Publication: 21.04.2025 08:34 Update: 29.04.2025 09:41 Read: 256 Osman ÖNDEŞ Columnist [email protected] The last dreadnought of the world is 'Yavuz.' During my service in the Navy in İskenderun in the 1960s, I noticed a large ship's bell hanging in front of one of the barracks at the İskenderun Infantry Training Regiment. It bore the inscription “B.V.G. Goghum, 1911,” with the relief of “S.M.S. GOEBEN” in the center. This bell belonged to the Yavuz Battleship, and what was it doing in İskenderun? After my application was forwarded to the Naval Forces Command, the bell was removed from there and transferred to the Istanbul Naval Museum. I wanted to know where it had come from and who was responsible for its presence. The orders regarding this matter should be in the archive documents. I had also written an article on this subject years ago. The Yavuz was the oldest surviving example of dreadnought-type warships in the world. It was also the only warship among this type that served actively for 50 years until it was decommissioned in 1960. Numerous studies and significant works have been published regarding the TCG Yavuz. The work signed by Dr. Dz. Kd. Alb. İskender Tunaboylu, titled “The Last Dreadnought of History: Yavuz (Goeben),” deserves many congratulations beyond mere admiration. This doctoral thesis was also published in “Turkish Studies” in 2015, Volume 10, Issue 1. In this thesis, under the title “Museum Ship Construction Initiatives,” it is explained that almost all ships built throughout thousands of years of maritime history have disappeared due to reasons such as the end of the materials' lifespan, neglect, sinking, or being scrapped and dismantled. Very few ships from ancient times remain today, mostly preserved as museum ships. In 1965, six foreign companies participated in the scrap auction for the sale of Yavuz, but it could not be sold because the prices they offered were far below the amount requested by the Ministry of Finance. None of the comments in the German press regarding it becoming a floating museum will come to fruition. What was it... What happened... After the final farewell ceremony held on June 7, 1973, attended by Fleet Admiral Hilmi Fırat, the Commander of the Navy, and German Naval Attaché Von Rodbertus, Yavuz was towed from Poyraz Pier in Gölcük and moored in the İzmit Bay at Seymen. The dismantling of Yavuz incurred a cost of 6.5 million lira, and its transition to oblivion became a source of unbearable sorrow. What remains of Yavuz? Yavuz remained moored at Poyraz for quite some time. It was referred to as a museum. Whenever our ships were moored at Poyraz, we would sometimes stroll on the deck of Yavuz, which had become commonplace, and derive great pleasure and sadness from watching this majestic ship. Yavuz was the most perfect and latest example of a new class of warship designed by the British as HMS Dreadnought, developed by German ship designers. When it was learned that Yavuz would be scrapped, Herrn G. Jochmann, on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany's Berlin Naval Museum, informed the Turkish Embassy in Bonn that they wished to purchase this historic ship. Although this letter was officially conveyed to the Turkish Naval Forces, it was reported that Yavuz had been sold to MKE for 19 million lira, and therefore, there was no longer any connection with this ship, and they should apply there. Yavuz was dismantled and destroyed at Seymen. Some parts were preserved by the Naval Forces Command. Two of Yavuz's four propellers, weighing 11.5 tons each, are displayed in front of the Gölcük Naval Command Headquarters, one in front of the entrance to the Istanbul Naval Museum, and the fourth at the monument square at the entrance of Gölcük Admiral Sağlam Street. Additionally, there is a Yavuz Exhibition Area in the Istanbul Naval Museum, featuring objects such as a barrel, a fire control system, and a bell inscribed with SMS Goeben. Yavuz was purchased by KİSKA-SAM for 0.50 TL per kilo of metal during the 1971-1973 period. On June 7, 1973, the farewell ceremony for Yavuz was held, and KİSKA-SAM began dismantling it on August 6, 1973. The dismantling of the main deck was completed on January 1, 1974, and on June 5, 1974, the torpedo tubes, middle turbine, and second boiler compartments were dismantled. Due to high inflation, KİSKA-SAM requested additional payment, but upon refusal by MKEK, they ceased operations. In January 1975, the dismantling operations were tendered to Mahmut Doğan Firması at a rate of 0.55 TL per kilo of metal. Between May 1975 and January 1976, the dismantling process continued step by step, starting from the bow, and by February 1976, the propellers and rudder had been removed. As