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Battle of Sinop
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The naval Battle of Sinop (or Sinope) took place on 30 November 1853 at Sinop, a sea port in northern Turkey, when Imperial Russian battleships struck and annihilated a patrol force of Ottoman frigates anchored in the harbor. It is often considered to be the last major skirmish of the age of sail, and the first battle of the Crimean War (1854–1856).
BackgroundFighting at sea between Imperial Russia and the Ottoman Empire had been going on for weeks, and the Ottomans had sent several squadrons into the Black Sea for patrol. One of these, under Osman Pasha, ended up at Sinope, joining the frigate Kaid Zafer which had been part of an earlier patrol, and being joined by a steam frigate (probably Taif) from a smaller squadron.
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The naval Battle of Sinop (or Sinope) took place on 30 November 1853 at Sinop, a sea port in northern Turkey, when Imperial Russian battleships struck and annihilated a patrol force of Ottoman frigates anchored in the harbor. It is often considered to be the last major skirmish of the age of sail, and the first battle of the Crimean War (1854–1856).
BackgroundFighting at sea between Imperial Russia and the Ottoman Empire had been going on for weeks, and the Ottomans had sent several squadrons into the Black Sea for patrol. One of these, under Osman Pasha, ended up at Sinope, joining the frigate Kaid Zafer which had been part of an earlier patrol, and being joined by a steam frigate (probably Taif) from a smaller squadron. The Ottomans had wanted to send ships of the line to Sinope, but the British ambassador in Istanbul, Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe, had objected to this plan, and only frigates were sent.
ActionThe Russians, led by admiral Pavel Nakhimov, sailed into Sinop harbor in two lines of three battleships each and anchored alongside the Ottoman line. The battle itself took about an hour. The Russians used destructive Paixhans shell guns to destroy the Turkish fleet, several ships were blown up after lucky hits and others had been thrown on shore as a result of strong wind and heavy fire. Coastal batteries were also destroyed by Russian battleships.
Only Taif, pursued by the Russian steamers, managed to escape to Istanbul where she arrived on 2 December.
ConclusionThis attack provided France and the United Kingdom with the justification for declaring war on Russia in early 1854 in support of the Ottoman Empire.
Order of battleBelow is a listing of the fleets that participated in the Battle of Sinop on 30 November, 1853:
Russian EmpireBattleships- Veliky Knyaz Konstantin 120 guns
- Tri Sviatitelia 120 guns
- Parizh 120 guns (2nd flag)
- Imperatriitsa Maria 84 guns (flag)
- Chesma 84 guns
- Rostislav 84 guns
Frigates- Kulevtcha 54 guns
- Kagul 44 guns
Steamers- Odessa 4 guns
- Krym 4 guns
- Khersones 4 guns
Ottoman EmpireSail frigates- Avni Illah 44 guns - Thrown on shore
- Fazl Illah 44 guns (formerly Russian Rafail, captured 1829) - Engulfed in flames, thrown on shore
- Nizamieh 62 guns - Thrown on shore after lost of two masts
- Nessin Zafer 60 guns - Thrown on shore after damage of anchor chain
- Navek Bahri 58 guns - Exploded
- Damiat 56 guns (Egyptian) - Thrown on shore
- Kaid Zafer 54 guns - Thrown on shore
Sail corvettes- Nejm Fishan 24 guns
- Feyz Mabud 24 guns - Thrown on shore
- Kel Safid 22 guns - Exploded
Steam frigates/corvettes- Taif 12 guns - Escaped to Istanbul
- Erkelye 10 guns
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