Peyk-i Şevket-class cruiser
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The ''Peyk-i Şevket'' class was a pair of
torpedo cruiser A torpedo cruiser is a type of warship that is armed primarily with torpedoes. The major navies began building torpedo cruisers shortly after the invention of the locomotive Whitehead torpedo in the 1860s. The development of the torpedo gave rise ...
s built for the Ottoman Navy by the German shipyard Germaniawerft in 1906–07. The class comprised two ships: and . They were ordered as part of a program to modernize the Ottoman fleet at the turn of the century. The ships were small vessels, at only ; they were nevertheless heavily armed for their size, with three
torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s and a pair of guns along with several smaller weapons. Neither ship saw action during the
Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War ( tr, Trablusgarp Savaşı, "Tripolitanian War", it, Guerra di Libia, "War of Libya") was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911, to 18 October 1912. As a result o ...
of 1911–12, as ''Peyk-i Şevket'' had been interned in
Suez 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 bou ...
and ''Berk-i Satvet'' spent the war confined to the
Sea of Marmara The Sea of Marmara,; grc, Προποντίς, Προποντίδα, Propontís, Propontída also known as the Marmara Sea, is an inland sea located entirely within the borders of Turkey. It connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea via t ...
with the main Ottoman fleet. Both ships took a more active role in the Balkan Wars, frequently providing gunfire to support to Ottoman troops in East Thrace. During
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, both ships served in the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
, where they conducted patrols, escorted convoys, and attacked Russian ports. In January 1915, ''Berk-i Satvet'' was mined off the
Bosporus The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern Tu ...
, and seven months later, ''Peyk-i Şevket'' was torpedoed by the British submarine in the Sea of Marmara. Both ships were repaired and returned to service by 1918. After the end of the war, both ships were kept in service with the new
Turkish Navy The Turkish Naval Forces ( tr, ), or Turkish Navy ( tr, ) is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was establis ...
, with lengthy overhauls in the mid-1920s. Both ships were extensively modernized in the late 1930s, and they remained in service to 1944, when they were finally decommissioned. Both vessels were ultimately broken up in the early 1950s.


Design

The ''Peyk-i Şevket'' class was classified as a
torpedo cruiser A torpedo cruiser is a type of warship that is armed primarily with torpedoes. The major navies began building torpedo cruisers shortly after the invention of the locomotive Whitehead torpedo in the 1860s. The development of the torpedo gave rise ...
by the Ottoman Navy, but was also sometimes referred to as a
torpedo gunboat In late 19th-century naval terminology, torpedo gunboats were a form of gunboat armed with torpedoes and designed for hunting and destroying smaller torpedo boats. By the end of the 1890s torpedo gunboats were superseded by their more successful c ...
. The two ships were authorized in 1903, and were ordered from the Krupp-owned Germaniawerft shipyard in Germany, as part of a deal to modernize the elderly ironclad . The two cruisers were part of a naval reconstruction program that began in the late 1890s, following the Greco-Turkish War of 1897, in which the Ottoman fleet had been unable to play an active role.


Characteristics

The ships were long, with a beam of and a
draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...
of . They displaced while on
sea trial A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and ...
s. By 1938, their displacement had increased to . The ships were fitted with two
pole mast Pole may refer to: Astronomy *Celestial pole, the projection of the planet Earth's axis of rotation onto the celestial sphere; also applies to the axis of rotation of other planets *Pole star, a visible star that is approximately aligned with the ...
s, the foremast just aft of the conning tower and the main mast further aft. The
forecastle The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is the phrase " be ...
deck extended to the base of the forward
funnel A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its construct ...
, and the quarterdeck was stepped down aft of the mainmast. They were steel-hulled ships and carried no armor protection. Their crew numbered 125 officers and enlisted men as completed, and it had risen to 145 by 1915. The ships were powered by a pair of vertical
triple-expansion engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up he ...
s each driving a
screw propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...
. Their four coal-fired
Schulz Schulz is a common German and Jewish-Ashkenazi family name from Germany, particularly Northern Germany. The word ''Schulz'' originates from the local official title of Schultheiß or ''(Dorf-)Schulz(e)'', meaning village headman or constable / sh ...
water-tube boiler A high pressure watertube boiler (also spelled water-tube and water tube) is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which boils water in the steam-gen ...
s, manufactured by Germaniawerft, were trunked into two funnels. The engines were rated at for a top speed of , though on trials they reached . By 1915, poor maintenance and heavy use had reduced their speed to . The ''Peyk-i Şevket''-class ships had storage capacity for of coal, which provided a cruising radius of . The two ''Peyk-i Şevket''-class cruisers' primary offensive armament was their three
torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s. One was mounted in the bow, above water, and the other two were in deck-mounted swivel launchers
amidships This glossary of nautical terms is an alphabetical listing of terms and expressions connected with ships, shipping, seamanship and navigation on water (mostly though not necessarily on the sea). Some remain current, while many date from the 17th ...
. They were armed with a pair of quick-firing 40- caliber guns that were placed in shielded single mounts on the forecastle and quarterdeck. They also carried six 40-caliber guns, four of which were mounted in
sponson Sponsons are projections extending from the sides of land vehicles, aircraft or watercraft to provide protection, stability, storage locations, mounting points for weapons or other devices, or equipment housing. Watercraft On watercraft, a spon ...
s, a pair of guns, and two
machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) ar ...
s.


