Mesudiye

Mesudiye | Oğuz Otay collection

Tonnage: 9,200 tonnes
Length: 102.4 m.
Beam: 17.9 m.
Draught: 7.9 m.
Engines: 2 triple 4 cyl vertical, 11,135 hp, Ansaldo
Speed: 17 kts.
Armament: 12-152 mm L/45 quick firing guns (Vickers) | 14-76 mm quick firing guns (Vickers) | 2-47 mm quick firing guns.

  • Launched on October 28, 1874.
  • Took part in 1877-78 Turco-Russian War, 1897 Turco-Greek War and 1912 Balkan War.
  • Twice refitted; first between 1891-1893 in Istanbul and then between 1898-1903 in Genoa.
  • On September 5, 1914, Mesudiye was dispanded from the active fleet. She anchored off Nara in the Dardanelles, to be used as a floating battery.
  • On December 13, 1914, Mesudiye was sunk by two torpedoes fired by the British submarine B11. From a crew of 598, 10 officers and 15 sailors lost their lives. Six guns are later salvaged and used at the fortifications in Çanakkale.
  • 18 June 18, 2004, a team of Turkish navy divers coordinated by Admiral Metin Ataç dove to the wreck of Mesudiye, reaching the ship for the first time 90 years after it was sunk.
Mesudiye | Ahmet Güleryüz collection
Officers of Mesudiye | Naval Museum Istanbul
Mesudiye anchored in Istanbul | Donanma Mecmuası (courtesy of www.donanmatarihi.com)
Guns of Mesudiye | Naval Museum Istanbul
Training on board Mesudiye | Istanbul University collection
Mesudiye anchored in Istanbul | Naval Museum Istanbul
Mesudiye anchored in Istanbul | Naval Museum Istanbul
Turkish postcard depicting Mesudiye
Mesudiye sinking | Oğuz Otay collection
Training on board Mesudiye, oil painting by Feyhaman Duran, 1948 | Naval Museum Istanbul
Mesudiye riding the waves, oil painting | Naval Museum Istanbul
Mesudiye, oil painting by Haslet Soyöz, 2001