World War I naval ships of the Ottoman Empire
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A naval race had developed in the Aegean after the end of the
Despite these drawbacks, during World War I the Ottoman Navy saw much action against the Russian, British, and French fleets in the Black Sea, Aegean Sea and the Sea of Marmara.
Dreadnoughts
The two dreadnoughts, Reşadiye and Sultân Osmân-ı Evvel that had been ordered by the Ottoman government, were never handed over despite the fact that they had both been completed in Britain. Prior to this occurrence, Sultân Osmân-ı Evvel had been constructed by Armstrong Whitworth for the Brazilian Navy in 1911 under the name Rio de Janeiro due to naval rivalries with Argentina. These were eventually resolved in 1913. After the conflict Brazil turned down its order, but the Armstrong Whitworth company did not scrap the ship as it could be sold to other potential customers, among them the Ottoman Empire.[1] In August 1914, the former was transferred to the Royal Navy. She was renamed in the British Fleet as HMS Erin and the latter remained in Ottoman hands until February of 1916 when she was taken in the nighttime as her crew was off the ship, and British ships nearby took her over and renamed her HMS Agincourt.
Battle cruisers
The German
Pre-dreadnought battleships
The two
Coastal defense ships
Protected cruisers
Two Ottoman
in June 1915, later being returned to the Ottoman Navy in May 1918 after the Germans captured Ukraine.Light cruisers
The Ottoman Navy acquired during the Great War the light cruiser Midilli (formerly the German SMS Breslau). She served with the SMS Goeben in many raids against Russian shipping and ports from late October 1914. Midilli was sunk in the Aegean Sea on 20 January 1918 whilst with the SMS Goeben by five Allied mines.
Destroyers
The Ottoman Navy had eight
Yarhisar was sunk by the British submarine HMS E11 December 1915, Gayret-i Vataniye ran aground October 1916 and was abandoned, Yâdigâr-ı Millet was bombed by British aircraft July 1917, raised and scrapped.
Torpedo boats
The Ottoman Navy possessed the old torpedo boat Berk Efşân.
Submarines
In 1910, the first and thus far only (modern) submarine operated by the Ottoman Navy, Abdül Hamid (also Abdülhamid), was scrapped. The Ottoman Empire did not have any submarines going into World War I but obtained one operational submarine during the war. Müstecip Onbaşı, was the former French Turquoise, which ran aground in the Dardanelles on 30 October 1915 and was captured by the Turks.[2] She was returned to France in 1918.
Minelayers
The Ottoman Navy also had several
Armored Gunships
The ironclad Muîn-i Zafer was built in 1867-71 at Blackwall, one of a group of 7 ships. Rebuilt in 1904-07 by the Italian Naval Shipyards Ansaldo of Genoa, she was of little military value by 1914. A sister unit, the Avnillâh was sunk in Beirut during the Italo-Turkish War.[3]
Order of Battle, 1914
On October 27, 1914, the main naval ships of the Ottoman Navy was organized as follows:[4]
- Naval Minister: Djemal Pasha
- Fleet Commander: Admiral Wilhelm Souchon
- Chief of Staff: Admiral Arif
| 1st Division | 2nd Division | 1st Destroyer Division | 2nd Destroyer Division | 1st Torpedo Boat Division | 2nd Torpedo Boat Division | Mine Group ( Korvet Kaptanı Kasımpaşalı Nazmi Emin)
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kalyon Kaptanı[dn 1] Richard Ackermann) |
Fırkateyn Kaptanı[dn 2] Paul Kettner) |
Nümune-i Hamiyet (out of order) |
Samsun (Yzb. Üsküdarlı Nezir Abdullah) |
Draç (Yzb. Aziz Mahmud Ali) |
Sultanhisar (Yzb. Beşiktaşlı Riza Mehmed) |
Yûnus (Yzb. Kasimpaşalı Ahmed Mahmud) | |
| Barbaros Hayreddin (Kalyon Kaptanı Mustafapaşalı Muzaffer) |
Hamidiye (Yzb. Kasımpaşalı Vasif Muhiddin) |
Ayasofyalı Ahmed Saffed ) |
Taşoz (Yzb. Tevfik Halid) |
Kütahya (Yzb. Kasimpaşalı Ibrahim Halil) |
Demirhisar (Yzb. Istanbullu Ahmed Şefik Hasan) |
Nusret (Yzb. Tophaneli Hakki) | |
| Turgut Reis (Yzb. Sultanselimli Namik Hasan) |
TCG Peyk-i Şevket (Kalyon Kaptanı Üsküdarlı Ibrahim Cevat) |
Gayret-i Vataniye (Yzb. Kasımpaşalı Cemil Ali) |
Basra (out of order) |
Mûsul (Yzb. Piyaleli Ahmed Naim Hüsnü) |
Sivrihisar (Yzb. Kasımpaşalı Mehmed Sabri) |
Intibah (Korvet Kaptanı Ahmed Halid Bekir) | |
| Mesûdiye (Korvet Kaptanı Beşiktaşlı Arif Nebi) |
Berk-i Satvet (Korvet Kaptanı Küçükmustafapaşalı Hamdi) |
Yadigar-i Millet (Yzb. Yeniçeşmeli Rauf Said) |
Yarhisar (Yzb. Ahmed Hulusi Hasan) |
Akhisar (out of order) |
Hamidâbad (Yzb. Ibrahim Rıza Kerim) |
Nilüfer (Yzb. Cibalili Hasan Murad) |
—
1st Division Sultan Osman-ı Evvel |
Notes
- ^ Kapitän zur See, source: Illustrierte Geschichte des Weltkrieges 1914/15-[1914/19], Teil 7, Union Deutsche Verlagsgesellschaft, 1919, p. 60. (in German)
- ^ Fregattenkapitän, source: Illustrierte Geschichte des Weltkrieges 1914/15-[1914/19], Teil 7, Union Deutsche Verlagsgesellschaft, 1919, p. 60. (in German)
Citations
- ^ "Requisitioned Dreadnoughts: Sultan Osman I and Residaye".
- ^ "TURQUOISE". University of Leeds Library Liddle Collection. University of Leeds. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- ^ "San Francisco Call, Volume 111, Number 87, 25 February 1912 — ITALIAN SHIPS SHELL BEIRUT, KILLING SIXTY".
References
- The Ottoman Navy in World War I, from Naval-History.net
- The War at Sea, from SparkNotes - Another good reference for World War I naval warfare.
- Turkish navy in WW1
- Jane, Fred T., ed., Jane's Fighting Ships 1914, reprinted Arco, New York, 1969.