7 replies to this topic

[shippingsteel]

In furthering my study of Turkish bayonets, I have often encountered examples of the Osmanli script which was used to identify the names of the makers, etc.
Much of the pre-war equipment was manufactured in Germany and delivered to the Ottomans with this script already in place to assist identification purposes.

After receiving some help from others, and with many hours of effort it now seems that I can manage to decipher and transliterate most of the Osmanli writing.
It seems the more I learn about this beautiful script and its use on the Turkish weaponry of the Great War, the more fascinated I become, and hence my question.

What other forms of the Turkish military equipment were inscribed with the Osmanli script.? So far I have encountered rifles, bayonets, artillery guns - what else.?

Cheers, S>S

[TRAJAN]

I assume you are including rifle bullet cartridge cases in rifles. What about artillery shell cases?

Trajan

[green_acorn]

Would this be better over in Uniforms and Equipment? Uniforms and Equipment

[shippingsteel]

TRAJAN, on 15 December 2011 - 11:06 PM, said:

I assume you are including rifle bullet cartridge cases in rifles. What about artillery shell cases?

Yes thats right - the German supplied Mauser ammunition was also marked with this script. I haven't seen any shell cases yet, were they made locally.?

I've posted in this forum as this is where the gear was mainly being used, and where forum members may possibly have some knowledge of the equipment.

Cheers, S>S

[michaeldr]

shippingsteel, on 16 December 2011 - 12:00 PM, said:

I haven't seen any shell cases yet, were they made locally.?

The Intelligence Section Cairo's 'Handbook of the Turkish Army' Feb. 1916, lists several factories producing arms in 1911 and more factories turned over to war work from 1914

Topkhané – quick-firing field guns & mountain guns and heavier pieces up to the short 15 cm siege piece.  Also a small arms factory & carriage factory (woodwork)
By 1915 guns of 7.5, 10.5 & 15cm being produced with the aid of 'German specialists and many German workmen'. In August 1915 there were reported to be 2,200 men employed here

Zeitun Burnu – small arms ammunition (Mauser) factory with up-to-date US, UK & German machinery. Also a shell factory producing (1911 fig.) 200 rounds of unfilled shrapnel up to 6-inch per day. By mid-1915 this was estimated to have risen to between 1,000 to 2,300 per day, with SAA of about 30,000 per day. Also by 1915, Grenades was now also produced here 'in large numbers'
In August 1915, there were reported to be 9,600 men employed here (but perhaps this fig includes the nearby powder mill)

Further factories brought in to war production included:

Admiralty Arsenal, Galata – shells, trench mortars & naval work (?). Employed 3,600 of whom 384 were German.
Anatolian Railway Co. Workshop, Eskishehir, Anatolia – shells & SAA
Bond's Engineering Works, Kirej Kapu, Nr Topkhané – SAA
Dapei Works, Ferikeui – SAA
Fezhané or Govt. Cloth Factory, Defterdar, Nr Eyub, Golden Horn – SAA; employed 1,200 (but this may incld. those producing cloth?)
German SS General, moored in Golden Horn – shell
Jones' Marine Engineering Works, Galata, between Customs and Topkhané – SAA and ship repairs
Jost's Engineering Works, Galata - SAA
Kalafat Yeri Foundries, between the two bridges on the Golden Horn, Galata side – castings for bombs and grenades
Kirej Kapu, opp. Galata passenger Custom House – foundry casting bombs & grenades
Oriental Railway Co.'s Engineering Works, Yedikulé, Stambul - repairs to guns & rifles, plus SAA & shell production. Employs Germans & Austro-Hungarians as well as Turks
Stenia Iron Foundry, Bosphorus – Steel shields for trench warfare; SAA & shells produced
Tramway Co.'s Workshops, Shishli, Pera – repairs to guns & rifles; SAA & shells produced. Employs Germans & Austro-Hungarians as well as Turks
Kharput, Kurdistan – SAA

The usual caveats re 'intelligence' apply!
Hope that this is of some help

Michael

[shippingsteel]

Thanks very much for this interesting information Michael, especially that list of smaller factories which I'm sure will come in handy when considering further translations.
I was aware of the importance of the Tophane factory to the Turks, but had not yet seen much detailed references to the other factories also associated in the war effort.

Cheers, S>S

[michaeldr]

S>S,


By the by, as they say,
there is an opinion that if the RN had been able to force the Straits and enter the Sea of Marmara, then that would indeed have been the end of Turkey as an active participant in the Great War.
As you will see from the list above, 95%+ of Turkey's arms manufacturing took place within a small circle of distance based upon Istanbul and its immediate environs. Sure, some smuggling occurred, but until Bulgaria entered the war, the Central Powers had no way of re-supplying Turkey in any meaningful fashion.

Good luck
Michael

[shippingsteel]

As an example of what I'm looking for, HERE is an interesting Turkish pistol that I found from the AWM collection that is marked in Osmanli.
Who would have guessed that some Turkish officers would have been armed with Belgian made Browning's at the outbreak of the war.?

Cheers, S>S