Difference between revisions 234780966 and 236271445 on enwiki

{|{{Infobox Ship Begin}}
{{Infobox Ship Image
 | Ship image =  [[Image:HMS Erin.jpg|300px|HMS Erin]]
 | Ship caption =  
}}
{{Infobox Ship Career
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 | Ship flag =  [[Image:Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg|60px|Royal Navy Ensign]]
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 | Ship laid down =  [[1 August]] [[  1911]]
 | Ship launched =  [[3 September]] [[  1913]]
 | Ship completed =  
 | Ship commissioned =  August 1914
 | Ship decommissioned =  December 1922
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(contracted; show full)
 
This proved an important factor in turning Turkish public opinion against [[United Kingdom|Britain]], especially as the Turkish Navy had been pro-Britain — the Army having been pro-German. It helped put Turkey (and its [[Ottoman Empire]]) into the war on the side of [[Germany]] and the [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]] against the [[Triple Entente]] of Britain, [[France]] and [[Russia]] (
[[29 October]] [[  1914]]). As an act of generosity to secure their allies, Germany made a gift to Turkey of the [[battlecruiser]] [[SMS Goeben|SMS ''Goeben'']] and of the [[light cruiser]] [[SMS Breslau|SMS ''Breslau'']].

== Seizure ==
When on [[27 July]] [[  1914]] Mr. Rauf went to Newcastle on behalf of the Ottoman government to arrange for transportation of ''Sultan Osman I'', the First Lord of Admiralty [[Winston Churchill]] was aware that an embargo would mean a diplomatic crisis but he could not take the risk that these battleships would be engaged against the Royal Navy.

Accordingly, on [[3 August]] [[  1914]], Churchill declared that the British government had embargoed the two battleships. Mr. Rauf in his memoirs says, "We paid the last instalment (700,000 Turkish liras). We reached an agreement with the manufacturer that the ships would be handed over on 2 August 1914. Nevertheless, after we made our payment and half an hour before the ceremony, the British declared that they have requisitioned the ships … Although we protested, nobody paid attention."

When Germany violated Belgian territory Great Britain was compelled to declare war on [[4 August]] [[  1914]] both battleships were taken over by the Royal Navy. This act caused significant outcry in Turkey and was instrumental in the decision of the Ottoman Empire to ally with Germany in October 1914.

== Service ==
''Reshadiye'' was commissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS ''Erin'', and ''Sultan Osman I'' became [[HMS Agincourt (1913)|HMS ''Agincourt'']].

(contracted; show full)[[Category:Royal Navy battleships]]
[[Category:Unique battleships]]
[[Category:World War I battleships of the United Kingdom]]

[[de:HMS Erin]]
[[pl:HMS Erin]]
[[ru:HMS Erin (1913)]]
[[tr:Reşadiye (dretnot)]]