''Mehemet Ali'' was a steam frigate of the navy of the

Khedivate of Egypt The Khedivate of Egypt ( or , ; ota, خدیویت مصر ') was an autonomous tributary state of the Ottoman Empire, established and ruled by the Muhammad Ali Dynasty following the defeat and expulsion of Napoleon Bonaparte's forces which br ...

. She was probably built in England and was launched circa 1860. ''Mehemet Ali'' deployed to Port Said in 1874 to support Egyptian Army forces under General Charles Pomeroy Stone during a dispute with the

Suez Canal Company Suez ( ar, السويس '; ) is a seaport city (population of about 750,000 ) in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez (a branch of the Red Sea), near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same b ...

. She served as an escort to troopships during the 1877

Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histo ...

and was

laid up A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; a ...

in 1880.

Design and construction

''Mehemet Ali'' was built circa 1860, probably in England. She was named after

Muhammad Ali of Egypt Muhammad Ali Pasha al-Mas'ud ibn Agha, also known as Muhammad Ali of Egypt and the Sudan ( sq, Mehmet Ali Pasha, ar, محمد علي باشا, ; ota, محمد علی پاشا المسعود بن آغا; ; 4 March 1769 – 2 August 1849), was ...

who ruled Egypt from 1805 to 1848. ''Mehemet Ali'' displaced 1,735 tons and was propelled by three masts and a steam engine of 800

nominal horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...

. She was long, with a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a depth in the

hold Hold may refer to: Physical spaces * Hold (ship), interior cargo space * Baggage hold, cargo space on an airplane * Stronghold, a castle or other fortified place Arts, entertainment, and media * Hold (musical term), a pause, also called a Ferm ...

of . She was armed with 20x Krupp 4.7 inch guns and 10x 40-pounder breech loading guns and was iron hulled.

Service

In October 1864 ''Mehemet Ali'' carried the wife of

Isma'il Pasha Isma'il Pasha ( ar, إسماعيل باشا ; 12 January 1830 – 2 March 1895), was the Khedive of Egypt and conqueror of Sudan from 1863 to 1879, when he was removed at the behest of Great Britain. Sharing the ambitious outlook of his gran ...

, viceroy of Egypt, from the Bosphorus to

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

. ''Mehemet Ali'' was posted to Port Said in April 1874 to support forces, under General Charles Pomeroy Stone of the Egyptian Army, mobilised because of a dispute over tolls between the Khedive and the

. The affair ended with the company accepting the new, lower toll rates. On 19 January 1877 ''Mehemet Ali'' was in harbour at

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

when the British merchant steamship ''Joseph Love'' was driven onto her by the wind. The ''Joseph Love'' sank with the loss of one of her crew drowned. Some 12 crewmen scrambled onto the ''Mehemet Ali'' and were aided by her crew; the remaining eight crew of the ''Joseph Love'', including her captain, escaped by ship's boat. The Egyptians provided dinner to the shipwrecked men before they were handed over to a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

ship. ''Mehemet Ali'' was damaged badly at her bow and, having taken on a large quantity of water, was beached on the Kourou-tehesmé Shoal to save her from sinking. The ''Mehemet Ali'' helped escort transports carrying Egyptian forces to the

in 1877. By this time she was described by one former navy officer as "as much good as a cardboard box". ''Mehemet Ali'' was

in December 1880.

Fate

''Mehemet Ali'' had her machinery removed from her in around 1890 and was employed as a stationary

guardship A guard ship is a warship assigned as a stationary guard in a port or harbour, as opposed to a coastal patrol boat, which serves its protective role at sea. Royal Navy In the Royal Navy of the eighteenth century, peacetime guard ships were usua ...

at Alexandria. She was discarded in around 1898.

References

{{1877 shipwrecks Frigates of the Egyptian Navy Steam frigates 1860s ships Maritime incidents in January 1877