The Navy of the Ottoman Turks, 1914

In January 2001 Berndt Langensiepen (Langensiep@aol.com), the author of The Ottoman Steam Navy 1828-1923 (Conway Maritime Press, 1992) has provided some corrections to the tabular data below - certainly the table must treated cautiously, until better information is provided:

The following has been contributed by "Boris Broadside" (bbroadside@imagina.com).

The following tables apply as much as possible to the Ottoman Fleet in 1914. The practical efficacy of these vessels varies quite a bit. Turgut Reis is said to have been practically worn out by the end of the First World War; Medjidieh spent a lot of time in Russian hands, being dismantled and re-armed; the last two vessels in the chart were relegated to training duties, indicating either that they were unfit for battle or that the Turks put an inordinate emphasis on training. On the other hand, Goeben proved herself worthy in actions both in the Black Sea and near Greece, and survived the war still serviceable. Note that many of the older ships were rebuilt in European ports in the early 20th Century.

Turgut Reis and Hairedin Barbarossa are German-built sisters and are probably in the same class as Brandenburg and Worth. Goeben was sister to Moltke; Breslau was name ship of a class including Stralsund et al. Medjidieh was built in Philadelphia.
TT stands for torpedo tube(s)

Capital Ships

Name

Displacement, tons

Armament

Speed, knots

Launch Date

Fate

Sultan Selim (ex-Goeben)

22,600

10 x 11", 12 x 5.9", 4 x 19.7" TT

25

March 1911

Survived into the 1970s

Messudiyeh

10,000

2 x 9.2", 12 x 6"

16

1874

Torpedoed in 1914

Turgut Reis (ex-Weissenburg)

9901

6 x 11", 8 x 4.1", 2 x 18" TT

17

1891

Survived WWI

Hairedin Barbarossa (ex-Kurfurst Frederich Wilhellm)

9900

6 x 11", 8 x 4.1", 2 x 18" TT

17

ca. 1891

Torpedoed in 1915

Midillu (ex-Breslau)

4570

12 x 4.1", 4 x 19.7" TT

27

1911

Mined in 1918

Medjidieh

3300

4 x 5.1" (Russian)

22

1903

Mined and captured in 1915, returned in 1918

Muin-I-Zaffer

2362

4 x 5.9", 6 x 3", 1 x 14" TT

15

1869

Survived WWI

Idjlalieh

Existed but was "utterly useless" at end of war

Tiri-Mujghian (ex-Pembroke Castle)*

4052

8 x 3 pdr.

14

1883

Survived WWI

Hamidieh*

3830

2 x 5.9", 2 x 18" TT

22

1903

Survived WWI

* indicates a training ship

Destroyers and Gunboats

Type

Built at

Number at war start

Displacement, tons

Armament

Speed, knots

Built

Destroyers

Schichau

4

607

2 x 3.4", 3 x 18" TT

27

1909

Bordeaux / Creusot

3

270

1 x 12 pdr., 2 x 18" TT

ca. 28

1906-1907

Krupp

1

200

6 x 6 pdr., 2 x 14" TT

1894

Torpedo Gunboats

Krupp

2

1014

2 x 3.9", 3 x TT

22

1906

Gunboats

St. Nazaire

5

502

2 x 3.9"

14

1912

Schneider-Canet

1

500

4 x 9 pdr.

14

1907

La Seyne

3

413

3 x 3"

14

1911-1912

Creusot

3

210

2 x 3 pdr, 1 x TT

12

1907

Constantinople

several

198

4 x 12 pdr., 2 x 14" TT

1908

miscellaneous

7

120-200

1903, 1906, et. al.

Torpedo Boats

Name Ship

Built at

Number at war start

Length, feet

Armament

Built

Drach

Ansaldo

4

167

2 x 1 pdr., 2 x 14" TT

1905

Ak-Hisar

Ansaldo

3 or more

165

2 x 1 pdr., 2 x 18" TT

1902-1904

Sivri-Hisar

Creuisot

4

124

2 x 1 pdr., 3 x 18" TT

1906

Other Vessels

Type

Number at War Start

Notes

Training Ships

2

Tiri-Mujghian and Hamidieh from the capital ships table

Transports

6

Includes 4458 ton Reschid Pasha

Depot Ships

2

Motor Launches

22

Includes 18 Thornycroft-type with 140 h.p. motors (11 knots). 9 launches remained in 1918

Mine Sweepers

2

Mine Layers

4

364-3056 tons.

Hospital Ships

1

Midhat Pasa. Torpedoed in 1915

Yachts

9

Includes 2 Royal Yachts. Some lightly armed. 180-1075 tons.

Source: Jane's Fighting Ships of World War I, Military Press/Crown Publishers, New York, NY, 1990.

Last Updated: 15 January, 2001..

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