The Turkish Ironclad Hamidieh

Description

This engraving, published in The Illustrated London News on May 5, 1877, depicts the battleship Hamidiye, a symbolic ship of the Ottoman Empire's efforts to modernize its navy in the last quarter of the 19th century. According to the newspaper, initially built as "Mahmudiye," the ship was renamed "Hamidiye" in February 1876 to honor the accession of Sultan Abdulhamid II to the throne. Designed by Ahmed Pasha, the Ottoman Navy's chief constructor, she was finalized with technical contributions from the British Admiralty and built in England by the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company. Measuring 332 feet (101 m) long, 59 feet (18 m) wide, 19 feet (6 m) deep, with a cargo capacity of 5,349 tons and a displacement of approximately 9,000 tons, the ship, with its 71 watertight compartments, was a feat of advanced engineering for its time. Her hull was reinforced with 12-inch (30 cm) thick armor plates, and her main battery line was reinforced with 12 inches at the waterline and 10 inches at the topside. Her bow was equipped with a special iron head designed to penetrate enemy armor. its armament was impressive. The 148-foot-long battery line contained twelve 18-ton guns, plus additional guns at the bow and stern. Thanks to her corner gun mounts, the ship could fire from both bow and stern, as well as broadsides. Her engines, with a nominal horsepower of 1,250, were manufactured by the Maudslay and Field firm. This horsepower gave the ship a remarkably high speed for the time. Hamidiye was seen as a symbol of the Ottoman Navy's growing naval power and was expected to play a significant role during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78. However, this magnificent warship did not serve in the Ottoman fleet for long. As a result of increasing international tensions following the 1877–78 Russo-Turkish War, the United Kingdom, in line with its own strategic interests against Russia, seized (or purchased) the ship on 20 February 1878 and added it to the Royal Navy under the name "HMS Superb". Thus, the Hamidiye went down in history as both a symbol of the success of the Ottoman military modernization effort and a sign of imperial power that had been taken away from it under the shadow of international politics.