Ottoman cruiser Midilli (ex-SMS Breslau)

Type

Light Cruiser

Period

20th Century

Nation

Ottoman Empire

Overview: Midilli was a German-built Magdeburg-class light cruiser originally commissioned as SMS Breslau in 1912, transferred to the Ottoman Empire in August 1914 alongside the battlecruiser Goeben (renamed Yavuz Sultan Selim) as part of a ruse to draw the still-neutral Ottomans into the Central Powers. She retained her German officers and much of her crew, who simply donned Ottoman uniforms and fezzes while continuing to serve under German command. Specifications: As built she displaced roughly 4,564 tonnes normal (5,281 tonnes full load), measured 138.7 m long with a 13.5 m beam, and could reach 27.5 knots on turbine machinery. Her original armament of twelve 10.5 cm guns, 120 mines, and two 50 cm torpedo tubes was progressively upgraded during Ottoman service, eventually replacing her small-caliber guns with larger 15 cm pieces after 1917. Service History: Under the Ottoman flag, Midilli operated primarily in the Black Sea against the Russian Black Sea Fleet, laying minefields, bombarding Russian ports and installations, and — due to a shortage of Ottoman merchant shipping — even ferrying troops and supplies. She fought several engagements with Russian cruisers, destroyers, and pre-dreadnoughts, was damaged by a mine near the Bosphorus in July 1915, and was finally sunk on 20 January 1918 in the Battle of Imbros after striking five naval mines while sortieing with Yavuz into the Aegean. Notable Facts: Midilli's dash to Constantinople with Goeben in August 1914, and the diplomatic sleight-of-hand used to transfer the ships to Ottoman ownership, is one of the most consequential naval episodes of the war's opening days, directly precipitating the Ottoman Empire's entry into World War I. For modelers, her clean four-funnel Magdeburg-class silhouette and the visible wartime armament changes (loss of small guns, addition of larger 15 cm pieces) make her an interesting subject for depicting either her original German fit-out or her later Ottoman wartime configuration.