Ottoman ironclad Mesudiye facts for kids
The Ottoman warship Mesudiye
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Quick facts for kids Class overview |
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| Name: | Mesudiye class |
| Operators: |  Ottoman Navy |
| Preceded by: | Iclaliye |
| Succeeded by: | Hamidiye |
| History | |
 Ottoman Empire |
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| Name | Mesudiye |
| Builder | Thames Ironworks |
| Laid down | 1872 |
| Launched | 28 October 1874 |
| Commissioned | December 1875 |
| Fate | Sunk, 13 December 1914, by British submarine B-11 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Class and type | Central-battery ironclad |
| Displacement | 8,938 metric tons (8,797 long tons) |
| Length | 101.02 m (331 ft 5 in) |
| Beam | 17.98 m (59.0 ft) |
| Draft | 7.9 m (25 ft 11 in) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion |
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| Speed | 13.7 kn (25.4 km/h; 15.8 mph) |
| Complement | 700 |
| Armament |
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| General characteristics (1903 reconstruction) | |
| Class and type | Pre-dreadnought battleship |
| Displacement | 9,120 t (8,980 long tons; 10,050 short tons) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion |
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| Speed | 17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph) |
| Complement | 800 |
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The Mesudiye (which means "Happiness" in Ottoman Turkish) was a very large ironclad ship built for the Ottoman Navy. An ironclad was a powerful warship from the 1800s that had heavy iron armor. Mesudiye was built in Britain by the Thames Iron Works between 1871 and 1875. It was one of the biggest ships of its kind ever made.
Mesudiye had a sister ship, which was another ship built from the same design. This sister ship was bought by the Royal Navy (Britain's navy) and named HMS Superb. Mesudiye's main weapons were twelve large 10-inch guns placed in a central armored area called a battery.
For much of its life, Mesudiye was not kept in good condition. This was especially true for about twenty years between the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) and the Greco-Turkish War of 1897. Because of this, the ship was in very bad shape by the late 1890s. This led to a huge rebuilding project in Genoa, Italy. During this project, Mesudiye was turned into a more modern type of warship called a pre-dreadnought.
The ship's weapons were completely changed, and a new engine system was put in. This new system made the ship much faster. Mesudiye was very active during the First Balkan War (1912–1913). It fought in important battles like the Battle of Elli in December 1912 and the Battle of Lemnos in January 1913. In the Battle of Lemnos, a Greek shell badly damaged the ship, forcing it to leave the fight.
When World War I started in 1914, Mesudiye was placed at Nara. Its job was to guard the underwater minefields that blocked the entrance to the Dardanelles strait. On the morning of December 13, a British submarine called HMS B11 managed to get past the minefields. It fired a torpedo at Mesudiye, which quickly sank. Most of the crew survived. Many of the ship's guns were saved and used to make the Dardanelles defenses stronger. A group of these salvaged guns, named "Mesudiye" in honor of the ship, later helped to sink the French battleship Bouvet in March 1915.
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Building the Mesudiye
After the Crimean War, where a whole Ottoman fleet was destroyed, the Ottoman Empire decided to build up its navy. They ordered several ironclad warships in the 1860s and 1870s, mostly from shipyards in Britain and France. Even though money was often tight, by the late 1870s, the Ottomans had a fleet of thirteen large ironclads and nine smaller armored warships.
Mesudiye was designed by Edward Reed. He based his design on a British ironclad called HMS Hercules.
Ship's Size and Engines
Mesudiye was about 101.02 meters (331 ft 5 in) (331 feet) long. It was 17.98 m (59 ft) (59 feet) wide and had a draft (how deep it sat in the water) of 7.9 m (25 ft 11 in) (26 feet). When it was first built, the ship weighed about 8,938 metric tons (8,797 long tons) (8,800 long tons). Its body, or hull, was made of iron and had a pointed ram bow at the front, which could be used to ram enemy ships. The ship had a small upper structure with a short front deck and a back deck. It carried a crew of 700 officers and sailors.
