SMS Weissenburg SMS " Weissenburg " was one of the first ocean - going battleship s of the Imperial German Navy . She was the third pre - dreadnought of the , along with her sister ships , , and . She was laid down in 1890 in the AG Vulcan dockyard in Stettin , launched in 1891 , and completed in 1894 . The " Brandenburg " - class battleships were unique for their era in that they carried six large - caliber guns in three twin turrets , as opposed to four guns in two turrets , as was the standard in other navies . The British Royal Navy derisively referred to the ships as " whalers " . " Weissenburg " saw limited active duty during her service career with the German fleet . She , along with her three sisters , saw one major overseas deployment , to China in 1900 – 01 , during the Boxer Rebellion . The ship underwent a major modernization in 1902 – 1904 . In 1910 , " Weissenburg " was sold to the Ottoman Empire and renamed , after the famous 16th century Turkish admiral Turgut Reis . The ship saw heavy service during the Balkan Wars , primarily providing artillery support to Ottoman ground forces and taking part in two naval engagements with the Greek navy in December 1912 and January 1913 . She was largely inactive during World War I , due in part to her slow speed . In 1924 , " Turgut Reis " was used as a school ship , before eventually being scrapped in the mid - 1950s . Construction . " Weissenburg " was the third of four ships of the " Brandenburg " class . She was ordered as battleship " C " , and was laid down at the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin in 1890 under construction number 199 . She was the third ship of the class to be launched , which she was on 30 June 1891 . She was commissioned into the German fleet on 29 April 1894 , the same day as her sister " Brandenburg " . " Weissenburg " was long overall , had a beam of which was increased to with the addition of torpedo nets , and had a draft of forward and aft . The ship displaced at its designed weight , and up to at full combat load . She was equipped with two sets of 3 - cylinder triple - expansion engines that provided 10 , 228 indicated horsepower and a top speed of . The ship was unusual for its time in that it possessed a broadside of six heavy guns in three twin gun turret s , rather than the four guns typical of contemporary battleships . The forward and after turrets carried 28 cm ( 11 inch ) SK L / 40 guns , while the amidships turret mounted a pair of 28 cm ( 11 inch ) with shorter L / 35 barrels . Her secondary armament consisted of eight 10 . 5 cm ( 4 . 1 in ) SK L / 35 quick - firing guns mounted in casemate s and eight 8 . 8 cm ( 3 . 45 in ) SK L / 30 quick - firing guns , also casemate mounted . " Weissenburg " s armament system was rounded out with six 45 cm torpedo tubes , all in above - water swivel mounts . Although the main battery was heavier than other capital ships of the period , the secondary armament was considered weak in comparison to other battleships . Service history . Upon her commissioning , " Weissenburg " was assigned to the I Division of the I Battle Squadron alongside her three sisters . The I Division was accompanied by the four older s in the II Division , though by the time the four " Brandenburg " s returned from China by 1901 – 2 , the " Sachsen " s were replaced by the new s . Boxer Rebellion . The first major operation in which " Weissenburg " took part occurred in 1900 , when the I Division was deployed to China to assist in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion . The expeditionary force consisted of the four " Brandenburg " s , six cruiser s , 10 supply ships , three torpedo boat s , and six regiments of marines , under the command of Marshal Alfred von Waldersee . Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz opposed the plan , which he saw as unnecessary and costly . Although the naval force arrived in China after the siege of Peking had already been lifted , the task force suppressed local uprisings around Kiaochow . In the end , the operation cost the German government more than 100 million marks . Service with the Ottoman navy . In 1902 , following the return from China , " Weissenburg " entered the Kaiserliche Werft shipyard in Wilhelmshaven for a significant reconstruction . After she emerged from her refit in 1904 , the ship rejoined the active fleet . However , she and her sisters were rapidly made obsolete by the launch of in 1906 . As a result , their service careers with the German navy were limited . On 12 September 1910 , " Weissenburg " and " Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm " , the more advanced ships of the class , were sold to the Ottoman Empire and renamed " Turgut Reis " and respectively ( after the famous 16th - century Ottoman admirals , Turgut Reis and Hayreddin Barbarossa ) . A year later , in September 1911 , when Italy declared war on the Ottoman Empire . " Turgut Reis " , along with " Barbaros Hayreddin " and the obsolete central battery ironclad had been on a summer training cruise since July , and so were prepared for the conflict . Despite this , the ships spent the war in harbor . Balkan wars . The Balkan League declared war on the Ottoman Empire in October 1912 . In the First Balkan War " Turgut Reis " , as with most ships of the Ottoman fleet , were in a state of disrepair . During the war , " Turgut Reis " conducted gunnery training along with the other capital ships of the Ottoman navy , escorted troop convoys , and bombarded coastal installations . On 17 November 1912 , " Turgut Reis " supported the Ottoman III Corps by bombarding the attacking Bulgarian forces . The ship was aided by artillery observers ashore . The battleship ' s gunnery was largely ineffective , though it provided a morale boost for the besieged Ottoman army dug in at Çatalca . By 17 : 00 , the Bulgarian infantry had largely been forced back to their starting positions , in part due to the psychological effect of the battleships ' bombardment . Late in 1912 , the Ottoman fleet attacked