a result of the dismantling of the Yavuz Battleship, 5,479,310 kg of armor steel, 11,913,940 kg of iron steel, 178,230 kg of copper, 503,630 kg of brass, 135,410 kg of cable, 177,520 kg of wood material, and 640,070 kg of various other metals remained, totaling 1,567,788 kg of scrap! The İskenderun Infantry Training Regiment was established in 1955 on a desolate hillside along the slope leading to Belen, with American military Quonset huts as part of U.S. aid. I found the bell of the Yavuz cruiser at the İskenderun Infantry Training Regiment. Thus, Yavuz was destroyed for a mere pittance... During my years of duty in İskenderun, I saw a large brass bell with the relief of SMS Goeben at the Infantry Training Regiment and was astonished. (I marked the location of the bell in red in the photo.) What was the bell of SMS Goeben/Yavuz doing at the İskenderun Infantry Training Regiment? I applied to the command, stating that this bell was the main bell of Yavuz and that it should be in the Naval Museum. The year was 1967... The bell was sent from İskenderun to Istanbul and began to be exhibited at the Naval Museum in Beşiktaş... The bell inscribed with SMS Goeben of TCG Yavuz is in the Yavuz Cruiser Exhibition area of the Istanbul Naval Museum. Years passed... Museums were being opened in İskenderun, Mersin, and İzmir. The İskenderun Naval Museum was the building that served as the Mediterranean Regional Command during my years of duty. As far as I remember, this building belonged to a wealthy Armenian family during the time of the Hatay Province. The Admiral had appointed me as his aide-de-camp. On the upper floor of this command, there was a quite spacious aide-de-camp room on the left (marked in red). The hall in the middle of the same floor was the commander's office. İskenderun Naval Museum - Former Mediterranean Regional Command building. (The place I marked in red is the room where I served as aide-de-camp.) This building was now the İskenderun Naval Museum. I started to tour the museum... Memories from 40 years ago came to mind, and I felt a wave of sadness. Then, I went upstairs to see the room where I had served as aide-de-camp. This room was also arranged with museum paintings and some ship memorabilia. Suddenly, I saw the bell of SMS Goeben in the room where I had served as aide-de-camp. It was even in the corner where my desk had been! I was astonished... I was astonished... I was witnessing an incredible event; the bell of SMS Goeben/Yavuz had remained registered in the seat locker in Gölcük until 1956, and when a bell was sought for the İskenderun Infantry Training Regiment in 1957, someone must have thought the bell inscribed with SMS Goeben was too ordinary and removed it from the storage instead of sending it to the Naval Museum and sent it to the İskenderun Training Regiment. Yavuz had two bells. Although one of these bells was sent from İskenderun to the Naval Museum in Istanbul in 1966, about 40 years later, it was taken from the museum in Istanbul and sent back to İskenderun, where it began to be exhibited in the room where I served as aide-de-camp!!! İskenderun Naval Museum - A photo taken from across the former Mediterranean Regional Command Building. (The place I marked in red is the room where I served as aide-de-camp in the 60s, and the bell of SMS Goeben is displayed in the corner of this room.) What was the bell of SMS Goeben doing in İskenderun for the second time? How can one not be surprised! Another astonishing event is the church bell of the Hamidiye Cruiser. The first major warship of the Republic Navy was the Hamidiye Cruiser, which visited ports in the Mediterranean, Marmara, and the Black Sea during a six-month cruise in 1924. During this visit, President Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk made a trip to the Black Sea from September 11 to 21, 1924, aboard the Hamidiye Cruiser, which was used as a training ship. During this trip, Atatürk had the opportunity to examine maritime issues more closely. On September 20, 1924, he wrote the following lines in the ship's commemorative book, which became fundamental to the development and strengthening of the Naval Forces: “The navy of the Turkish state, whose borders include a significant and important part of the sea, must also be large and important. Only then will the Republic of Turkey be more secure and assured. The goal is to have a perfect and powerful Turkish Navy. For this, the focal point is to have commanders, officers, and experts capable of successfully managing the procurement of warships.” The Hamidiye Cruiser - Source IWM. The Hamidiye Cruiser is moving from Bodrum to Fethiye. Afif Büyüktuğrul, one of the deck officers of the Hamidiye Cruiser, recorded