The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1877-05-04
TIE OTTOMAN NAVY.
HIS Conditions, Numbers. Armament,
Efficiency ana Discipline.


at the present time of fifteen lron-clads,
five wooden frigates, eleven wooden cor
vettes, two gun vessels and eleven gun
boats, seven of which are armor-piated.
In addition to these vessels, which may be
considered as the efficient portion of the
fighting part of the navy, there are
seven large transports, five of them pad
dle-wLeel steamers and the other two
screw-ships, six fast dispatch-vessel pad
dlewheel steamers and two imperial
yachts, which, on occasion, are also en-
ployed in the public service.
Besides the ships thus enumerated
there are three old wooden line-of-battle
ships and few small schooners in com
mission, as well as four very smart
schooner rugged screw-steamers for the
revenue service. The official navy list
represents a much greater force than IS
here represented, as the names of a num-
Der of old " OGDEN hulks are still retained,
and also of few steamers which, from
the length of service they have seen, are
in ANYTHING but an efficient condition,
and of little use as either transports or
fighting craft. But the object being to
enable the reader to form a correct idea
as to the strength and value of the inn
perial Ottoman navy these have been
purposely left out of the consideration.
To commence then, with the iron-clad
fest, which in point of numbers, strength
Of construction and armament IS, after
that of England, one of the most power
FIJI in the world. OF the fifteen IRON
chds of which it is composed four
namely, the Mahmondieh, Orchantich,
Omanieh and Azizich-are broadside
trigates with four-inch armor plates and
carry, each of them, sixteen heavy
Armstrong guns fourteen on the main
deck), one hundred and fifty ponders. and
two revolving (pivot) guns on the upper
Geek, one, n three hundred FOUNDER, at
the stern. (These vessels are each OF
1921 tons, and their horse power nine
hundred.) Then there are tour of an
other class-box battery ships, as they
are sometimes called, built after a de-
sign by Mr.. Reed, G.. B., in which the
attempt is made to secure the advant-
ages of a turret ship by giving them
certain amount of all-arOund fire while
retaining the stability of a broadside
craft. The names of these vessels are a.
follows: Fethi Bulend (Great Victory
Mouani Zaffir, Avni Illah { Gift of Cod
and the Mukadenieh Khair, Happy Be
ginning) The Fethi Bulend and
Mukadenieh. Khair are sister ships
having been constructed upon the same
lines, the first named in England, by the
Thames Iron Works company, and the
other at the Imperial arsenal at the
Golden Horn. They are both very formid-
able craft, being protected with nine-inch
armor plating and earring four Arm
strong 124-ton guns in central battery,
with the ports so arranged as TO admit Of
10 Oft Thar fOnnana i
| 1901 Clio tons and the horse power OF
their engines is 500. The other two
| the Meuany Xaffir and Avni Illah-are
Of the same type, but their srmor plat
| ing is not quite so thick nor their guns
50 heavy. They are not quite so large
| either, their tonnage being only 1899
and their horse power 400.
The next on the list are the four iron.
| clads originally intended for the khediye
! OF Egypt. These vessels, named re-
spectively the Arsary Shefket, The Nedj-
| mi Shetket, the Arsary Tebyk and the
| Iilalieh, form seperate class again to
| the others, as they carry their Armament
| in broadside ports in a central battery,
protected against fore and aft fire by
| armor-plated bulkheads. The two first
are sister ships; they each carry four
guns 600 pounders) on the main deck
and heavy gun mounted on revolving
platform on the upper. They were con-
stmcted at Trieste in 1870; the thick
ness of their armor-plating is some six
and half inches, tonnage 1888 and
horse power $50. ThesArsary Tefyk Is
| much larger vessel than the last named
| craft, her tonnage being 3, l43 and horse
power $50. She carries eight guns. also in
her broadside ports, of the same caliber
| as the Others, and though the thickness
of her. armor l. about the same. she Is a
much finer vessel. The Ijlalieh differs
again from the others in size and horse
power, though her armament is the same
as that of the two first mentioned vessels
of this class, and is also the case with the
armor plating. This ship, as we'll as the
Arsary Tefyk, is OF French construction;
her tonnage is $50 aud the horsepower
of her engines 300.
Two turret vessels and one more large
iron-clad frigate complete the list of sea
going ironclads.
The Louthf Dielil and Hiftzi Ramin
are twin screw ships, carrying each OF
them four guns-l50 pound Armstrong;
in two separate revolving turrets, pro-
tected by seven inch armOr plating.
Their tonnage is 1851 and horsepower
300.
The Messondieh, the last on the list
and the latest addition to the iron-clad
fleet, is one of the most formidable ships
afloat, being a finer vessel than the
British iron-clad Hercules, the flagship
of the Mediterranean feet. She carries
fourteen guns, twelve and a hall tons
Woolwich pattern (the most approved
type in England), and the thickness
OF her defensive armor is twelve inches
The tonnage of the Messondieh il
$40 and the horse power of her
magnificent engines is 1900. She
was built by the Thames Iron-works
Company, and was only launched in the
fall of 1875. r. addition to the advan-
tage this ship posses in having such pow
erful brOadside armament, by special ar
rangement in her construction the end
ports on each side admit of those guns
being trained almost on line with her
keel.
THE GUNBoATs.
The seven iron clad gunboats, which
were specially built for service on the
Danube, are named as follows: Fethi
Islam (Moalem Victory, Buyourdelan
Heart Piercer), Semandereh, Scodra,
Podgoritza, Isber (Lion) and Saffeh
(Sw0rd). These craft in general draw
about five feet six inches OF water and
are armed with two light Armstrong
guns. They are protected by belt OF
three-and-a-half inch armor, and are fit
ted with eighty horsepower engines.
The first five on the list are already on
the Danube, stationed at Widdin, and
placed under the command of Kiritlee
Huessein Pacha, an active officer of the
Imperial navy. The other two were
launched but short time ago at the
arsenal up the Golden Horn, and are of
a much improved type. They are each
fitted with revolving turret, in which
are mounted two Krupp guns, eighty
Founders, and are propelled by twin
screws, worked by seperate engines. At
the present moment they are lying at
buoy off Tophanch, receiving their stores
preparatory to leaving for the Danube,
which they will do with all dispatch.
All the vessels which cave been men
mentioned up to the present are in com
mission, and of the fifteen large iron
clads, ten are either cruising with Hobart
Pacha, or are in station at different ports
of the Levant, there being but five at
Constantinople at the Ir sent moment.
THE WOODEN VESSELS