In 1887, when Japan was beginning to become a great power in Asia, the uncle of the Japanese Emperor paid a visit to Istanbul. He was granted an audience with the Turkish Sultan, Abdülhamid II, for the Sultan and his statesmen were anxious to have friendly relations with the new power. It was decided to return the royal visit by sending a high-ranking Turkish naval officer in a warship to Japan, bearing gifts to the Japanese Emperor from the Sultan. On this proposed cruise, the Sultan decided that the most recent graduates of the Naval Academy should participate as a means of improving their seamanship.
The Grand Vizierate, in its letter of 1 February 1889 to the Ministry of Marine, accepted their proposal that the sailing frigate Ertuğrul be sent on this long voyage, and requested them to name a naval officer for appointment as special envoy of the Sultan. In reply, the Ministry of Marine proposed the name of Captain Osman. It was an excellent selection, as Captain Osman, who was then 54 years old, was a good naval officer and had held the post of naval attaché at Paris and Bucharest. He was the grandson of the Turkish Admiral Osman Pasha who was killed at Sinope when gunfire from the Russian warships destroyed the Turkish squadron at anchor in the harbor on 30 November 1853.
On 11 April, the Grand Vizierate ordered the Ministry of Marine to have experts check the hull, engine, and all parts of the warship and advise them of the results, and to complete the preparations before the sailing date of 4 May 1889. For unknown reasons, this letter was never answered by the Ministry.
The Secretary General of the Court Chamberlain was advised by the Ministry of Marine on 13 April that Lieutenant Commanders Ali and Cemil had been appointed as captain and executive officer of the vessel and both had been promoted to the rank of commander. Also, the graduates of the Naval Academy were to take part in the cruise as desired by the Sultan.
When the voyage of the Ertuğrul became public knowledge, a great argument began in Turkish naval circles on the unsuitability of her condition for such a long cruise. At that time, an Englishman named Harty was the chief engineer of the frigate, but he was relieved of his duty after submitting a report stating that the vessel’s boilers were very old, her engines inadequate, her speed only eight or nine knots, and, in his opinion, she was totally unsuitable for such a long cruise.
The Ertuğrul was an old wooden sailing frigate built at Istanbul naval shipyard in 1864. Her length was 250 feet, breadth 50 feet, depth of hold 25.6 feet, draft 23.6 feet, and displacement 2,344 tons. Her auxiliary engines were of the 600-h.p. horizontal and double cylinder type. She carried 25 guns of various calibers. For this cruise, however, only her wooden hull was refitted. Incredibly, nothing was done to the boilers.
The Ertuğrul sailed before sunset on 14 July with a crew of 613. A cable, received on 30 July, stated that she had arrived at Suez and had run aground in the Canal. After refloating, strong winds and currents forced her stern to strike the shore and her sternpost had broken and fallen into the water.
This news again started the arguments on the unsoundness of the vessel. The Secretary General of the Court Chamberlain advised the Ministry of Marine of the accident and that the necessary dry-docking would take one or two months. He recommended that Captain Osman, in company with two naval officers, should go to Japan in a steamship, since the sailing season in the Indian Ocean was passing.
Meanwhile, the damage was found to be not serious and it was decided to continue the cruise. Consequently, the Court Chamberlain’s inquiry as to whether the Ertuğrul could safely sail to Japan received a positive reply.
The Ertuğrul, upon leaving the drydock at Suez on 21 September, sailed two days later. After calling Aden, Bombay, Colombo, she arrived at Singapore on 15 November. Immediately, ship’s carpenters were set to work repairing the ship. Unfortunately, still nothing was done to the boilers and the wooden deck under the boilers. While she was in Singapore, Captain Osman was promoted to the rank of rear admiral and given the honorary title of pasha.
All through the winter, the frigate stayed in Singapore, being unable to sail north because of the prevailing northerly winds at that time of year. Her bunkers held coal enough only for 100 hours of steaming and the distance between Singapore and Hong Kong was 1,787 miles. Therefore, she would have to depend on her sails and for this, she needed a fair wind.
