Osmaniye-class ironclad

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Line-drawing of the Osmaniye class
Class overview
Operators Ottoman Empire
Preceded byNone
Succeeded byAsar-i Tevfik
Built1863–1866
In commission1865–1909
Completed4
Scrapped4
General characteristics
Class and type
Ironclad frigate
Displacement6,400 metric tons (6,300 long tons; 7,100 short tons)
Length91.4 m (299 ft 10 in) (loa)
Beam16.9 m (55 ft 5 in)
Draft7.9 m (25 ft 11 in)
Installed power6 ×
box boilers
Propulsion
Speed13.5 knots (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph)
Complement
  • 26 officers
  • 335 enlisted men
Armament
  • 1 × 229 mm (9 in) RML Armstrong gun
  • 14 × 203 mm (8 in) RML Armstrong guns
  • 10 × 36-pounder Armstrong guns
Armor
  • Belt: 140 mm (5.5 in)
  • Battery: 127 mm (5 in)

The Osmaniye class was a group of four

broadside ironclads, carrying a battery of fourteen 203 mm (8 in) Armstrong guns and ten 36-pounder Armstrong guns in a bank of guns on each broadside
.

The ships saw little active service, in part owing to the fact that they were considered too large and thus too valuable to risk during the

Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878. The Ottoman fleet was placed in reserve for the following two decades, during which the four ships of the Osmaniye class were heavily rebuilt into more modern barbette ships. They were in poor condition by the outbreak of the Greco-Turkish War in 1897, like much of the rest of the fleet, and as a result saw no action during the war. The Navy considered rebuilding the ships for the second time in the early 1900s, but abandoned the idea due to their deteriorated state. As a result, the four ships were decommissioned in 1909 and Mahmudiye and Orhaniye were broken up
in 1913, with Osmaniye and Aziziye remaining in the Navy's inventory until 1923, when they too were scrapped.

Design

In 1861,

Abdülaziz became sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and thereafter began a construction program to strengthen the Ottoman Navy, which had incurred heavy losses during the Crimean War of 1853–1856. The Navy ordered ironclad warships from shipyards in Britain and France, though the program was limited by the Ottoman Empire's limited finances. The Osmaniye class were the first ironclads to be ordered as part of the program.[1]

Characteristics

The Osmaniye-class ships were 91.4 m (299 ft 10 in)

BOM. They had a crew of 26 officers and 335 enlisted men as completed, but only 250 after 1894.[2][3]

The shading represents areas of the hull covered by armor

The ships were powered by a single horizontal

barque rig with three masts was also fitted.[2][3]

The ships were armed with a battery of one 229 mm (9 in) rifled muzzle-loading (RML) Armstrong gun and fourteen 203 mm (8 in) RML Armstrongs. These were supplemented with ten 36-pounder guns, also manufactured by Armstrong. The 229 mm gun was placed on the upper deck, forward, and the rest of the guns were mounted on each broadside on the upper and main decks.[2][3]

The ships' wrought iron armored belt was 140 mm (5.5 in) thick, and was capped with 76 mm (3 in) thick transverse bulkhead at either end. The belt extended from 1 m (2 ft 6 in) above the waterline and 2 m (6 ft) below amidships, with the depth of the belt reduced to 1 m (4 ft 6 in) at either end of the ship. Above the belt were strakes of armor 127 mm (5 in) thick that protected the battery, transverse bulkheads 114 mm (4.5 in) connected the battery armor. The 229 mm gun in the bow was protected by a breastwork that was sheathed with 102 mm (4 in) of iron plate.[2][3]

Modifications

In 1884, the 36-pounder guns were removed and a light battery of four 47 mm (1.9 in) quick-firing (QF) Hotchkiss guns and two 4-barreled 25.4 mm (1 in) Nordenfelt guns were added.[3]

All four ships were refitted at the

240 mm (9.4 in) K L/35 guns were added in individual barbettes, one forward and one aft. Eight 150 mm (5.9 in) L/25 Krupp guns and six 105 mm (4.1 in) L/25 Krupp guns were installed on the broadside. Two of the 47 mm guns were removed and three more Nordenfelt guns were added.[3]

Ships

Ship Builder[3] Laid down[3] Launched[3] Completed[3]
Osmaniye Robert Napier and Sons 1863 2 September 1864 November 1865
Aziziye January 1865 August 1865
Orhaniye 26 June 1865 1866
Mahmudiye
Thames Iron Works
 13 December 1864

Service history

Osmaniye after her reconstruction

Unlike most of the other ironclads of the Ottoman fleet, the four Osmaniye-class ships were kept out of action during the

Greek Navy at sea.[6]

All four ships were disarmed after the war and

ship breakers in 1923.[7]

Notes

  1. ^ Lyon, pp. 388–389.
  2. ^ a b c d e Lyon, p. 389.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Langensiepen & Güleryüz, p. 133.
  4. ^ Sondhaus, p. 90.
  5. ^ Langensiepen & Güleryüz, pp. 6–7, 194.
  6. ^ Langensiepen & Güleryüz, pp. 8–9.
  7. ^ Langensiepen & Güleryüz, pp. 9–10, 133.

References

  • Langensiepen, Bernd & Güleryüz, Ahmet (1995). The Ottoman Steam Navy 1828–1923. London: Conway Maritime Press.
    ISBN 978-0-85177-610-1
    .
  • 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
    .
  • Sondhaus, Lawrence (2014). Navies of Europe. London: Routledge.
    ISBN 978-1-317-86978-8
    .
  • 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
    .
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