text: peyk - i şevket - class cruiser the peyk - i şevket class was a pair of torpedo cruisers built for the ottoman navy by the german shipyard germaniawerft in 1906 – 07 . the class comprised two ships : peyk - i şevket and berk - i satvet . they were ordered as part of a program to modernize the ottoman fleet at the turn of the century . the ships were small vessels , at only 775 metric tons ( 763 long tons ; 854 short tons ) ; they were nevertheless heavily armed for their size , with three torpedo tubes and a pair of 105 mm ( 4 . 1 in ) guns along with several smaller weapons . neither ship saw action during the italo - turkish war of 1911 – 12 , as peyk - i şevket had been interned in suez and berk - i satvet spent the war confined to the sea of marmara with the main ottoman fleet . both ships took a more active role in the balkan wars , frequently providing gunfire to support to ottoman troops in east thrace . during world war i , both ships served in the black sea , where they conducted patrols , escorted convoys , and attacked russian ports . in january 1915 , berk - i satvet was mined off the bosporus , and seven months later , peyk - i şevket was torpedoed by the british submarine hms e11 in the sea of marmara . both ships were repaired and returned to service by 1918 . after the end of the war , both ships were kept in service with the new turkish navy , with lengthy overhauls in the mid - 1920s . both ships were extensively modernized in the late 1930s , and they remained in service to 1944 , when they were finally decommissioned . both vessels were ultimately broken up in the early 1950s . design the peyk - i şevket class was classified as a torpedo cruiser by the ottoman navy , but was also sometimes referred to as a torpedo gunboat . the two ships were authorized in 1903 , and were ordered from the krupp - owned germaniawerft shipyard in germany , as part of a deal to modernize the elderly ironclad âsâr - ı tevfik . the two cruisers were part of a naval reconstruction program that began in the late 1890s , following the greco - turkish war of 1897 , in which the ottoman fleet had been unable to play an active role . characteristics the ships were 80 . 1 m ( 262 ft 10 in ) long , with a beam of 8 . 4 m ( 27 ft 7 in ) and a draft of 4 . 6 m ( 15 ft 1 in ) . they displaced 775 t ( 763 long tons ; 854 short tons ) while on sea trials . by 1938 , their displacement had increased to 850 t ( 840 long tons ; 940 short tons ) . the ships were fitted with two pole masts , the foremast just aft of the conning tower and the main mast further aft . the forecastle deck extended to the base of the forward funnel , and the quarterdeck was stepped down aft of the mainmast . they were steel - hulled ships and carried no armor protection . their crew numbered 125 officers and enlisted men as completed , and it had risen to 145 by 1915 . the ships were powered by a pair of vertical triple - expansion engines each driving a screw propeller . their four coal - fired schulz water - tube boilers , manufactured by germaniawerft , were trunked into two funnels . the engines were rated at 5 , 100 indicated horsepower ( 3 , 800 kw ) for a top speed of 21 knots ( 39 km / h ; 24 mph ) , though on trials they reached 22 kn ( 41 km / h ; 25 mph ) . by 1915 , poor maintenance and heavy use had reduced their speed to 18 kn ( 33 km / h ; 21 mph ) . the peyk - i şevket - class ships had storage capacity for 244 t ( 240 long tons ; 269 short tons ) of coal , which provided a cruising radius of 3 , 240 nautical miles ( 6 , 000 km ; 3 , 730 mi ) . the two peyk - i şevket - class cruisers ' primary offensive armament was their three 450 mm ( 17 . 7 in ) torpedo tubes . one was mounted in the bow , above water , and the other two were in deck - mounted swivel launchers amidships . they were armed with a pair of 105 mm ( 4 . 1 in ) quick - firing 40 - caliber guns that were placed in shielded single mounts on the forecastle and quarterdeck . they also carried six 57 mm ( 2 . 2 in ) 40 - caliber guns , four of which were mounted in sponsons , a pair of 37 mm ( 1 . 5 in ) guns , and two machine guns . modifications both ships were rebuilt in the late 1930s and incorporated substantial improvements . both stem and stern were rebuilt , with a new raked bow . their superstructure was also reconstructed . the old gun armament was replaced with a pair of 88 mm ( 3 . 5 in ) 45 - caliber guns and four 37 mm 40 - caliber guns , and berk - i satvet received equipment to handle 25 naval mines . ships service history both ships saw extensive service with the ottoman fleet over the course of the decade following their arrival in november 1907 . they took part in the first fleet maneuver conducted by the fleet in over twenty years in 1909 . neither ship saw action during the italo - turkish war of 1911 – 12 , as peyk - i şevket had been interned at british - controlled suez at the outbreak of war , and berk - i satvet was stationed with the reserve fleet in the sea of marmara , which did not risk confrontation with the significantly stronger italian fleet . both ships saw combat during the first balkan war in 1913 , primarily in supporting ottoman forces ashore in east thrace . the ships provided gunfire support to the ottoman army holding the çatalca line in defense of the capital at constantinople . berk - i satvet also took part in two brief skirmishes with the greek navy . the ottoman empire joined world war i in november 1914 ; peyk - i şevket and berk - i satvet primarily operated in the black sea against the russian black sea fleet . they frequently patrolled the ottoman coast , particularly off the bosporus , and escorted convoys to western anatolia . on one of these convoy operations in january 1915 , berk - i satvet struck a mine that wrecked her stern . she was towed back to constantinople and repaired , returning to service in 1918 . peyk - i şevket returned to the sea of marmara during the dardanelles campaign in 1915 , where she carried munitions to the defending ottoman forces . on 6 august , she was torpedoed by the british submarine hms e11 and was badly damaged , with repairs lasting until 1917 . both ships were used as convoy escorts in the black sea in the final year of the war . the two cruisers were retained by the new turkish navy following the end of the turkish war of independence in 1923 , and their names were shortened to peyk and berk . lengthy overhauls followed , in 1924 – 5 for berk and 1927 – 9 for peyk . they were modernized a decade later , in 1936 – 8 for peyk and 1937 – 9 for berk . the ships remained in service until 1944 , when they were stricken from the naval register and laid up at the gölcük naval shipyard before being scrapped after 1953 .