- Ertuğrul (Ottoman frigate)
"This article is about the Ottoman frigate" "Ertuğrul". "For the Ottoman leader, see
Ertuğrul .""Ertuğrul", launched in 1863, was a sailing
frigate of theOttoman Navy . While returning from a goodwill voyage fromJapan in 1890, she encountered atyphoon off the coast ofWakayama Prefecture , subsequently drifted into a reef and sank. The maritime accident resulted in the loss of 533 sailors, including Admiral Ali Osman Pasha. cite web
title = Turkish frigate "Ertogrul" burns off of Japan, kills 540 -- September 19 in History
publisher = [http://www.brainyhistory.com BrainyHistory]
url = http://www.brainyhistory.com/events/1890/september_19_1890_63437.html
accessdate = 2006-12-20 ] Only sixty-nine sailors and officers survived and returned later home aboard two Japanesecorvette s. The event is still commemorated as a foundation stone of Japanese-Turkish friendship.The ship
"Ertuğrul", ordered in 1854 by Ottoman
Sultan Abdülâziz (reigned 1830-1876), was built in the Taşkızak Shipyard inGolden Horn ,Istanbul and was launched onOctober 19 1863 in presence of the sultan. She was named forErtuğrul Gazi (1198–1281), the father ofOsman I , founder of theOttoman Empire . A three-mast wooden ship, she was convert|79|m|foot|abbr=on long, convert|15.5|m|foot|abbr=on wide and had a draft of convert|8|m|foot|abbr=on.The frigate sailed to
Great Britain in 1864, where it hadsteam engine s andstate of the art machinery installed, including electrical lighting.On
February 18 1865 , she leftPortsmouth to return home with two other ships of the Ottoman Navy, "Kosova" and "Hüdavendigâr", visiting some French and Spanish ports on the way. After arriving in Istanbul, she anchored awhile in theBosporus in front of theDolmabahçe Palace and later took part in the campaign against the Great Cretan Revolution in 1866. [ [http://www.anatolian.tv/pages/tarihte-ertugrul/ertugrul-firkateyni.php Anatolian TV] ] Subsequently she was locked up in Golden Horn during the reign ofAbdul Hamid II (1876-1909).Turkish Japanese relations
In November 1878, the
squadron "Seiki" of theJapanese Imperial Navy arrived in Istanbul en route to a training mission inEurope , and the envoy was received by Sultan Abdul Hamid II and honored with various medals. [http://www.turkey.jp/tr/kronoloji.htm Chronology of Japan-Turkey Relations. Turkish Embassy in Tokyo] tr] Then, in 1881 the Emperor's relative Prince Kato Hito came to the courtYıldız Palace in an effort to conclude agreements relating to trade and wartime status. [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=vDzjkrTDKjYC&pg=PA407&lpg=PA407&dq=kato+hito+ertuğrul&source=web&ots=5Q7joJpBFq&sig=ReeCHog6zdGKsduBv_CqQc2oigU "Turkish Foreign Policy in Post Cold War Era" by İdris Bal. 464 pages, 2004. ISBN 1581124236] ] Upon the visit ofPrince Komatsu Akihito to İstanbul in October 1887 and the presentation of Japan's highest order, theOrder of the Chrysanthemum , to the sultan, the government of the Ottoman Empire decided to send a ship on a goodwill voyage to Japan in return. [http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:tpcbnHjPe94J:www.iyfrsf.org/Newsletter/introtoiyfr.pdf+Ertuğrul+Disaster&hl=tr&ct=clnk&cd=28&gl=tr&lr=lang_en&client=firefox-a "Ertuğrul" at Rotary Mariners] .]The appointment
The
Grand Vizier Mehmed Kamil Pasha the Cypriot sent a note onFebruary 14 1889 to the head of the navy,Bozcaadalı Hasan Hüsnü Pasha , asking the name and possible departure date of a battleship, which was suitable to sail to the seas ofIndo-China and Japan in order to put the theoretical knowledge of Naval Academy graduates into practice. OnFebruary 25 1889 , Hasan Husnu Pasha informed that the frigate "Ertuğrul" was suitable for the assignment and could accomplish the preparations required within one week and set sail within one month. The real reason of the journey and its importance was revealed then by the Grand Vizier as a goodwill visit to Japan for the presentation of gifts and the highest decoration of the Ottoman Empire, 'Medal of High Honor', from the sultan to the Japanese Emperor.cite web | url = http://www.turkjapan2003.org/rel/ertugrul.htm | title = Tragedy—Ertuğrul Frigate | author = Rasim Ünlü] Another aim of the voyage was to show flag on theIndian Ocean .On
April 6 1889 , the naval ministry appointed as commanding officer Captain Ali Osman Bey, the most appropriate officer due to his knowledge of several foreign languages and his skills in seamanship.The voyage to Japan
The ship, in service for 25 years, was overhauled shortly before the voyage, and most of the hull's wooden parts were renewed.
