Ottoman cruiser Mecidiye

Ottoman cruiser Mecidiye
History
Ottoman Empire
Name:	Mecidiye
Ordered:	1900
Builder:	William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia
Yard number:	315
Laid down:	7 November 1901
Launched:	25 July 1903
Commissioned:	19 December 1903
Fate:	Struck mine and sank near Odessa on 3 April 1915. Salvaged by the Russians on 8 June 1915 and joined the Russian Navy as Prut on 29 October 1915. Returned to the Ottoman Navy on 13 May 1918.
General characteristics Mecidiye
Type:	Protected cruiser
Displacement:	3,485 t (normal draught) 3,967 t (full load)
Length:	102.4 m (336 ft) (LOA) 100.5 m (330 ft) (LPP)
Beam:	12.8 m (42 ft)
Draught:	4.8 m (16 ft)
Propulsion:	Machinery: Steam, 2 shafts Engines: 2 × VQE engines producing 12,500 ihp, William Cramp & Sons Boilers: 16 × Babcock & Wilcox water-tube boilers
Speed:	22 knots (full speed in trials) 18 knots (normal cruising speed)
Complement:	302 (1903) 355 (1915) 310 (1936)
Armament:	2 × 152 mm QF L/45 guns 8 × 120 mm QF L/45 guns 6 × 47 mm QF guns 6 × 37 m QF guns 2 × 457 mm torpedo tubes
Russian Empire
Name:	Prut
Yard number:	Ropit Yard, Odessa
Acquired:	Raised on 31 May 1915. Salvaged on 8 June 1915.
Commissioned:	29 October 1915
Fate:	Captured by German forces on 1 May 1918 and returned to the Ottoman Navy on May 13, 1918.
General characteristics Prut
Type:	Protected cruiser
Displacement:	3,250 tons
Length:	102.4 m (336 ft)
Beam:	12.8 m (42 ft)
Draught:	4.8 m (16 ft)
Propulsion:	2 VQE; 12,500 hp
Speed:	17.9 knots
Armament:	6 × 130 mm guns 4 × 130 mm guns 4 × 75 mm AA guns
Ottoman Empire/Turkey
Name:	Mecidiye
Acquired:	13 May 1918
Decommissioned:	1 March 1947
Fate:	Used as a cadet training ship between 1940 and 1947, sold for scrap in 1952.

Mecidiye (in older publications also spelled as Medjidiye) was a protected cruiser of the Ottoman Empire that saw action during the Balkan Wars and World War I. It was ordered by the Ottoman Navy in 1900 to the U.S. shipbuilding company William Cramp & Sons. It was laid down in Philadelphia on 7 November 1901; launched on 25 July 1903; its sea trials began in October 1903; and it was commissioned on 19 December 1903. It weighed 3,485 tons (3,967 tons full load); was 102.4 metres (336 ft) long with a beam of 12.8 metres (42 ft) and a draught of 4.8 metres (16 ft); and was named after the Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecid.

It had two 152mm L/45 quick firing guns, eight 120mm L/45 quick firing guns, six 47mm quick firing guns, six 37mm quick firing guns, and two 457mm torpedo tubes.Mecidiye was powered by two sets of VQE steam engines producing 12,500 ihp and providing a top speed of 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph), and carried a nominal complement of 302 (in 1903), 355 (in 1915), and 310 (in 1936.)

Mecidiye, named after Sultan Abdülmecid I, was launched on 25 July 1903 and commissioned on 19 December 1903.

In October 1912, Mecidiye shelled Bulgarian forts near Varna and other military targets. On 9 December, she was attacked by the Greek submarine Delfin at 800 meters, but the torpedo missed.Mecidiye also participated in the two major naval battles of the war, against the Greek Navy, at Elli (16 December 1912) and Lemnos (18 January 1913), suffering slight damage in the first. On 18 February 1913, Mecidiye was part of the covering naval force for the Ottoman shore landing at Şarköy.