Since the second half of the 19th century, the once prominent Ottoman naval fleet has completely withdrawn from the Mediterranean. This was not only due to the fact that the Empire's finances were no longer able to build and maintain a large naval fleet, but also because the Empire's decision-makers had always been negative in their opposition to the development of the navy. In the eyes of the new Sultan Hamid II, the naval fleet that had been built at great expense had done nothing in the previous war against Russia, and could only allow the Russians to rush through the Balkans, which was really useless. With this fund for the development of the fleet, it is better to add some guys to the army! Under his edict, all Ottoman ships were locked in the Golden Horn, and its naval fleet ushered in a gloomy era even more tragic than the Beiyang naval divisions that had not been added to history.

The Ottoman fleet, which was originally only a third-rate force, was thrown away by the great powers at the end of the 19th century, when the naval equipment and technology developed rapidly. The Ottoman sail ships built in the 1860s, still armed with breech guns, firing solid iron projectiles, laid with wrought iron armor, and crawling as slow as a turtle, could hardly resist even the "lamb's dream" in the face of the new ships of the Great Powers! The rolling tide of history and the complacency of the Ottoman navy made the sea situation facing this sick man of Europe drastic and severe; In the 1890s, Greece ordered three Hydra-class coastal defense ships with a displacement of 4,800 tons and three 274-mm guns from France, which immediately posed an unprecedented threat to the Ottoman Navy in the Aegean Sea.

Faced with this situation, the stubborn Hamid II had to choose to compromise under the pressure of reality. 1899 year. The 25-year-old ironclad Mesadih was sent to the Ansaldo shipyard in Italy for a five-year makeover. Power, hull, artillery, mechanical...... Everything that can be changed has been modernized. By the time it leaves the factory, it is almost impossible to see the figure before entering the factory (historical facts). The transformation of the ship can be called a miracle in the history of shipbuilding, and the magic transformation power of the Big Noodle Country is indeed unmatched). The converted ship can run up to 16 knots, and the newly laid Krupp hardened armor greatly improves its defense. However, due to the delay in the arrival of British 234mm guns, the Turks had to install a wooden turret at the main gun position to scare people, so that they really had only 12 152mm rapid-fire guns from the bad street; How much of a role this firepower can play in battle, even the Turks themselves do not have a spectrum in their hearts!

At present, the only thing that the Ottoman navy can handle in front of the great powers is only one ship named Torgu? Lacey's pocket battleship. In 1899, he reciprocated the goodwill with German financing for the continuation of the construction of the Eastern Railway, which extended eastward from Ankara. At that time, the Ottoman navy had reached a point where it had to be expanded, and Hamid II approved the plan to order modern warships from Germany. According to the original plan of the Ottoman Admiralty, it was to prepare to order 2 10,000-ton standard dreadnoughts from Germany to deal with the Greek Navy at the doorstep and the Russian Black Sea Fleet entrenched in Sevastopol; However, when the navy reported the budget to Hamid II, the monarch, who had never been very interested in the navy, began to worry about the purchase of ships of up to 1.8 million pounds. Under his constraints, the development plan of the Ottoman Navy after a gap of 25 years was miserably castrated, and the Admiralty had no choice but to go to Berlin with a pitiful 700,000 pounds sterling in order to achieve maximum combat power with limited funds. Torgu? It was against this backdrop that the battleship Lacey came into being against the backdrop of a serious lack of funds.

Although the Turks' petty behavior disappointed the German shipyard that was ready to make a lot of money, in the spirit of the consideration that no matter how small the mosquito leg is, it is a piece of meat, and the Germania shipyard, which won the bid, still dutifully designed a fine piece for this slammer. Torgu? The Lacey Pocket Battleship has a standard displacement of 8,200 tons, a speed of 17 knots, two twin 283 mm L42 main guns and eight 152 mm L45 secondary guns, and a waterline with 230 mm thick Krupp hardened armor. The title of the most powerful capital ship in the Aegean Sea is well deserved. When the ship was delivered to the Ottoman Navy in 1901, Istanbul's attitude towards Athens hardened in an instant; Facing the main guns and steel-faced ironclad Greek Hydra-class coastal defense ships. Torgu with a tube-out turret main gun and hardened armor? The Lacey clearly had an overwhelming absolute advantage.

