Reshadieh class battleship

Reshadieh after her seizure by the Royal Navy and renaming as HMS Erin
Class overview
Builders:	Vickers, Armstrong Whitworth (planned)
Operators:	Royal Navy
Built:	1911–1914
Planned:	3
Completed:	1
Cancelled:	2
Scrapped:	3
General characteristics
Type:	Battleship
Displacement:	23,000 t (23,000 long tons) (normal) 25,250 t (24,850 long tons) (full load)
Length:	559 ft 6 in (170.54 m)
Beam:	91 ft (28 m)
Draught:	28 ft (8.5 m)
Installed power:	26,500 shp (19,800 kW)
Propulsion:	4 × Parsons steam turbines 15 × Babcock boilers 4 × shafts
Speed:	21 kn (39 km/h)
Complement:	1,070
Armament:	10 × 13.5 in (340 mm) Mk VI guns (5x2) 16 × 6 in (150 mm) guns 6 × 6-pounder 57 mm (2.2 in) guns 2 × 3 in (76 mm) 20 cwt anti-aircraft guns 4 × 21 in (530 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour:	Belt: 12 in (30 cm) (main); 6 in (15 cm) (upper) Turrets: 3–10 in (7.6–25 cm)

The Reshadieh class battleship was a class of three dreadnought battleships ordered from two British shipyards by the Ottoman Navy. Only one of the class (Reshadieh) was completed, having been seized by the Royal Navy at the outbreak of the First World War while under construction in Britain. This is regarded as one of the reasons Turkey entered World War I on the side of the Central Powers. The second ship, the Reshad-I-Hammiss, was cancelled and scrapped on the slipway in 1912, replaced by the Sultan Osman I. A third ship, the Fatih, ordered in 1914, was expected to be completed in 1917, slightly larger than the Reshad-I-Hammiss and Reshadieh. She was scrapped on the slipway in 1914.

After her seizure, the Reshadieh was completed and renamed HMS Erin. She was assigned to the first division of the 2nd Battle squadron of the Grand Fleet. She served at the Battle of Jutland, where she did not suffer casualties. Reshadieh became flagship of the Nore Reserve in 1919 and was scrapped in 1922 to comply with the Washington Naval Treaty.

Background

Following the failed construction of the Abdul Kadir, the Ottoman Navy was inspected by the First Lord of the Admiralty Earl Selborne who reported that "there was no navy". ^[1] In 1911, the Ottoman Empire ordered two dreadnoughts from Britain, at a combined cost of about 4,000,000 pounds sterling.^[2] This was to be paid over the course of the ships' construction with the final payment due on August 3, 1914.^[1]

Design

Designed by George Thurston, the Reshadieh class was to be modeled after the King George V class that was recently constructed for Britain, along with several features from the Iron Duke class.^[3] They were about 2,000 tons less than an Iron Duke-class battleship, and had a shallower armor belt than either the King George V or Iron Duke class, which was the same case with the HMS Agincourt.^{[4][clarification needed]} The Reshadieh also had about 1,130 less tons of coal than the King George V class.^[3] British officials did not worry about this, as North Sea operations consumed less coal^[3] and thus kept the ship at the same effectiveness as the King George V class would have had in the Mediterranean.^[3] The fact that the Reshadieh had a cleaver instead of a ram bow also helped improve seaworthiness.^[3]

Description

The Reshadieh class displaced 27,500 long tons (27,900 t) normally and 30,250 long tons (30,740 t) at full load.^[5] It had a length of 559 ft 6 in (170.54 m), a beam of 91 ft (28 m) and a draft of 91 ft (28 m).^[5] It was crewed by 1,070 men.^[5]The class was propelled by four shaft Parsons steam turbines which were rated at 26,500 shp (19,800 kW).^[5][3] On trials, they propelled the ship to 21 kn (39 km/h).^[5]

The main armament of the Reshadieh class was ten 13.5 in (340 mm) Mk VI guns in five twin turrets.^[3][5] This was augmented by sixteen 6 in (150 mm) guns,^[5] the foreword three of which tended to be wet in a heavy sea.^[6] Anti-torpedo boat defense was provided by six 6-pounder 57 mm (2.2 in) guns, while the role of anti-aircraft defenses was filled by three 3 in (76 mm) 20 cwt anti-aircraft guns.^[5] The class also carried four 21 in (530 mm) torpedo tubes.^[5]The class was armoured at the main section of their belt with 12 in (30 cm) of armor, the same as on theKing George V. The difference between the class and the King George V class was in the slight reduction of the armour on the upper belt, 6 in (15 cm) as opposed to the 8 in (20 cm) on the King George V.^[5][3] The total weight of the armour was 4,207 tons.^[7]

