Mecidiye

Historical information

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 named after Sultan Abdülmecid I, was 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.

During the First World War, Mecidiye operated in the Black Sea.

On 1 May 1918 it was captured by the German forces at Sevastopol and was returned to the Ottoman Navy on 13 May 1918, which re-commissioned the ship as Mecidiye.