Avnillah-class ironclad
Avnillah, c. 1885
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators: |
 Ottoman Empire |
| Preceded by: | Lüft-ü Celil-class ironclad |
| Succeeded by: | Feth-i Bülend-class ironclad |
| Built: | 1868–1870 |
| In commission: | 1870–1932 |
| Completed: | 2 |
| Lost: | 1 |
| Scrapped: | 1 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 2,362 metric tons (2,325 long tons; 2,604 short tons) |
| Length: | 68.9 m (226 ft 1 in) (lpp) |
| Beam: | 10.9 m (35 ft 9 in) |
| Draft: | 5 m (16 ft 5 in) |
| Installed power: |
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| Propulsion: | 1 horizontal compound engine |
| Speed: | 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Complement: |
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| Armament: | 4 × 228 mm (9.0 in) guns |
| Armor: | |
The Avnillah-class was a group of two ironclad warships built for the Ottoman Navy in the 1860s. The class comprised two vessels, Avnillah and Muin-i Zafer. The two ships were built in Britain between 1868 and 1870. They were armed with a battery of four 228 mm (9.0 in) guns mounted in a central casemate, making them central battery ships.
Both ships served during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, where they operated against Russian forces in the Black Sea. They were primarily tasked with supporting Ottoman forces ashore, though Muin-i Zafer also helped to defend the port of Sulina. After the war, both vessels were placed in reserve, and saw no further activity until 1897, when they were mobilized at the start of the Greco-Turkish War. Like the rest of the Ottoman fleet, both ships were in poor condition and were unable to be used offensively.
After the war ended, both vessels were rebuilt as part of a large reconstruction program aimed at modernizing the ancient Ottoman fleet. They returned to service with a new battery of four 150 mm (5.9 in) Krupp quick-firing guns as guard ships, and in this capacity Avnillah was sunk in the Battle of Beirut during the Italo-Turkish War in January 1912. Muin-i Zafer served on as a training ship from 1913, a barracks ship from 1920, and a depot ship for submarines from 1928. She was finally broken up for scrap in 1932.
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