 long tons)
Length72 m (236 ft 3 in) (p.p.)
Beam11.9 m (39 ft 1 in)
Draft5.2 m (17 ft 1 in)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph)
Complement16 officers, 153 sailors
Armament4 × 229 mm (9 in) Armstrong guns
Armor

The Feth-i Bülend class was a

Imperial Arsenal. The design for the ships was based on the earlier Avnillah class, which were also built in Britain. Central battery ships, Feth-i Bülend and Mukaddeme-i Hayir were armed with a battery of four 222 mm (8.7 in) Armstrong guns in a casemate
.

Both ships served during the

Salonika during the First Balkan War, where she was sunk by a Greek torpedo boat in October 1912. Mukaddeme-i Hayir survived, first as a training ship, and then as a barracks ship, until 1923, when she was broken up
.

Design

In 1861,

Thames Iron Works in 1867. The design for the Feth-i Bülend class was based on the earlier Avnillah class, both of which were built at the same shipyard. A second member of the class, Mukaddeme-i Hayir, was ordered from the Imperial Arsenal in 1868.[1][2] The rapid pace of naval development in the 1860s and 1870s rendered the design obsolescent by the time they entered service, as gun power increased and more modern armor types were developed to counter the more powerful artillery.[3]

Characteristics

Line-drawing of Feth-i Bülend

The ships of the Feth-i Bülend class were 72.01 m (236 ft 3 in)

BOM. They had a crew of 16 officers and 153 enlisted men.[4][2]

The ships were powered by a single horizontal

amidships. The engine was rated at 3,250 indicated horsepower (2,420 kW) and produced a top speed of 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph), though by 1877 Feth-i Bülend was only capable of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). Decades of poor maintenance had reduced both ships' speed to 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) by 1892. The Feth-i Bülend-class ships carried 600 t (590 long tons; 660 short tons) of coal. A supplementary sailing rig was also fitted.[4][2]

Feth-i Bülend and Mukaddeme-i Hayir were armed with a battery of four 222 mm (8.7 in) muzzle-loading Armstrong guns mounted in a central, armored casemate, two guns per side. The guns were positioned so as to allow any two to fire directly ahead, astern, or to either broadside. The casemate had heavy armor protection, with the gun battery protected by 222 mm of iron plating. The upper section of the casemate had thinner armor, at 150 mm (5.9 in) thick. The hull had a complete armored belt at the waterline, which extended 0.6 m (2 ft) above the line and 1.2 m (4 ft) below. The above-water portion was 222 mm thick, while the submerged part was 150 mm thick.[4][2]

Modifications

In 1882, Mukaddeme-i Hayir received a light secondary battery consisting of a pair of 87 mm (3.4 in)

15 cm SK L/40 guns were mounted in the casemate, and six 75 mm (3 in) guns and six 57 mm (2.2 in) guns were installed on the upper deck. Her crew was also increased to 220.[4][2]

Ships

Ship Builder[2] Laid down[2] Launched[2] Completed[2]
Feth-i Bülend
Thames Iron Works
 May 1868 1869 1870
Mukaddeme-i Hayir Imperial Arsenal 1870 28 October 1872 1874

Service history

After she entered service, Feth-i Bülend was sent to

Sokhumi in May 1877. On 23 July, Feth-i Bülend engaged the Russian armed steamer Vesta in an inconclusive action that left both vessels lightly damaged before Vesta escaped.[5] By this time, Mukaddeme-i Hayir had been transferred to Sulina at the mouth of the Danube to assist in the defense of the port; in November, she and several other ironclads disrupted a Russian attempt to mine the outer harbor.[6]

After the war, both vessels were

Salonika during the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–1912 and the First Balkan War of 1912. During the latter conflict, her guns were removed to strengthen the land defenses of the port, and she was sunk there by a Greek torpedo boat on 31 October 1912. From 1911, Mukaddeme-i Hayir was used in secondary roles, first as a training ship and after 1914 as a barracks ship. She was ultimately decommissioned in 1923 and broken up for scrap.[7]

Notes

  1. ^ Lyon, pp. 388–390.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Langensiepen & Güleryüz, p. 138.
  3. ^ Sondhaus, pp. 108–109.
  4. ^ a b c d Lyon, p. 390.
  5. ^ Langensiepen & Güleryüz, pp. 3, 5–6.
  6. ^ Wilson, pp. 296–297.
  7. ^ Langensiepen & Güleryüz, pp. 8–11, 20, 138.

References

  • Langensiepen, Bernd & Güleryüz, Ahmet (1995). The Ottoman Steam Navy 1828–1923. London: Conway Maritime Press.
    ISBN 978-0-85177-610-1
    .
  • Sondhaus, Lawrence (2001). Naval Warfare, 1815–1914. London: Routledge.
    ISBN 978-0-415-21478-0
    .
  • Lyon, Hugh (1979). "Turkey". In Gardiner, Robert (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 388–394.
    ISBN 978-0-85177-133-5
    .
  • Sturton, Ian. "Through British Eyes: Constantinople Dockyard, the Ottoman Navy, and the Last Ironclad, 1876–1909". Warship International. 57 (2). Toledo: International Naval Research Organization.
    ISSN 0043-0374
    .
  • OCLC 1111061
    .
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Feth-i_Bülend-class_ironclad&oldid=1212889593"