"Ertuğrul", with 607 (disputed figure) sailors — including 57 officers — on board, was instructed to set sail from Istanbul on
July 14 1889 , with Captain Ali Bey commanding.The initial route was designed to make various necessary stops on the way. The first stop was planned in
Marmaris , and the next one inPort Said before the passage through theSuez Canal . A visit inAden would follow the stay in Port Jeddah. Considering the seasonal winds, the ship would stop by at Port Pondicherry andCalcutta inIndia . After staying in Port Akabod and Port Singapore, she would carry on toMalacca by way of theStrait of Malacca . Proceeding to the north, the ship would stop by in Port Saigon and then in some docks inChina to arrive inHong Kong . Port Amoy andShanghai would be the last stops before reaching Japan. Finally, after a stay in Port Nagasaki, the ship would arrive her destination in Port Yokohama. The return was scheduled in October of the same year.The ship experienced some problems during her long journey. On
July 26 1889 , she entered the Suez Canal and ran ashore inGreat Bitter Lake , destroyed the stern post and lost the rudder. After repairs, "Ertuğrul" set sail again onSeptember 23 . While sailing in westernIndian Ocean , the ship took on water from the bow. The crew was unable to conduct the necessary repairs until they reached Singapore. "Ertuğrul" was repaired in Singapore and departed onMarch 22 1890 . After a ten-day stop in Saigon, she arrived in Yokohoma onJune 7 1890 . The journey from Istanbul lasted around eleven months. Captain Ali Osman Bey was promoted to the rank of a commodore during the journey.In Yokohama, Admiral Ali Osman Pasha and the officers were received by
Emperor Meiji of Japan onJune 13 1890 . The gifts and the medal sent by Sultan Abdul Hamid II were presented to their intended recipients. Ali Osman Pasha was honored with the First ClassOrder of the Rising Sun , and Skipper Ali Bey with the Third Class Order of the Rising Sun. Other navy officers were also decorated with medals. Subsequently, Turkish officers were received by the Empress. OnJune 14 1890 , young Prince Yoshihito Haru received the Turkish admiral. On the following days, many receptions, dinners and ceremonies took place.During her stay of three months in Japan, "Ertuğrul" frigate lost twelve crew members to epidemic.
The accident
On
September 15 1890 at noon, "Ertuğrul" set sail from Yokohama for Istanbul. The very good weather conditions at the departure changed the next day in the morning. A reverse wind began to blow, getting stronger towards evening. By nightfall, the wind came from below the bow so that the sails had to be folded. At the same time, violent waves in the rabid sea began beating against the ship, which, under severe trial, could hardly make headway. The convert|40|m|ft|abbr=on highmizzen mast collapsed and caused severe damage by shaking from side to side and banging into the other (rigging) sails. While the storm continued gaining power, waves coming from the bow separated the deck boards from the front. Water broke through into the coal depots in the boiler room. In the next four days, the crew tried to repair the damage by remedying the sails and tightening the shrouds. They also continuously tried to empty the water with buckets out of the coal containers, which was the most serious danger, since the pumps were insufficient.Despite all the efforts, the ship's disintegration was imminent and the only option was seeking sanctuary in a nearby port. They headed to
Kobe , within convert|10|mi|km of the ship, in the gulf beyond the Kashinozaki Cape with Oshima Lighthouse. Seawater breaking through finally extinguished one of the furnaces in the engine room. Almost immobile without main sails and sufficient propulsion, and having only the wind and the waves behind, "Ertuğrul" drifted towards the dangerous rocks at the eastern coast of Oshima Island. As the crew tried just to stop the ship before the rocks by emergency anchoring, the ship hit the reefs and fell apart at the first impact around midnight onSeptember 18 1890 .At the site of the accident, around 533 sailors, of whom fifty were officers including the commander Admiral Ali Osman Pasha, lost their lives. Only six officers and sixty-three sailors survived. Six of the survivors were uninjured, nine severely wounded and the others with only lightly injuries. After the rescue operation, two survivors were taken to Kobe by Japanese ships, another two by a Japanese battleship and sixty-five by German gunboats. All the sixty-nine survivors were transported back to
Istanbul aboard Japanese corvettes "Kongō" and "Hiei", leavingShinagawa, Tokyo in October 1890. The sultan accepted the officers of the Japanese battleships onJanuary 5 1891 and expressed his appreciation for the relief operation by decorating them with medalsCommemoration
Ironically, this accident created a general sympathy in Japan for Turkish people and led to the establishment of a strong basis for which friendship between Turkey and Japan was to later flourish. [http://www.turkey.jp/tr/29Ekim.htm Message of the Ambassador on the Occasion of the 84th Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic of Turkey. Turkish Embassy in Tokyo] ]
In February 1891, a cemetery was established for the 150 sailors recovered dead at the calamity, and a memorial next to it was built near the lighthouse in the town of
Kushimoto, Wakayama . [ [http://www.hri.org/news/turkey/anadolu/2000/00-08-03.anadolu.html TCG "Turgutreis" returns to Gölcük. Hellenic Resources Network, August 3, 2000] ] Emperor Hirohito visited the cemetery onJune 3 1929 , which was extended the same year. Turkey renovated the monument in 1939.In 1974, a "Turkish Museum" was established, in which a scale model of the ship, photographs and statues of the sailors are on exhibition.
The event is being commemorated every five years on the day of the tragic accident in Kushimoto with the participation of high-level officials from Turkey and Japan.
In June 2008, Turkish president
Abdullah Gül , visiting Japan officially, proceeded from Tokyo to Kushimoto to take part at a commemoration together with regional officials. [cite web |url= http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=23482 |work=World Bulletin |title=Turkish President Gul in Japan |date=2008-06-07 ]alvaging the wreckage
On
January 4 2007 , a salvaging project with contributions from the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA) inBodrum , Yapı Kredi Retirement Partnership and the Turkish Foundation of Nautical Archaeology was announced to find the wreckage of "Ertuğrul" and completely float her to the surface. It is intended to exhibit her in the museum next to the Ertuğrul Monument in Kushimoto. U.S. and Japanese nautical archaeologists and historians join the excavation team. [ [http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=63262 Frigate "Ertuğrul" to be floated 116 years after its demise. "Turkish Daily News", January 6, 2007] ]ee also
*List of maritime accidents and disasters by death toll
References
External links
* [http://www.ertugrul.jp/ "Ertuğrul" salvage project official website] tr
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