The ship was powered by one large engine that used steam from eight coal-fired box boilers. These boilers sent smoke through two funnels in the middle of the ship. The engine could produce 7,431 indicated horsepower (5,541 kW) horsepower, allowing the ship to reach a top speed of 13.7 knots (25.4 km/h; 15.8 mph) (about 15.8 miles per hour). However, by 1884, after ten years of poor care, its top speed dropped to only 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) (about 11.5 miles per hour). The ship could carry 600 t (590 long tons; 660 short tons) of coal for its engines. Even though it used a steam engine, Mesudiye also had three masts and sails, like a barque, to help it move.
Weapons and Armor
Mesudiye's main weapons were twelve RML 10 inch 18 ton guns. These guns were placed in a central armored area. Four guns were on each side of the ship, and four could fire sideways. Some guns were angled to fire forward or backward, which was useful for ramming attacks. The ship also had three smaller RML 7 inch guns on the upper deck, two at the front and one at the back. These could also be used as chase guns, firing at ships directly ahead or behind. In 1891, six 76 mm and six 25.4 mm quick-firing guns were added to protect the ship from smaller, faster torpedo boats.
The ship's armor was made of iron plates. The thickest part of the armored belt was 305 mm (12 in) (12 inches) thick in the middle of the ship. This protected the engines and ammunition storage. The armor got thinner towards the ends of the ship, going down to 127 mm (5 in) (5 inches) and then to 76 mm (3 inches). The thickest part of the belt went 5 ft (1.5 m) (1.5 meters) below the water and 4 ft (1.2 m) (1.2 meters) above the water. The gun battery itself was protected by two layers of armor, with the lower layer being 254 mm (10 inches) thick and the upper layer being 178 mm (7 in) (7 inches) thick.
Ship's Life and Battles
Mesudiye, meaning "Happiness," was ordered in 1871 and began construction in London in 1872. It was launched on October 28, 1874. In September 1875, the ship got stuck in the River Medway while being taken to have its guns installed. It was later freed and repaired. Mesudiye officially started its sea trials in December 1875. Its sister ship, Mahmûdiye, was renamed Hamidiye and was bought by the Royal Navy before it was finished. Mesudiye and Superb were the largest casemate ironclads (a type of armored warship) ever built.
Early in its life, the Ottoman ironclad fleet would go on short trips every summer to make sure their engines were working. In September 1876, Mesudiye became the main ship of the Ottoman Black Sea Squadron. However, it did not fight in the Russo-Turkish War that started in April 1877.
After the Ottoman Empire lost the war, the fleet was mostly left unused for the next twenty years. The yearly summer trips stopped. By the mid-1880s, the Ottoman ironclad fleet was in very bad shape, and Mesudiye could not even go to sea. Its engines were rusted and stuck, and its hull was covered in sea growth. A British naval officer at the time thought it would take six months just to get five of the ironclads ready for sea. During this time, the ship's crew was much smaller than usual. In 1886, during a tense time with Greece, the ships were fully crewed and prepared for sea, but none actually left the port. They were quickly put back into storage. By then, Mesudiye was probably only able to go about 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) (11.5 miles per hour), and its crew was not well trained.
During this period of inactivity, Mesudiye received a small upgrade at the Tersâne-i Âmire shipyard. However, at the start of the Greco-Turkish War in February 1897, Mesudiye was found to be unfit for battle, just like most of the other big warships. On May 15, Mesudiye and other warships tried to do a training exercise, but it only showed how poorly trained the crews were.
Major Rebuilding of Mesudiye
After the war ended, the government decided to start a program to rebuild the navy. The first step was to rebuild the older armored warships, including Mesudiye. They asked shipyards from other countries for ideas. In October 1898, the Gio. Ansaldo & C. shipyard in Genoa, Italy, asked to inspect Mesudiye. Both Mesudiye and another ironclad were sent to Genoa in January 1899. Ansaldo only received the contract to rebuild Mesudiye. Mesudiye was completely rebuilt into a pre-dreadnought type of warship.
