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The naval 'Battle of Sinope' (or 'Sinop') 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 was the first battle of the Crimean War (1854–1856).
Fighting 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 battleships to Sinope, but the British ambassador in Istanbul, Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe, had objected to this plan, and only frigates were sent. It is possible that this was done deliberately, to get Russia to attack a weaker fleet. The British and French supported the Ottoman Empire against Imperial Russia, but did not want a war to start. When it became clear there would be a war, they hoped Russia would provide the ''casus belli''.
The 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 small Turkish patrol fleet. Only ''Taif'', pursued by the Russian steamers, managed to escape to Istanbul where she arrived on 2 December.
This attack provided France and the United Kingdom with the justification for declaring war on Russia in early 1854 in support of the Ottoman Empire.
Below is a listing of the fleets that participated in the Battle of Sinop on 30 November, 1853:

Contents

Order of battle

Russian Empire

Battleships

Frigates

Steamers

Ottoman Empire

Sail frigates

Sail corvettes

Steam frigates/corvettes

See also

References

Order of battle

Russian Empire

Battleships

★ ''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 Empire

Sail frigates

★ ''Avni Illah'' 44 guns

★ ''Fazl Illah'' 44 guns (formerly Russian ''Rafail'', captured 1829)

★ ''Nizamieh'' 62 guns

★ ''Nessin Zafer'' 60 guns

★ ''Navek Bahri'' 58 guns

★ ''Damiat'' 56 guns (Egyptian)

★ ''Kaid Zafer'' 54 guns

Sail corvettes

★ ''Nejm Fishan'' 24 guns

★ ''Feyz Mabud'' 24 guns

★ ''Kel Safid'' 22 guns

Steam frigates/corvettes

★ ''Taif'' 12 guns

★ ''Erkelye'' 10 guns

See also

★ Decline of the Ottoman Empire

References

★ ''Naval wars in the Levant 1559–1853'' (1952) - R. C. Anderson ISBN 1-57898-538-2