Ottoman ironclad Asar-i Tevfik
Asar-i Tevfik after her reconstruction
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| History | |
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 Ottoman Empire
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| Name: | Asar-i Tevfik |
| Ordered: | 1865 |
| Builder: | FCM, La Seyne |
| Laid down: | 1867 |
| Launched: | 1868 |
| Acquired: | 29 August 1868 |
| Commissioned: | 1870 |
| Fate: | Wrecked off Çernes, 11 February 1913 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 4,687 t (4,613 long tons; 5,167 short tons) |
| Length: | 83.01 m (272.3 ft) |
| Beam: | 16 m (52 ft) |
| Draft: | 6.5 m (21 ft) |
| Installed power: |
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| Propulsion: | 1 × compound steam engine× |
| Speed: | 13 kn (24 km/h; 15 mph) |
| Complement: | 320 |
| Armament: |
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Asar-i Tevfik (Ottoman Turkish: God's Favor) was an ironclad warship of the Ottoman Navy built in the 1860s, the only member of her class. She was built as part of a major expansion program for the Ottoman fleet in the 1860s following the Crimean War. Asar-i Tevfik was a 4,600-metric-ton (4,500-long-ton; 5,100-short-ton) barbette ship armed with a main battery of eight 220-millimeter (8.7 in) guns in a central battery. In 1903–1906, the ship was extensively rebuilt in Germany and a new battery of 150 mm (5.9 in) and 120 mm (4.7 in) quick-firing guns replaced the older weapons.
Asar-i Tevfik served in the Ottoman fleet for more than four decades. During this period, she saw action in two major wars, the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78 and the First Balkan War in 1913. During the first conflict, she was torpedoed by a Russian torpedo boat but was only slightly damaged. She took part in the abortive Battle of Elli against the Greek Navy in December 1912 during the First Balkan War. While operating against Bulgarian positions in February 1913, she ran aground; Bulgarian field artillery then shelled the ship. The damage they inflicted, coupled with heavy seas, destroyed the ship.
In the aftermath of the Crimean War, where an entire Ottoman squadron was destroyed by a Russian fleet at Sinop, the Ottoman Empire began a small naval construction program, limited primarily by the chronically weak Ottoman economy. The design for Asar-i Tevfik was based on contemporary French warships like the Colbert-class ironclads, although significantly reduced in size.
Asar-i Tevfik was 83.01 meters (272.3 ft) long between perpendiculars and she had a beam of 16 m (52 ft) and a draft of 6.5 m (21 ft). She displaced 4,687 metric tons (4,613 long tons; 5,167 short tons) normally. The ship had an iron hull with a partial double bottom and a ram bow, as was customary for ironclads of the period. She had a crew of 320 officers and enlisted men. In 1903–06, the ship was substantially rebuilt. Both ends were cut down, a single military mast was installed amidships, and a new conning tower was built.
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