James Tuckey gave in his book, published in 1815, a short description of the Turkish navy and her history. According to him the Turkish navy lost the battle of Tchesmé in 1770 despite her strength of 15 ships armed with 60-90 guns and 15 xebecs and galleys against a Russian fleet of 10 ships and 5 frigates. After some fierce action the Turkish fled towards the coast of Anatolia where all their ships were burnt by fire ships. The Russians managed to capture one ship and a few galleys. Rebuilding their navy a French shipbuilder was taken into service wit such a effect according to baron De Tott that they didn’t look no longer as “high decked, the lower tier laid under water with the least wind, entangled rigging, bad cordage and blocks, thirty men in the gunroom to move the tiller, encumbered decks and guns of different calibre on the same deck’. Despite having modern warships after French design, nothing else changed according to Turkey while the officers and crew still weren’t competent as “it is by no means uncomment to see the admiral playing chess on the quarter deck with a common sailor, from which he starts up to give his captain a box on the ear for a slight mistake. In harbour a Turkish ship of war resembles an eastern bazaar, having a shop between every two guns”. The crewmembers were either Turkish of Greeks (called Galigondas), the former responsible for the guns, the latter in fact the real sailors. There was another difference between the Turkish and the Greeks sailors. The first were only paid while in service, so when their ships were out of service, for in stance for being laid up, they went back to their residences where they had another employment/occupation. The Greek sailors however, even if not in active service, had a continuous payment with the condition of coming into service if required. At the meantime they were rapidly disappearing to their booming merchant navy. The warships were built at the yards at Constantinople, Ghemlek, Metelin, Stancho, Rhodes and Sinope while the necessary building materials were supplied by own (inland) sources. In 1794 there were 21 ships available, of which one was a so-called 3-decker, 20 frigates and sloops and a number of galleys and other small vessels. Seven years later the number of ships was decreased to only 12, with another 4 ships on stocks and 15 frigates. If necessary 20 large merchant caravels could be fitted out as warships and to be armed with 40-60 guns. The caravels were mainly used in the coffee trade between Alexandria and Constantinople.
Source
James Hingston Tuckey, Maritime Giography and Statistics or a description of the Ocean and its Coasts, Maritime Commerce, Navigation etc etc, London, vol II, 1815, p. 425-427
Source
James Hingston Tuckey, Maritime Giography and Statistics or a description of the Ocean and its Coasts, Maritime Commerce, Navigation etc etc, London, vol II, 1815, p. 425-427
