Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1877-04-28
TIE OTTOMAN NANY.
It's Conditions, NUMBER, Armament,
Efficiency anu DIaclpIluc.

writes TWO gun NcS~tlS anu CltNtu gun
boats, seven OF which are armorplated.
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 ard the other two
screw-ships, six fast dispstch'vesscl pad
dlc-wheel 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.Ot-battle
ships and a few snail iclooners 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 wooden hulks are still retained,
and also of a few steamers which, from
the length of service they have seen, are
in anything but an efficient condition,
and of little u-e 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 i'm
perial Ottoman navy these have been
purposely left out of the consideration,
To commence then, with the iron.clad
fleet, which in point Of numbers, strength
of construction and armament is, after
that OF England, one of the most power
ful in the world. OF the fifteen iron
clads of which it is composed four
namely, the Mahmondieh, Orcbantich,
Osmanieh 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 pondars, and
two revolving pivot guns on the upper
deck, one, a three hundred FOUNDER, at
the stern. (These vessels are each of
1921 tons, and their horse power nine
hundred.) Then there are four Of an
other claSs-box battery ships, as they
are sometimes called, built after a de-
sign by Mr.. Reed, c. b., in which the
attempt is made to secure the adyant-
ages OF a turret ship by giving them a
certain Gmount OF all-aIound fire while
retaining the stability Of a broadside
craft. The names Of these vessels are az
follows Fcthi Bulend (Great Victoryl
Mouani XatIir, Avni Illah { Gift Of Cod
and the Mukadenich khair, Happy Be
ginning. The Fethi Bulend and
M~ukadenieh 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 Jour Arm
strong l23 ton guns in a central battery,
with the ports so arranged as to admit Of
fore and aft fire. Their TONNAGE il
1901 Clio tons and the horse power of
their engines is 500. The other two
the Meuany Iatir and Avni Illah-are
Of the same type, but their armor plat.
ing is not quite 50 thick nor their guns
so heavy. They are not quite 50 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 khedive
of Egypt. These vessels, named re
spectiyely the Arsary Shefket, The Nedi-
mi Shetket, the Arsary Tebyk and the
lilalieh, form a separate class again to
the others, as they carry theirarmarent
in broadside ports in a central battery,
protected against fore and aft fire by
armor-plated bulkhcads. The two first
are sister ships they each carry four
guns GOO pounders) on the main deck
and a heavy gun mounted on a revolving
platform on the upper, They were con
structed at Trieste in 1870; the thick
ness of their armor-plating is som six
and a half inches, tonnage ,jS3 and
horse power $50. The. Arsary Tefyk iSa
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 il about the same, she is a
much finer vessel. The ~Ijlalien 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 well as the
Arsary Tefyk, is OF French construction;
her tonnage is $50 and the horse power
of her engines 800.
Two turret vessels and one more large
iror- lad frigate complete the list of sea
going ironclads.
The Louthf Djelil and Hiftzi Ramin
are twin screw ships, carrying each OF
them four guns-l5O pound Armstrong;
in two separate revolving %turrets, pro-
tected by seven inch armor plating.
Their tonnage is l,75l and horsepower
300.
The Messondieh, the last on the list
and the latest addition to the iron. clad
feet, is one Of the most formidable ships
aloat, being a finer vessel than the
British iron-clad Hercules, the flagship
of the Mediterranean fleet. 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 is
5.3lO 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. ~ addition to the advan.
tage this ship posses in having such pow
erful broadside armament, by special ar.
rangemcnt in her construction the end
ports on each side admit of those guns
being trained almost on a 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 (Mo0lem Victory, Buyourdelan
Heart Pieroer), Semandereh, Scodra,
POdgoritza, Isber (Lion) and Safeh
(Sword). These craft in general draw
about hye feet six inches OF water, and
are armed with two light Armstrong
guns. They are protected by a 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 bat a short time age at the
arsenal up the Golden Horn, and are of
a much improved type. They are each
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