If Britain would have avoided confiscating the two Ottoman dreadnoughts (or WWI would have been delayed until the Ottomans would have actually acquired these dreadnoughts), would the Ottomans have still entered WWI on the CP side? Any thoughts on this?
The four dreadnoughts the British seized from Chile and the Ottoman Empire:
- HMS Canada: 10x14" and returned to Chile after the WWI. Decomissioned in 1958 and sold for scrap in 1959.
- HMS Eagle: completed as an aircraft carrier and retained by Britain. Sunk 11 August 1942.
- HMS Erin: 10x13.5" and scrapped after WWI.
- HMS Agincourt: 14x12", originally ordered by Brazil, and scrapped after WWI.
The RN wasn't going to let four British-built dreadnoughts fall into potentially unfriendly hands in 1914 under any circumstances. Everyone knew this. The British "we're keeping these" decision didn't have much - if any - impact on the Ottoman decision to side with Germany and Austria-Hungary.
Yes.FWIW, weren't these ships built by a private British company?
There would however have been a clause in the contract allowing their requisition by the Royal Navy. All contracts for warships ordered by foreign powers built in a British yard did.FWIW, weren't these ships built by a private British company?
In 2014-2015 France did that to Russia with a pair of Mistral-class ships Russia ordered.There would however have been a clause in the contract allowing their requisition by the Royal Navy. All contracts for warships ordered by foreign powers built in a British yard did.
It had happened in the past without there being an actual war.
In 2014-2015 France did that to Russia with a pair of Mistral-class ships Russia ordered.
End result: the Russians got a refund followed by the French selling the ships to Egypt.
They got two brand-new modern helicopter carriers the French government didn't want the Russians to have which the Marine nationale didn't need off of the clearance rack.Lucky Pharaohs!
They got two brand-new modern helicopter carriers the French government didn't want the Russians to have which the Marine nationale didn't need off of the clearance rack.