SMS Breslau
SMS Breslau in 1912
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| History | |
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 German Empire
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| Name: | Breslau |
| Namesake: | City of Breslau (Now part of Poland as Wrocław) |
| Builder: | A.G. Vulcan |
| Laid down: | 1910 |
| Launched: | 16 May 1911 |
| Commissioned: | 10 May 1912 |
| Fate: | Transferred to the Ottoman Empire 16 August 1914 |
 Ottoman Empire
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| Name: | Midilli |
| Namesake: | Island of Midilli |
| Acquired: | 16 August 1914 |
| Fate: | Mined & sunk off Imbros, 20 January 1918 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Magdeburg-class cruiser |
| Displacement: | 4,570 t (4,500 long tons) |
| Length: | 138.7 m (455 ft 1 in) |
| Beam: | 13.5 m (44 ft 3 in) |
| Draft: | 4.4 m (14 ft 5 in) |
| Installed power: | 25,000 shp (19,000 kW) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 27.5 knots (50.9 km/h; 31.6 mph) |
| Range: | 5,820 nmi (10,780 km; 6,700 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Complement: |
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| Armament: |
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SMS Breslau was a Magdeburg-class cruiser of the Imperial German Navy, built in the early 1910s. Following her commissioning, Breslau and the battlecruiser Goeben were assigned to the Mittelmeerdivision (Mediterranean Division) in response to the Balkan Wars. After evading British warships in the Mediterranean to reach Constantinople, Breslau and Goeben were transferred to the Ottoman Empire in August 1914, to entice the Ottomans to join the Central Powers in World War I. The two ships, along with several other Ottoman vessels, raided Russian ports in October 1914, prompting a Russian declaration of war. The ships were renamed Midilli and Yavûz Sultân Selîm, respectively, and saw extensive service with the Ottoman fleet, primarily in the Black Sea against the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
Midilli was active in laying minefields off the Russian coast, bombarding Russian ports and installations and, because of a shortage of Ottoman merchant ships, transporting troops and supplies to the Black Sea ports supplying Ottoman troops fighting in the Caucasus Campaign. She was lightly damaged several times by Russian ships, but the most serious damage was inflicted by a mine in 1915, which kept her out of service for half of a year. The ship was mined and sunk in January 1918 during the Battle of Imbros, with the loss of the vast majority of her crew.
Breslau was 138.7 meters (455 ft) long overall and had a beam of 13.5 m (44 ft) and a draft of 4.4 m (14 ft) forward. She displaced 4,570 t (4,500 long tons; 5,040 short tons) at full combat load. Her propulsion system consisted of two sets of AEG-Vulcan steam turbines driving two 3.4-meter (11 ft) propellers. They were designed to give 25,000 shaft horsepower (19,000 kW), but reached 33,482 shp (24,968 kW) in service. These were powered by sixteen coal-fired Marine-type water-tube boilers, although they were later altered to use fuel oil that was sprayed on the coal to increase its burn rate. These gave the ship a top speed of 27.5 knots (50.9 km/h; 31.6 mph). Breslau carried 1,200 tonnes (1,200 long tons) of coal, and an additional 106 tonnes (104 long tons) of oil that gave her a range of approximately 5,820 nautical miles (10,780 km; 6,700 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph). Breslau had a crew of 18 officers and 336 enlisted men.
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