THE TURKISH FLEET.

Globe, Volume IX, Issue 1279, 25 April 1878, Page 3

THE TURKISH FLEET.

[“ Times,” February 27.] The rumored demand by Russia of the cession of a portion of the Ottoman fleet appears to have gained some credence owing to the inability of the Foreign Secretary to meet Lord Dunraven’s query with a categorical denial; and the hope the Earl of I)erby expressed that Russia would not persist in her demand proves, at any rate, that the transfer has been contemplated at St. Petersburg and meets with disapproval in London. It may be of interest, therefore, to give a brief description of the Turkish navy, which deservedly holds a high place in Europe, At the present moment the ironclad fleet consists of six armour-plated frigates, seven corvettes, and two small gunboats. At the outbreak of the war there were nine corvettes and seven gunboats, but two of the former—the Hit's-ul-Rahman and the Lutfou Djelil—were destroyed on the Danube, while five out of the seven gunboats were handed over to the Russians under the terms of the armistice.

The frigates are of three classes, the most powerful being the Massoudieh, a sister ship to the Hamidieh—now called the Relleisle—lately purchased by our Government and now lying at Chatham. She was built on the Thames, was completed in Chatham Dockyard, and navigated thence to the Golden Horn by a party of Turkish seamen in 1875 Since the commencement of the war she has been commissioned, but has done no cruising, having been performing the duties of guard ship in the Bosphorus, Her extreme length is 340 ft., breadth 59ft., and draught of water 26it.; her tonnage is 5349, with a displace ment of close upon 9000. Her engines uro of 1200 nominal horse power, and her contract speed 144 knots. Her armament consists of \'i 18-ton guns in a raised central battery midships, with three 120-pounder Armstrongon the upper deck. She is barque rigged, and carries four Gatlings, for boats and works in the tops. Her armour is 12in. in thickness, and her complement 40 officers and 513 men. It will thus be seen that she is a particularly formidable vessel, and would form a valuable addition to any navy in the world. The second class of armour-clad frigates comprises the Azizieh, Mahmoudieh, Qrkanieh, and Osmanieh, sister ships, all built in England from the same designs. They have a tonnage of 4221 ft. ; their length is 295 ft., breadth sflft., a-nd draught of water 35ft.; they are similar in every respect; horsepower 900, giving a speed of 13 knots; and their complement consists of 47 officers and 512 men. They each carry one 300 pounder Armstrong, and 15 150-pounders. They cannot be termed very formidable vessels, as their plates are but 4i-in. in thickness, and the metal of their guns cannot be compared to those carried by the majority of our Mediterranean fleet. The Assar-i-Tefik, although we have placed her below vessels of the Mahmoudieh stamp, is more powerful, though smaller, than the second class of Turkish ironclads. She was built in France in 1873, and is plated with 8-inch armour; her length is 275 ft, breadth of beam 50ft., and draught of water 21ft.; her engines are of the nominal power of 800 horses, but she has attained a spend of 13 knots. She carries four 12-ton and four 6 ton guns, and has a complement of 47 officers and 512 men. Sho is a very handy, powerful vessel, and, worthy to carry the flag of Hobart Pasha, OF the corvettes the Fattoh Dulend and the Mopkadam-i-Hair—the former English, the latter of'Constantinople «oi struct ion—are the paost powerful of their class; they have a gross tonnage of 1600, with engines of 500 nominal hoise-piwer, with which they have been driven 13 knots; their dimensions are 235 ft. in length, 38ft, beam, with a draught of 18ft. They carry four 12-ton guns in a central battery, and are protected by 91c, armour plates. The Avni-Itlah and Main-i-Zaffar are sister ships cf 3 gross tonnage of 1399 ; length hetweeti perpendiculars 230 f t, (fraught of water, 18ft. j their

engines, though of the nominal power of only 400 horses, drive them at the rate of 12 to 14 knots; (hey likewise carry four 12 ton guns in a central battery ; but their armour plates are only of 7im. thickness. The Idjalieh was built at Trieste, and differs in certain respects from all of her class, having a larger tonnage with more guns, yet weaker armour, than any of the preceding. Her extreme length is 2190., breadth 41 ft., draught 12|ft ; tonnage, 1650; horsepower, 300; with armour-plates of 3iin. Sue carries tour 6-ton guns and two 300-pounder Armstrongs, The two last on the list of corvettes are the A“sar-i-Schefket and the Nedjim-i-Chefket, built some years ago at Toulon. They are 210 ft. in length, 40ft. in breadth, and draw 17ft. of water. Their gross tonnage is 1583, and horse-power 300. They carry one 12 ton gun in a central battery, and four 120 pounder Armstrongs on the main deck. Their armour throughout is of sin. thickness. The whole of the corvette class carry a crew of 28 officers and 160 men. The two gunboats which still remain on the books of the Turkish navy are the Hieber and the Seifi. They are for river work, having a draught of but B£ft. of water ; their tonnage is 500, and (hey are propelled by engines of 100-horse power. They carry two 40-pounder Armstrong guns, with a crew of 62 all told. Their plates are 3Jin. in thickness.

Turning to (he wooden fleet, which for purpos s of war is obsolete, though as transports they would be invaluable, we find four steam line-of-battle ships, with a gross tonnage of 13,523, each propelled by engines of 600-horse power, carrying 254 guns; four wooden frigates, with a tonnage of 13,808, and aggregate horse power of 2350, carrying 165 guns ; seven steam corvettes, each of 800 tons and 150 - horse - power, carrying 108 cannon ; there are also ten fast steam despatch boats.

The foregoing statement shows that there are but four ironclads in the whole of the Turkish navy which are in any way formidable—viz., the Massondieh, the Assar-i-TefiK, the FfUteh Bulend, and the Moukadem i Hair—and these are vastly inferior to many of the slips now representing our flag in Tulza Biy. Still it is more than probable the Russians from St. Stefano and Rod s’o look wi h envious ey. s on the squadron which has -o hampered their movements in the B 1 cR S a., and would prefer seeing their own colors firing from the peak in the place of the Crer-cent and the Star. It is idle to specnla'e whether they will change hands : if they do they will form a valuable nucleus for Rusua’s Black Sea fleet, the creation of which it is Ragland’s interest to prevent.