History

Reshadieh

Reshadieh, as HMS Erin, in a North Sea harbor with a kite balloon tied aft

The only ship of the class not to be scrapped before completion, the Erin, was laid down on December 6, 1911 at the Vickers Naval Construction Yard at Barrow in Furness in Cumbria along with the recently requisitioned Sultan Osman I.^[5] Their combined cost had been 4 million 1911 pounds-sterling.^[8] Although originally ordered as Reshad V, she was renamed during construction to Reshadieh.^[9] Construction was forced to stop when the First Balkan War broke out due to Ottoman financial reasons, and was only resumed in May of 1913.^[9] She was launched four months later on September 3, 1913.^[8] Reshadieh was completed on August 1, 1914 with a nearly formed crew, but was seized by the Royal Navy along with Sultan Osman Ijust before the start of the First World War and one day after the final payment for the ship,^{[awkward][10][1]} due to fears that she would be used in support of the Central Powers.^[5] The two ships were incorporated into the Royal Navy on August 22, 1914,^[11]and she joined the 2nd Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet in September of 1914.^[3] Ironically, the public outcry after the seizure of Reshadieh is considered one of the causes of Turkey's entrance on the side of the Central Powers.^[5] The construction of the ship had been financed mainly by highly-promoted public donations, and large contributions to the construction were recognized with a "Navy Donation Medal" (Turkish: "Donanma Cemiyeti").^[1]An attempt to compensate the Ottomans after the seizure was ignored.^[7]

During World War I, she served during the Battle of Jutland, but suffered no casualties and dealt no damage.^[3] She underwent modifications in 1917 to standardize her firing control and searchlight systems and another one in 1918 to install aircraft catapults on her B and Q, or second and third, turrets.^[3][6] The ship was made flagship of the Nore Reserve in 1919 and saw no further combat.^{[clarification needed][3][5]} She was kept as a turret drill ship at Chatham Dockyard until the end of 1919 and then underwent a refit at Devonport Dockyard. Although originally intended to be kept as a training ship per the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty, a change of plans led to Thunderer taking her place as the training ship, which meant that Erin had to be scrapped. In the second half of 1922 the ship was sold to the shipbreaking firm Cox and Daniels, which finished scrapping Reshadieh in 1923.^[11]

Reshad-I-Hammiss

Reshad-I-Hammiss was to have been the second ship of the Reshadieh class, but was cancelled due to financial reasons and scrapped in favor of the Sultan Osman I, a then-Brazilian dreadnought also under construction in Britain. However, Sultan Osman I was also seized by the Royal Navy on August 1, 1914, along with Reshadieh and was renamed Agincourt.^[3][12]

Fatih

Fatih was the third ship planned for the Reshadieh class, ordered in 1914 mainly due to the transfer of the American battleship Misssissippi to the Greek Navy. Fatih was to be slightly larger than her two sisters and was projected to be launched in 1917, although she was scrapped in 1914 soon after the outbreak of war.^[5][4]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} "Requisitioned Dreadnoughts: Sultan Osman I and Reshadieh". www.canakkale.gen.tr. http://www.canakkale.gen.tr/eng/closer/closer5.html. Retrieved 29 May 2010. 
2. ^ Hore (Big Battleship) p. 74
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m} Gardiner, Gray, p. 79
4. ^ ^{a b} Gardiner, Gray, p. 144
5. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o} Hore, p. 145
6. ^ ^{a b} Parkes. p. 600
7. ^ ^{a b} Parkes. p. 597
8. ^ ^{a b} Korda, p. 247
9. ^ ^{a b} Whitley, p. 237
10. ^ Johnston, Ian. The Battleships. Channel 4 Books. p. 76. 
11. ^ ^{a b} Burt, p. 230
12. ^ Hough, p. 121

Bibliography

• Burt, R. A.. British Battleships of World War One. London: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 0-85368-771-4. 
• Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal; (1984). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906 to the present. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. 
• Hore, Peter (2006). The Battleships. London: Southwater Publishing. ISBN 9781844762996. 
• Hough, Richard (1967). The Great Dreadnought: The Strange Story of H.M.S. Agincourt: The Mightiest Battleship of World War I. New York: Harper & Row. OCLC 914101. 
• Hough, Richard (1966). The Big Battleship. Eastbourne, England: Periscope Publishing. ISBN 1904381106. 
• Korda, Michael. Hero: The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia. New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 9780061712616. 
• Parkes, Oscar (1990). British Battleships 1860–1950. London: Pen & Sword Ltd. ISBN 0850526043. 
• Whitley, M.J.. Battleships of World War Two: an international encyclopedia. London: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 9781557501844. OCLC 40834665.