Feth-i-Bulend

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Feth-i-Bulend was an ironclad ship launched in the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century.

Feth-i-Bulend was built as one of the ships constructed to attempt the modernization of the Ottoman Navy. This programme took place in the 1860's and 1870's to protect them against the Russian Expansionist Programme. Since Turkey received considerable aid from Great Britain and France, Turkey soon had the third largest navy in the world, which consisted mainly of central battery ironclad ships like Feth-i-Beulend. Much of the development was performed under the supervision of a British naval officer, Hobart Pasha.

[edit] The ship and its armament

Feth-i-Bulend was one of the more advanced, compact and heavily armed ironclads of its era. It was armed with four 229mm (9in) gun,. She was powered by a single-screw compound engine, but could also run on sail if the weather was right. She had a crew of 220 and was launched in 1870.

[edit] A basic summary of the ship

In a bid to support the backward Ottoman empire against Russian expansionist policies, Britain gave considerable aid to the Turkish in their efforts to build a powerful and modern naval fleet. In the 1860s and 1870s, so many modern ironclad warships were build on behalf of Turkey by both France and Britain that the Ottoman Empire became the world's third largest naval fleet. Much of this development occurred under the administration of a British naval officer, Hobart Pasha. Vessels of this era included Feth-i-Bulend, and iron hulled, central battery ship built at Blackwall in London in 1870 and sent to Turkey in 1872. She was reconstructed and updated at the Ansaldo Italian Shipyards in Constantinople between 1903 and 1907. By the time of the First Balkan War of 1912, she was anchored at Salonica, and her guns had been removed for the defense of the city. On the night of 18 October, Feth-i-Bulend was sunk by the Greek torpedo vessel No.11.