his memories of the journey they made in the Mediterranean and the ports they visited in his memoirs on the history of the Turkish Naval Forces. One of these is related to Fethiye. In his records dated March 3, 1924, he wrote: “We are coming from Bodrum to Fethiye. As we approached Fethiye, we saw a ship on the horizon that resembled a warship and was rapidly approaching us. Our officers guessed that this ship could be the Averoff armored cruiser belonging to the Greek Navy. The ship's commander decided to anchor in Fethiye port before this ship caught up with us. He sent a command to the engine via the communication pipe; Attention, Averoff is coming; go as fast as you can.” The engine officers, who had not allowed the ship to exceed 7 knots until then, increased our speed to 12 knots. This event was very beneficial for us because we continued at 12 knots from that point onward! In the village we visited, we saw an abandoned church. The ship's second-in-command took us to a village near Fethiye the next day. On the way, what did we see; the ship we had thought was Averoff turned out to be the Nimetullah Yacht belonging to the Khedive of Egypt! We laughed quite a bit... The Lower Church was located there. The ship's second-in-command said that the bell of this church would suit the Hamidiye very well. Indeed, the ship's hour bell was cracked. “Come on, kids,” he said, and we lowered the bell from its place. We made levers from wood and carried it like pole bearers from the village to Fethiye. After that, the ship's hourly chimes no longer had the sound of the cracked bell. After the Hamidiye Cruiser was decommissioned, it must not have had enough anchor chains at the stern from Kavaklı (then known as Kazıklı) in Gölcük, as it was also secured with a third anchor at the bow. The cracked bell of the Hamidiye Cruiser was replaced with the church bell from Fethiye. The church bell seemed to complete its life with the Hamidiye Cruiser. However, its fate was not like that of the Hamidiye Cruiser; the Hamidiye Cruiser was launched in 1904 at Armstrong, Whitworth & Co.'s Elswick yard in England and was commissioned on May 7, 1904. The Hamidiye Cruiser had a displacement of 3805 tons, with main engines producing 12,000 ihp made by Newcastle, Leslie, and R & W. Hawthorn. It had two propellers and a maximum cruising speed of 22 knots. Admiral Afif Büyüktuğrul noted in 1924 that the Hamidiye generally cruised at a maximum of 7 knots, but they could achieve a maximum of 12 knots while coming to Fethiye, indicating how much the main engine power of the Hamidiye had diminished. However, considering the importance of the missions it undertook during World War I, it was expected to become a museum ship like the Greek cruiser Averoff, but it was scrapped and dismantled in Paşabahçe starting in September 1964. The mast of the Yavuz cruiser has been erected at the Heybeliada Naval War Academy Pier. The bell replaced from the church in Fethiye is also attached to a mast in the outer corridor of the long building where the command office of the Heybeliada Naval War Academy is located. In the middle part of this bell, there is a relief featuring an anchor and the initials “B” - Bahriye, “N” - Nezareti on either side. The suspension of church bells typically consists of four handles. Around the bottom, a geometric chain cord relief, which is different in Orthodox churches, can be seen. The bell belonging to the Hamidiye Cruiser at the Heybeliada Naval War Academy. Ship Bells - A Maritime Cultural Heritage. Ship bells have been a part of the traditions of warships and commercial fleets for centuries, used for both functional and ceremonial purposes. Bells used for communication, signaling, announcing the time, and warning of danger have been considered an important part of a ship's routine and preparedness. In the last century, there was a tradition of announcing the time with a bell every hour and half-hour on warships. A ship's bell was also rung as a warning signal to other ships in poor visibility and foggy conditions. Today, despite all advanced technologies, maritime law requires all ships to carry an effective bell. Bells removed from decommissioned ships in the U.S. Navy are preserved by the Naval History and Heritage Command and are exhibited in maritime museums. Similarly, the bells of commercial ships are also preserved and exhibited in maritime museums. Please pay attention to the comment writing rules below when commenting or responding to a comment. Do not make comments that violate the laws of the Republic of Turkey, praise crimes or criminals. Do not include profanity, slang, insults, hate speech, or incite hatred.
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