Modifications

Both ships were rebuilt in the late 1930s and incorporated substantial improvements. Both stem and stern were rebuilt, with a new raked bow. Their superstructure was also reconstructed. The old gun armament was replaced with a pair of 45-caliber guns and four 37 mm 40-caliber guns, and ''Berk-i Satvet'' received equipment to handle 25
naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any ...
s.


Ships


Service history

Both ships saw extensive service with the Ottoman fleet over the course of the decade following their arrival in November 1907. They took part in the first fleet maneuver conducted by the fleet in over twenty years in 1909. Neither ship saw action during the
Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War ( tr, Trablusgarp Savaşı, "Tripolitanian War", it, Guerra di Libia, "War of Libya") was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911, to 18 October 1912. As a result o ...
of 1911–1912, as ''Peyk-i Şevket'' had been interned at British-controlled
Suez 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 bou ...
at the outbreak of war, and ''Berk-i Satvet'' was stationed with the reserve fleet in the
Sea of Marmara The Sea of Marmara,; grc, Προποντίς, Προποντίδα, Propontís, Propontída also known as the Marmara Sea, is an inland sea located entirely within the borders of Turkey. It connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea via t ...
, which did not risk confrontation with the significantly stronger Italian fleet. Both ships saw combat during the
First Balkan War The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...
in 1913, primarily in supporting Ottoman forces ashore in East Thrace. The ships provided gunfire support to the Ottoman army holding the
Çatalca Çatalca (Metrae; ) is a city and a rural district in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the largest district in Istanbul by area. It is in East Thrace, on the ridge between the Marmara and the Black Sea. Most people living in Çatalca are either farmers o ...
line in defense of the capital 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 ( ...
. ''Berk-i Satvet'' also took part in two brief skirmishes with the
Greek Navy The Hellenic Navy (HN; el, Πολεμικό Ναυτικό, Polemikó Naftikó, War Navy, abbreviated ΠΝ) is the naval force of Greece, part of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy historically hails from the naval forces of vari ...
. The Ottoman Empire joined
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
in November 1914; ''Peyk-i Şevket'' and ''Berk-i Satvet'' primarily operated in the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
against the Russian Black Sea Fleet. They frequently patrolled the Ottoman coast, particularly off the
Bosporus The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern Tu ...
, and escorted convoys to western
Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...
. On one of these convoy operations in January 1915, ''Berk-i Satvet'' struck a mine that wrecked her stern. She was towed back to Constantinople and repaired, returning to service in 1918. ''Peyk-i Şevket'' returned to the Sea of Marmara during the Dardanelles Campaign in 1915, where she carried munitions to the defending Ottoman forces. On 6 August, she was torpedoed by the British submarine and was badly damaged, with repairs lasting until 1917. Both ships were used as convoy escorts in the Black Sea in the final year of the war. The
Treaty of Sèvres The Treaty of Sèvres (french: Traité de Sèvres) was a 1920 treaty signed between the Allies of World War I and the Ottoman Empire. The treaty ceded large parts of Ottoman territory to France, the United Kingdom, Greece and Italy, as well ...
that ended the war assigned one of the vessels to Portugal as
war reparations War reparations are compensation payments made after a war by one side to the other. They are intended to cover damage or injury inflicted during a war. History Making one party pay a war indemnity is a common practice with a long history. ...
, but the subsequent
Turkish War of Independence The Turkish War of Independence "War of Liberation", also known figuratively as ''İstiklâl Harbi'' "Independence War" or ''Millî Mücadele'' "National Struggle" (19 May 1919 – 24 July 1923) was a series of military campaigns waged by th ...
nullified that agreement and ended with the Treaty of Lausanne in 1924, which allowed the new Turkish republic to retain its fleet. The two cruisers were retained by the new
Turkish Navy The Turkish Naval Forces ( tr, ), or Turkish Navy ( tr, ) is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was establis ...
and their names were shortened to ''Peyk'' and ''Berk''. Lengthy overhauls followed, in 1924–1925 for ''Berk'' and 1927–1929 for ''Peyk''. They were modernized a decade later, in 1936–1938 for ''Peyk'' and 1937–1939 for ''Berk''. The ships remained in service until 1944, when they were stricken from the
naval register A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval autho ...
and laid up at the
Gölcük Naval Shipyard Gölcük Naval Shipyard ( tr, Gölcük Donanma Tersanesi) is a naval shipyard of the Turkish Navy within the Gölcük Naval Base on the east coast of the Sea of Marmara in Gölcük, Kocaeli. Established in 1926, the shipyard serves for the bu ...
before being scrapped after 1953.


Notes


References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Peyk-i Sevket-class cruiser Cruiser classes