This modernization involved a huge change to the ship's hull. The front and back parts were cut down to make space for two gun turrets. Each turret was supposed to hold a single 230 mm (9-inch) gun made by Vickers. These turrets had 230 mm thick armor on their faces, but they never actually received their guns; wooden fake guns were put in their place. Instead of the old guns, a new set of twelve 150 mm (5.9-inch) quick-firing guns were installed. Sixteen 76 mm (3-inch) quick-firing guns were added in an upper battery. Mesudiye also received ten 57 mm (2.2-inch) guns and two 47 mm (1.8-inch) guns.
A large new structure was built in the middle of the ship, including a new conning tower (a protected control room) with 200 mm (7.9 inches) of armor. The ship's weight increased to 9,120 t (8,980 long tons; 10,050 short tons) (8,976 long tons) normally, and 9,710 t (9,560 long tons; 10,700 short tons) (9,559 long tons) when fully loaded. The ship's engine system was also completely replaced. Two new triple-expansion engines were installed, along with sixteen coal-fired Niclausse boilers. The two screw propellers (which push the ship) were slightly offset, meaning one was a little ahead of the other. The ship's power improved to 11,000 ihp (8,200 kW) horsepower, and its speed increased to 17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph) (about 19.6 miles per hour). As a result of these changes, the crew size grew to 800 sailors. On March 15, 1904, Mesudiye finished its sea trials and returned to Constantinople.
Battles in the Balkan Wars
In 1909, Mesudiye took part in the first fleet exercise (practice battle) the Ottoman Navy had done in twenty years. This was part of a plan to improve the navy. Starting in July 1911, Mesudiye joined two other powerful ships, Barbaros Hayreddin and Turgut Reis, along with four destroyers and a torpedo boat. They did a series of exercises that ended with a summer trip to Beirut. The fleet was returning to Constantinople when Italy declared war, starting the Italo-Turkish War on September 29, 1911. Mesudiye and the rest of the fleet stayed in port for the entire war. This was partly because tensions were rising in the Balkans, which would soon lead to the Balkan Wars. The Ottomans kept their fleet ready for the coming conflict.
In October 1912, the Balkan League (a group of countries) declared war on the Ottomans, just a month before the Italo-Turkish War ended. At that time, Mesudiye was anchored near Constantinople, acting as a guard ship. In December, the Ottoman fleet was reorganized, and Mesudiye joined the new Battleship Division. This division also included Barbaros Hayreddin, Turgut Reis, and another rebuilt ironclad. On November 17, Mesudiye and Barbaros Hayreddin fired their guns at targets on shore to support Ottoman troops. These bombardments didn't cause much damage to the Bulgarian attackers, but they did help boost the morale of the Ottoman soldiers.
On December 16, 1912, the ships took part in the Battle of Elli. This was the first time major Ottoman warships had fought a surface battle since the Russo-Turkish War. The Ottoman fleet left the Dardanelles at 9:30 AM. The smaller ships stayed near the entrance, while the battleships sailed north, staying close to the coast. The Greek fleet, which included the armored cruiser Georgios Averof and three older ironclads, sailed from the island of Lemnos. They changed course to block the Ottoman battleships. The Ottoman ships started firing at the Greeks at 9:40 AM, from about 15,000 yd (14,000 m) (13,700 meters) away. Five minutes later, Georgios Averof moved to the other side of the Ottoman fleet, putting the Ottoman ships in a bad position, being fired at from two directions.
At 9:50 AM, under heavy fire from the Greek fleet, the Ottoman ships made a sharp turn (180 degrees) to reverse course and head back to the safety of the straits. The turn was not done well, and the ships got out of formation, blocking each other's firing lines. Barbaros Hayreddin, Turgut Reis, and Mesudiye were hit several times during the battle, but only Barbaros Hayreddin was badly damaged. By 10:17 AM, both sides had stopped firing, and the Ottoman fleet pulled back into the Dardanelles. As they neared the straits, Mesudiye and another ship took positions to cover the retreat of the damaged battleships. The ships reached port by 1:00 PM and moved their injured sailors to a hospital ship.
