Ottoman Navy Warships 1914-18 (new Vanguard)
by Ryan Noppen /
2015 / English / PDF
7.4 MB Download
At the start of the 20th century the Ottoman Navy was a shadow of
its former might, a reflection of the empire as a whole - the
"Sick Man of Europe". Years of defeat, nepotism, and neglect had
left the Ottoman Navy with a mix of obsolete vessels, whilst the
list of prospective enemies was ever-growing. An increasing
Russian naval presence in the Black Sea and the alarming
emergence of Italy and Greece as regional Naval powers proved
beyond all doubt that intensive modernization was essential,
indeed, the fate of the Empire as a naval power depended on it.
So the Ottoman Navy looked to the ultimate naval weapon of the
age, the dreadnought battleship, two of which were ordered from
the British with extreme alacrity. But politics intervened,
and a succession of events culminated in the Ottoman Navy
fielding a modern German battlecruiser and state-of-the-art light
cruiser instead - with dramatic consequences. In this
meticulous study, Ryan Noppen presents a fresh appraisal of the
technical aspects and operations of the warships of the Ottoman
Navy in World War I. It is the first work of its kind in the
English language - produced with a wealth of rare material with
the cooperation of the Turkish Consulate and Navy. Packed with
precise technical specifications, revealing illustrations and
exhaustive research, this is an essential guide to a crucial
chapter in the Aegean arms race
At the start of the 20th century the Ottoman Navy was a shadow of
its former might, a reflection of the empire as a whole - the
"Sick Man of Europe". Years of defeat, nepotism, and neglect had
left the Ottoman Navy with a mix of obsolete vessels, whilst the
list of prospective enemies was ever-growing. An increasing
Russian naval presence in the Black Sea and the alarming
emergence of Italy and Greece as regional Naval powers proved
beyond all doubt that intensive modernization was essential,
indeed, the fate of the Empire as a naval power depended on it.
So the Ottoman Navy looked to the ultimate naval weapon of the
age, the dreadnought battleship, two of which were ordered from
the British with extreme alacrity. But politics intervened,
and a succession of events culminated in the Ottoman Navy
fielding a modern German battlecruiser and state-of-the-art light
cruiser instead - with dramatic consequences. In this
meticulous study, Ryan Noppen presents a fresh appraisal of the
technical aspects and operations of the warships of the Ottoman
Navy in World War I. It is the first work of its kind in the
English language - produced with a wealth of rare material with
the cooperation of the Turkish Consulate and Navy. Packed with
precise technical specifications, revealing illustrations and
exhaustive research, this is an essential guide to a crucial
chapter in the Aegean arms race