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''Alemdar'', aka ''Gazi Alemdar'', was a former
Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...
salvage tug, which is best known for her victorious engagement with a French navy warship during the Turkish War of Independence. Built in 1898 in Denmark, the Danish-flagged vessel was seized by the Ottoman Empire during World War I. She served under Turkish flag until her scrapping in 1982. Since 2008, a replica of her serves as a museum ship at the port of Karadeniz EreÄŸli, Turkey.


History

Built by Helsingørs Jemsk & Maka in Denmark, she was launched on 4 June 1898, and christened ''Danmark''. On 21 May 1899, she began her service life in the company Danmark Em 2 Sviter Bjerg Enterprise Copenhagen. In accordance with the Capitulations of the Ottoman Empire, foreign-flagged ships were allowed to serve in Ottoman territorial waters, and Danmark was one of the ships serving in the Ottoman territorial waters. However, during World War I, the Ottoman Empire abolished the capitulations and took hold of the ship. In May 1915, she was renamed ''Alemdar'', and continued its service in the Ottoman Empire. Her home port became İstanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire.


Alemdar's escape to nationalists

During a salvage operation in the mouth of Kızılırmak River (Hallys of the antiquity) the ship crew came together with the
Turkish National Movement The Turkish National Movement ( tr, Türk Ulusal Hareketi) encompasses the political and military activities of the Turkish revolutionaries that resulted in the creation and shaping of the modern Republic of Turkey, as a consequence of the defe ...
, who were fighting against the
Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
as well as the Ottoman government. Inspired by the revolutionaries, the chief engineer Osman decided to join them. On 5 February 1921, ''Alemdar'' with a crew of seven, sailed to Karadeniz EreÄŸli to change sides under the pretext of a salvage operation. They consigned the ship to nationalist forces. The number of the crew was now 21 excluding Osman who fell ill in Karadeniz EreÄŸli. The revolutionaries decided to send the ship to a port in eastern Black Sea, where the Allied blockade was weak.


Alemdar's encounter with gunboat C-27

The Allies high commander gave strict orders to arrest the crew and bring the ship back. On the night of 8 February 1921 when ''Alemdar'' was trying to sail to east, the French gunboat C-27 waiting in ambush out of Karadeniz Ereğli harbor, caught ''Alemdar''. The French navy was especially active in western Black Sea because of the coal mines in Zonguldak, which is situated to the east of Karadeniz Ereğli. French commander Tilli and a small platoon embarked the ship, and the ship was directed to İstanbul with the gunboat in rear. After a short voyage, however, the crew overtook the French boarding party by surprise, and redirected the ship back to Karadeniz Ereğli. The gunboat opened fire, but fearing to wound the French seamen, they didn't use their heavy guns. In Karadeniz Ereğli harbor, the French gunboat maneuvered sailing between Alemdar and the pier. But this was not a wise choice; because the nationalists in Karadeniz Ereğli opened fire from the pier. According to Erol Mütercimler while the casualty of ''Alemdar'' was one death (Recep Kahya) and three wounded soldiers, the casualty of C-27 was two deaths and three wounded soldiers. The gunboat retreated. According to the agreement reached on 2 March, the French military personnel who were held captive were released and the French navy promised not to interfere ''Alemdar'''s voyage. This was a relatively small clash. But the news of arresting an allied commander brought a big morale for the nationalists.


Later years

On 25 September, ''Alemdar'' sailed to Trabzon. In 1922, four cannons were mounted on board, and ''Alemdar'' began serving as one of the few warships of the nationalists. In 1929, she was sold to Turkish Maritime Lines returning to her civilian service. After several handovers, ''Alemdar'' was finally scrapped in 1982.


Museum ship

In 2008, a replica of ''Alemdar'' moored at the port of the Karadeniz EreÄŸli (), and opened to public on August 8 as a
museum ship A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...
named tr, Gazi Alemdar Müze Gemisi. It was reported that 145,000 tourists from all over the world, more than the city's population of 102,000, visited the museum ship in 2013.


Technical details

The technical details were


Trivia

The above dates are in Gregorian calendar. In some sources the dates are given in Rumi calendar which was the official Turkish calendar in 1921. There is a difference of 13 days between the two. (i.e. February 5 in Gregorian calendar is January 23 in Rumi calendar.)


References


Map

{{location map+ , Turkey , float=left , width=950 , caption=The locations, places= {{location map~ , Turkey , lat=41.4564, long=31.7986, label= Zonguldak, position=right {{location map~ , Turkey , lat=41.0136 , long=28.955, label= İstanbul, position=right {{location map~ , Turkey , lat=41.2583, long=31.425, label= Karadeniz Ereğli, position=right {{location map~ , Turkey , lat=41.0000 , long=39.7333, label= Trabzon, position=right {{location map~ , Turkey , lat=41.7344 , long=35.9564, label= Kızılırmak River, position=right {{location map~ , Turkey , lat=39.9667 , long=32.8667, label= Ankara (Capital of the Nationalists), position=right 1898 ships Ships built in Helsingør Steamships of Denmark Naval ships of the Ottoman Empire Steamships of Turkey Tugboats of Turkey Turkish War of Independence Museums in Zonguldak Province Museum ships in Turkey Replica ships Karadeniz Ereğli