the Greek navy , in an attempt to disrupt the naval blockade surrounding the Dardanelles . Two engagements took place , the Naval Battle of Elli on 16 December 1912 , followed by the Naval Battle of Lemnos on 18 January 1913 . The first action was supported by Ottoman coastal batteries ; both Greek and Ottoman forces suffered minor damage during the engagement , but the Ottomans were unable to break through the Greek fleet and retired back into the Dardanelles . The Ottoman fleet , which included " Turgut Reis " , her sister " Barbaros Hayreddin " — the flagship of the fleet — two outdated ironclad battleships , nine destroyers and six torpedo boats , sortied from the Dardanelles at 9 : 30 . The smaller ships remained at the mouth of the straits while the battleships sailed north , while remaining near to the coast . The Greek flotilla , which included the armored cruiser and three s , had been sailing from the island of Imbros to the patrol line outside the straits . When the Ottomans were sighted , the Greeks altered course to the northeast , in order to block the advance of their opponents . The Ottoman ships opened fire first , at 9 : 50 , from a range of about 15 , 000 yards ; the Greeks returned fire ten minutes later , by which time the range had decreased significantly to 8 , 500 yards . At 10 : 04 , the Ottoman ships completed a 16 - point turn , which reversed their course , and steamed for the safety of the straits in a disorganized withdrawal . Within an hour , the rout ed Ottoman ships had withdrawn into the Dardanelles . The Naval Battle of Lemnos resulted from an Ottoman plan to lure the faster " Georgios Averof " away from the Dardanelles . The protected cruiser evaded the Greek blockade and broke out into the Aegean Sea ; the assumption was that the Greeks would dispatch " Georgios Averof " to hunt down " Hamidiye " . Despite the threat to Greek lines of communication posed by the cruiser , the Greek commander refused to detach " Georgios Averof " from its position . However , presuming that the plan had worked , " Turgut Reis " , " Barbaros Hayreddin " , and other units of the Ottoman fleet departed the Dardanelles on the morning of 18 January , and sailed towards the island of Lemnos . " Georgios Averof " appeared approximately 12 miles from Lemnos ; when the powerful Greek ship was spotted , the Ottomans turned to retreat . " Georgios Averof " s superior speed allowed the ship to close the distance between her and the fleeing Ottoman ships . A long range artillery duel that lasted for two hours began at around 11 : 25 ; towards the end of the engagement , " Georgios Averof " closed to within 5 , 000 yards and scored several hits on the fleeing Ottoman ships . Between " Turgut Reis " and " Barbaros Hayreddin " , the ships fired some 800 rounds , mostly of their main battery 28 cm guns but without success . During the battle , barbettes on both " Turgut Reis " and her sister were disabled by gunfire , and both ships caught fire . On 8 February 1913 , the Ottoman navy supported an amphibious assault at Şarköy . " Turgut Reis " and " Barbaros Hayreddin " , along with two small cruisers provided artillery support to the right flank of the invading force once it went ashore . The ships were positioned about a kilometer off shore ; " Turgut Reis " was the second ship in the line , behind her sister " Barbaros Hayreddin " . The Bulgarian army resisted fiercely , which ultimately forced the Ottoman army to retreat , though the withdrawal was successful in large part due to the gunfire support from " Turgut Reis " and the rest of the fleet . During the battle , " Turgut Reis " fired 225 rounds from her 10 . 5 cm guns and 202 shells from her 8 . 8 cm guns . In March 1913 , the ship returned to the Black Sea to resume support of the Çatalca garrison , which was under renewed attacks by the Bulgarian army . On 26 March , the barrage of 28 and 10 . 5 cm shells fired by " Turgut Reis " and " Barbaros Hayreddin " assisted in the repelling of advance of the 2nd Brigade of the Bulgarian 1st Infantry Division . On 30 March , the left wing of the Ottoman line turned to pursue the retreating Bulgarians . Their advance was supported by both field artillery and the heavy guns of " Turgut Reis " and the other warships positioned off the coast ; the assault gained the Ottomans about 1 , 500 meters by nightfall . In response , the Bulgarians brought the 1st Brigade to the front , which beat the Ottoman advance back to its starting position . World War I . In the summer of 1914 , when World War I broke out in Europe , the Ottomans initially remained neutral . In early November , the actions of the German battlecruiser , which had been transferred to the Ottoman navy and renamed , resulted in declarations of war by Russia , France , and Great Britain . Between 1914 – 15 , some of " Turgut Reis " s guns were removed and employed as coastal guns to shore up the defenses protecting the Dardanelles . On 19 January 1918 , " Yavûz " and the light cruiser , which had also been transferred to Ottoman service under the name , sailed from the Dardanelles to attack several British monitors stationed outside . The ships quickly sank and before turning back to the safety of the Dardanelles . While en route , " Midilli " struck five mines and sank , while " Yavûz " three and began to list to port . The ship ' s captain gave an incorrect order to the helmsman , which caused the ship to run aground . " Yavûz " remained there for almost a week , until " Turgut Reis " arrived on the scene on 25 January ; the old battleship took " Yavûz " under tow and managed to free her from the sandbank by that afternoon . " Turgut Reis " was removed from active service after the end of World War I . By 1924 , the ship was transferred to the role of a training ship . At the time , she retained only two of her originally six 28 cm guns . " Turgut Reis " was converted into a hulk and stationed in the Dardanelles until 1938 . She remained afloat until she was finally broken up for scrap , between 1956 – 57 .