Battle of Lemnos: Another Fierce Fight
In late December, the Ottomans began attacking and patrolling the Aegean Sea against islands recently taken by the Greeks. The Ottoman Army planned to land troops on Tenedos island, which Greece had captured. Mesudiye and the rest of the Battleship Division left the Dardanelles on the morning of January 4, 1913, but the plan was called off when the Greek fleet appeared. On January 10, the fleet started another attack, this time to raid the island of Imbros. After a short fight with Greek destroyers that didn't achieve much, the fleet again went back to the Dardanelles. Eight days later, another fleet operation began, which led to the Battle of Lemnos. This was the second big naval battle of the war. The Ottoman plan was to trick the faster Georgios Averof away from the Dardanelles. A protected cruiser, Hamidiye, escaped the Greek blockade and went into the Aegean Sea to try and make the Greek cruiser chase it. But the Greek commander refused to send Georgios Averof after it.
The Ottoman fleet left the Dardanelles at 8:20 AM on January 18, sailing towards the island of Lemnos at 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph) (about 12.7 miles per hour). Barbaros Hayreddin led the line of battleships, with torpedo boats on either side. A long-range gun battle that lasted for two hours began around 11:55 AM, when the Ottoman fleet opened fire from about 8,000 m (26,000 ft) (8,700 yards) away. They focused their fire on the Greek Georgios Averof, which fired back at 12:00 PM. At 12:50 PM, the Greeks tried to cross the T of the Ottoman fleet (a naval tactic to get a better firing position), but Barbaros Hayreddin turned north to block the Greek move. Around that time, Mesudiye was hit badly, disabling three of its 150 mm guns. This damage, along with engine trouble, caused the Ottoman commander to send the ship back to port.
On February 5, Mesudiye helped in operations near Şarköy in the Sea of Marmara. It fired its guns at Bulgarian troops who had taken over the town. This was the last wartime action for the ship. It did not take part in the amphibious (sea-to-land) attack on Şarköy three days later. The Ottoman fleet then stayed in port for the rest of the war, until the fighting ended in April.
World War I and the Sinking of Mesudiye
In late July 1914, World War I started in Europe, but the Ottomans initially stayed neutral. On September 6, 1914, Mesudiye was sent to Nara. Its mission was to protect the minefields that guarded the entrance to the Dardanelles. It was supported by the minelayer Nusret and the tug Intibah. Tensions grew between the Ottomans and a British fleet patrolling the Dardanelles entrance. On November 5, Britain and France declared war on the Ottoman Empire.
On the morning of December 13, the British submarine B11, led by Lieutenant Norman Holbrook, entered the Dardanelles. Around 11:30 AM, the submarine spotted Mesudiye at anchor and fired a single torpedo from about 750 m (2,460 ft) (820 yards) away. The torpedo hit the ship's back (stern) and caused severe damage. Mesudiye's guns briefly fired at the submarine's periscope before the ship capsized (flipped over) and sank in shallow water. Not many people were killed, with only 10 officers and 27 enlisted men lost in the attack.
A salvage team worked to remove the 150 mm and 76 mm guns from the sunken ship. These guns were then used to make the defenses of the Dardanelles stronger. Meanwhile, B11 successfully made its way back through the Dardanelles and returned to port. Lieutenant Holbrook was given the Victoria Cross (a very high military award) for sinking Mesudiye.
Mesudiye's salvaged 150 mm guns were set up as "Battery Mesudiye" in the Dardanelles. These guns played a part in sinking the French battleship Bouvet on March 18, 1915. They hit the French ship eight times, disabling one of its front gun turrets, before Bouvet hit a mine and sank with many lives lost.
Images for kids
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Ottoman ironclads at the Golden Horn; Mesudiye is the furthest vessel to the left.