However, the salted fish of the Turks was limited to the narrow Aegean Sea. In the Black Sea, the Russian fleet undoubtedly crushed the Ottoman navy: the Potemkin, completed in 1903, and the Three Saints, commissioned in 1898, were both large capital ships with a displacement of 12,500 tons and four 305-mm L40 guns. The Lacey would not have taken advantage of any of these ships in battle. In addition to this, the Russian Black Sea Fleet has the 8,900-ton Rostislav (4 254-mm L45 guns), the 8,700-ton Twelve-Apostles (4 305-mm L30 guns) and 4 older Catherine II-class large ironclads. As long as the Russian navy is dispatched, the Turks are also not qualified to resist!

If the previous Sultan Hamid II was satisfied with the small prosperity of the navy, the Ottoman navy, which had already formed an advantage over the Greek navy, would undoubtedly stop its development again; However, with the collapse of the Hamid crown, the situation facing the navy changed dramatically. The Turkish al-Shabaab, who were determined to restore the Ottoman Empire's strong control over the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea in the sixties of the nineteenth century, were enthusiastic about naval construction. In this case, the business opportunities for German shipyards naturally arise; Shortly after the German shipyard sales delegation arrived in Istanbul, they met with the new Ottoman Admiral Zemar under the mediation of Qingying, who was interested in selling warships to the Ottomans.

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"Your Excellency, I heard that at your instigation, your country has recently established an organization called the Ottoman Naval Foundation, in order to obtain funds from private donations for the purchase of warships. I personally have deep admiration for your wisdom in looking to the future. In the lavishly decorated Ottoman naval building, a middle-aged man wearing monocles is smiling and talking to Zemal Pasha in front of him. He was polite in his words and deeds, like a well-educated aristocratic Juncker; However, his greedy eyes, which lit up with the symbol of a gold coin, completely betrayed the original purpose of his trip.

Zemar stared at the German businessman in front of him, his eyelids under his brown eyebrows kept twitching, this guy didn't mean to take it step by step at all, and he went straight to the theme of selling warships as soon as he came up! However, as the head of a country's navy, Zemar obviously does not allow to be led by the nose by businessmen, and only by showing a casual attitude can he obtain greater benefits at the negotiating table; Hearing this, he nodded slightly, and said, "Indeed, Mr. Wolf, this organization was established half a month ago and began to be promoted throughout the country. Once the funds were raised for the purchase of the ship, we were ready to send a tender letter to the Armstrong and Vickers shipyards in the UK. ”

The middle-aged man, known as Wolfe, froze and quickly returned to normal. His signature merchant smile appeared on his face again, and he said, "Your Excellency, perhaps you can consider my German shipyards, such as Bromforth and Sissau. They all have highly skilled design teams and skilled shipbuilders, all of whom are among the best in the world, and the German Empire has previously issued an order for them to build six Dreadnought battleships. If your country chooses them as the warship builders for the revival of the Navy, I guarantee that they will help your country achieve its aspirations with the best quality and speed. ”

Asking for a price is essential for a good politician, and the civilian Admiral Zemar is clearly familiar with it; Almost without any thought, a high-sounding word came out of the heart and sound. "But Mr. Wolfe," he said, "we have already had a good conversation with the English shipyards. As you know, the British Navy has left a very deep mark on our fleet, and our training methods, management system, and weapons and equipment are almost all British-style, and many of the naval instructors in the military academies are also active officers hired from the Royal Navy. Both Armstrong and Vickers promised to help us build warships at a low price, and our officers and sailors were more accustomed to using British ships; If I sign a contract with your country instead, I will not be able to explain it to the British at home or with the British. ”

To be sure, Zemar's remarks weren't all about playing with the German businessman in front of him. Since the 60s of the 19th century, the Ottoman Navy has taken Britain as an imitation object and ordered a large number of ironclad ships of various types in British shipyards; Although its naval arms purchase came to an end with the accession of Hamid II, Britain still had a subtle influence on the Ottoman navy in all aspects such as personnel training and equipment maintenance. Over the decades, the Ottoman navy's top brass became an inexplicable blind obedience to British property, so much so that when it came to the purchase of warships, they reflexively thought of going to the British. Historically, the Ottoman government, which had obvious pro-German tendencies, still chose to order 2 super dreadnoughts from Britain when developing its navy, which is the most effective proof! (To be continued......)

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