Ottoman ironclad Asar-i Tevfik

Asar-i Tevfik after her reconstruction
Class overview
NameAsar-i Tevfik class
Operators Ottoman Navy
Preceded byOsmaniye class
Succeeded byAsar-i Şevket class
History
Ottoman Empire
NameAsar-i Tevfik
Ordered1865
BuilderFCM, La Seyne
Laid down1867
Launched1868
Acquired29 August 1868
Commissioned1870
FateWrecked off Çernes, 11 February 1913
General characteristics
Typeironclad warship
Displacement4,687 t (4,613 long tons; 5,167 short tons)
Length83.01 m (272 ft 4 in)
Beam16 m (52 ft 6 in)
Draft6.5 m (21 ft 4 in)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed13 kn (24 km/h; 15 mph)
Complement320
Armament
  • As built:
  • 8 × 220 mm (9 in) guns
  • 1906:
  • 3 × 150 mm (5.9 in) guns
  • 7 × 120 mm (4.7 in) guns
  • 6 × 57 mm (2.2 in) guns
  • 2 × 37 mm (1.5 in) guns

Asar-i Tevfik (Ottoman Turkish: God's Favor) was an ironclad warship of the Ottoman Navy built in the 1860s, the only member of her class. She was built as part of a major expansion program for the Ottoman fleet in the 1860s following the Crimean War. Asar-i Tevfik was a 4,600-metric-ton (4,500-long-ton; 5,100-short-ton) barbette ship armed with a main battery of eight 220-millimeter (8.7 in) guns in a central battery. In 1903–1906, the ship was extensively rebuilt in Germany and a new battery of 150 mm (5.9 in) and 120 mm (4.7 in) quick-firing guns replaced the older weapons.

Asar-i Tevfik served in the Ottoman fleet for more than four decades. During this period, she saw action in two major wars, the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 and the First Balkan War in 1913. During the first conflict, she was torpedoed by a Russian torpedo boat but was only slightly damaged. She took part in the abortive Battle of Elli against the Greek Navy in December 1912 during the First Balkan War. While operating against Bulgarian positions in February 1913, she ran aground; Bulgarian field artillery then shelled the ship. The damage they inflicted, coupled with heavy seas, destroyed the ship.