Ottoman Navy Warships 1914-18

by Ryan K. Noppen, Paul Wright (Illustrator)

Overview

At the start of the 20th century the Ottoman Navy was a shadow of its former might, a reflection of the empire as a whole the "Sick Man of Europe". Years of defeat, nepotism, and neglect had left the Ottoman Navy with a mix of obsolete vessels, whilst the list of prospective enemies was ever-growing. An increasing Russian naval presence in the Black Sea and the alarming emergence of Italy and Greece as regional Naval powers proved beyond all doubt that intensive modernization was essential, indeed, the fate of the Empire as a naval power depended on it. So the Ottoman Navy looked to the ultimate naval weapon of the age, the dreadnought, two of which were ordered from the British. But politics intervened, and a succession of events culminated in the Ottoman Navy fielding a modern German battlecruiser and state-of-the-art light cruiser instead with dramatic consequences. In this meticulous study, Ryan Noppen presents a fresh appraisal of the technical aspects and operations of the warships of the Ottoman Navy in World War I. It is the first work of its kind in the English language produced with a wealth of rare material with the co-operation of the Turkish Consulate and Navy. Packed with precise technical specifications, revealing illustrations and exhaustive research, this is an essential guide to a crucial chapter in the Aegean arms race.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781472806215
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	07/20/2015
Series:	New Vanguard , #227
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	48
File size:	23 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Ryan Noppen is a military author and aviation analyst originally from Kalamazoo, Michigan. A Master of Arts holder from Purdue University, he specialized in the history of aviation, completing a major thesis on German trans-Atlantic aviation in the interwar years. He has worked as a subject matter expert for a defense firm on projects involving naval and aviation logistics, and has taught several college courses on the World Wars.

Paul Wright has painted ships of all kinds for most of his career, specialising in steel and steam warships from the late 19th century to the present day. Paul's art has illustrated the works of Patrick O'Brian, Dudley Pope and C.S. Forester amongst others, and hangs in many corporate and private collections all over the world.
Ryan K. Noppen is a military author and consultant originally from Kalamazoo, Michigan and holds a Master of Arts degree in European History from Purdue University. He has worked as a naval and aviation subject matter expert on projects for the US Navy, taught college courses in military history, and has served as the headmaster of a Classical grammar school. A scholar of Dutch, German, and Central European military history, he has published a major history of Dutch air power and has written several titles for Osprey. He lives in California, USA.
Paul Wright has painted ships of all kinds for most of his career, specializing in steel and steam warships from the late 19th century to the present day. Paul's art has illustrated the works of Patrick O'Brian, Dudley Pope and C.S. Forester amongst others, and hangs in many corporate and private collections all over the world. A Member of the Royal Society of Marine Artists, Paul lives and works in Surrey.

Table of Contents

Introduction 4

Ships of the Ottoman Navy 5

The Ottoman Navy at the Beginning of World War I 16

German-Ottoman Operations in the Black Sea, 1914-17 20

Yavuz versus the Pre-Dreadnoughts of the Black Sea Fleet

The Last Ottoman Fleet Action

Cruiser Operations in 1915

Midilli's Raid on Schlangen Island

Operations in the Dardanelles, 1915-18 31

The Big Guns of Barbaros Hayreddin and Torgut Reis

The Cruise of Demirhisar

Nusret's Minefield

Countering the Allied Submarine Threat

The Largest Air-Sea Battle of the War

The End of the War, 1918 43

Bibliography 46

Index 48