Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1871.djvu/500

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TURKEY.

The fleet of war of Turkey was composed, at the commencement of September, 1869, of 163 vessels, currying a total of 2,283 guns. The following was the classification of the fleet : —

Steamers:—

Ironclads ....

Screw steamers.

Paddle steamers.

Gunboats ....

Transports Sailing Vessels : —

Ships of the line and frigates

Smaller vessels.

Transports

Total.

Number

Guns

13

216

27

645

23

820

12

28

35

52

17

406

8

82

28

34

163

2,283 j

The Turkish navy has been entirely reconstructed since the year 1858. Previous to the late war against Russia, the navy comprised 6 ships of the line, 10 frigates, 6 corvettes, 14 brigs, 16 cutters and schooners. 6 steam-frigates, and 12 other small vessels, being a total of 70 vessels, manned by 34,000 sailors and 4,000 marines. Most of these ships were destroyed at Sinope, Nov. 1853, and others foun- dered in storms in the Black Sea. Newly built in the years 1860-62 were 23 screw steamers, of various sizes, with 820 guns. To these were added, during the years 1863 to 1869, seven large iron-clads built in England, the 'Abdul-Aziz,' the ' Osman Ghazy,' the ' Sultan Mahmoud,' the ' Ourkhan," the ' Feltah,' the ' Said Bahri,' and the ' Moyini Zaffer.' Three smaller iron-clads, called the ' Izzedin,' ' Fuad,' and ' Ismail,' were launched in July

1864, besides a screw frigate named the ' Guene-Bikhran,' while two ' Monitors,' called the ' Bordeaux,' and ' Algiers,' each of SOD tons burthen, constructed in France, were commissioned in the summer of 1869. A screw-corvette was built in the summer of

1865, at the arsenal of Constantinople, called the 'Nousr-el-Azil ; ' and two other screw-corvettes, the ' Muzafer ' and ' Mensouri,' were built on the stocks at Ismidt. The ' Ferad,' a steam -frigate, was launched at Sinope, in August,. 1865 ; two sciew-corvettes were built the same year at the arsenal at Ghiumlek, the ' Merikh,' and the 'Akard;'and a steam-corvette, the ' Zeivan,' at Amasura, in Asia Minor. The largest iron-clad in the Turkish navy is the 'Osman Ghazy,' built by Napier and Sons, Glasgow, and launched September 2, 1864. The 'Osman Ghazy' is a 'ram,' armour- plated from stem to stern, 309 feet long, 56 feet broad; of a burthen of 4,200 tons, and a draught of water of 24 feet 9 inches.