Çanakkale ‘hero ship’ Nusret to honor martyrs on centennial anniversary

ANKARA

DHA Photo

The TCG Nusret, a replica of the legendary mine-laying ship “Nusret,” regarded as the “hero” ship of the Turkish defense of the Dardanelles during World War One, will follow a century-old route and lay mines on March 8, as part of a series of events marking the centennial anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli in Çanakkale.

The ship will then move to locations where wrecks of the French warship Bouvet and the British warships, HMS Goliath, HMS Irresistible and HMS Ocean lay underwater.

With the mines it laid in the Erenköy Bay on the night of March 8, 1915, the Nusret played a historically critical role in the naval victory in Çanakkale.

Following the simulated mine laying path, which will begin at the port in front of the Çanakkale Naval Museum at 6.30 a.m., the ship will proceed to locations near the wrecks of the Bouvet, Goliath, Irresistible and Ocean.

Then, while laying mines alongside the Çanakkale Martyrs’ Memorial, TCG Nusret will greet martyrs who had fallen during battle on the Gelibolu (Gallipoli) Peninsula, as well as martyrs who had fallen in the Atılay and Dumlupınar submarines.

The Atılay was destroyed on June 18, 1942, after hitting a German antenna mine in Çanakkale. Thirty-nine submariners lost their lives. The Dumlupınar sank on April 4, 1953, due to a collision with a Swedish merchant vessel called the Naboland. There were only five survivors, and 81 Turkish submariners were killed.

Meanwhile, also as part of the commemoration ceremony, divers will leave plaques under the sea and will unfurl flags under the sea offshore in the Erenköy Bay.

The original Nusret minelayer, first named “Nusrat,” was built in Germany in 1911 and bought for the Ottoman Fleet in 1913.