The Ertuğrul left Singapore with the beginning of the southerly winds in mid-May 1890, made her way up the South China Sea, and, after a short stop in Saigon, arrived in Hong Kong in cold and stormy weather. Leaving Hong Kong, the passage through Formosa Strait was made in excellent weather, but strong winds and heavy seas were encountered soon afterwards. Consequently, coal consumption was much greater than calculated and the frigate’s bunkers were empty when she was still 40 miles from the River Min on the China coast. Fortunately, the wind changed direction and enabled her to reach an anchorage in four-and-a-half hours under sail. An officer was sent to the Pagoda anchorage bearing a letter to a Chinese admiral, with whom Osman Pasha had made acquaintance at Saigon and Hong Kong, requesting his help in procuring coal. After five days, a Chinese gunboat delivered 200 tons of coal to the Turkish warship.
She again encountered heavy seas during her passage through the East China Sea to Nagasaki where she coaled for four days. Her second stop in Japan was at Kobe. Here she had her bottom scraped and bottom and topsides painted. Subsequently, she sailed for Yokohama.
Osman Pasha had an audience with the Japanese Emperor on a Friday evening at the Palace in Tokyo. The Sultan’s presents had been sent to the Palace beforehand, but the Admiral himself presented the Emperor with the Sultan’s order set with diamonds. Later, Osman Pasha and his companions in turn were decorated with Japanese orders, and a feast was given in their honor.
Meanwhile, the crew of the ship was also honored by the Japanese. Visits were exchanged between British and French warships at Yokohama and international boat races were held. Unfortunately, there was a cholera epidemic in some Japanese cities at that time, and the crew of the Turkish vessel was not spared. Of the 37 who were taken sick, 13 died, and the ship had to remain in quarantine for 33 days.
Osman Pasha had received his return orders in September, but this was the beginning of the typhoon season, and the Japanese were against the ship’s sailing during this dangerous season. Their advice was not taken, however, and the Ertuğrul left Yokohama on 15 September at 1300 hours.
The day was beautiful, but next morning the wind commenced to blow. This was the start of the typhoon that was to spell disaster for the old ship. By nightfall, the storm had increased to such an extent that all sail had to be taken in, and waves breaking over the bow continually pounded the ship. More ominously, the bunkers began to take water. During the night, by the light of lanterns, carpenters tried vainly to repair the storm damage. The crew and the officers attempted to reinforce the masts and at the same time man the pumps.
In desperation, it was decided to make a run for Kobe, and the course was set accordingly. By 18 September, the typhoon was so great that it was impossible to keep ahead of the water that was filling the vessel. Toward evening, the water level inside the hull had risen to the boilers and the engines had stopped.
The helpless frigate was now being carried with the wind and currents toward Kashinozaki Point. All efforts to prevent her from running ashore were unsuccessful. At 2100, she struck the rocks with a tremendous noise. According to survivors, the ship disintegrated on the impact. Only the poop deck remained above water, but the mizzenmast had fallen on it, thereby killing some of the crew who had taken refuge there.
Of the ship’s complement, only 69 men were able to swim ashore. The casualty list included Rear Admiral Osman Pasha, Captain Ali, and his executive officer, Cemil. Only four officers managed to survive—two lieutenants and two ensigns.
Because of the roar of the storm, Kashinozaki lighthouse keepers only learned of the wreck when they saw the exhausted survivors. The Japanese Emperor, on hearing of the disaster, ordered the officials of the district to take all possible care of the survivors. The local inhabitants of Kashinozaki and Oshimo provided the survivors with clothing and shelter, and aided the officials in the search for bodies. Only 150 bodies were found and the Admiral’s body was not among them.
The Turkish government subsequently donated 3,000 Yen as a gift for distribution among the people of Kashinozaki and Oshimo. The surviving crew members were eventually carried back to Turkey on board the Japanese warships Kongo and Hiei. The bodies of the Turkish sailors were buried near Kashinozaki lighthouse and, later, a memorial was built there with the generous assistance of the Japanese people.