One hundred years ago today on January 8th, 1916 the brand spanking new Russian battleship
Empress Catherine the Great and the German battle cruiser
Goeben [flying under the flag of the Ottoman Empire] engaged in a long range naval rifle duel in the Black Sea. While not hit, the
Goeben was straddled by salvos at a range of 24,000 yards. As near as I can tell that was a record up until that time - an impressive achievement for the Imperial Russian Navy!
The
Empress Catherine the Great would not have a long career. The Soviets would scuttle her to avoid the ship being turned over to Germany after the collapse of Imperial Russia. The
Goeben would had an amazing life - she avoided the British Mediterranean fleet at the outbreak of WWI and would reach refuge in Istanbul. Once there, Germany transferred her to the Ottoman Empire and she was renamed
Yavuz Sultan Selim . The
Yavuz would survive the war and remained the flagship of the Turkish navy up until 1950. Typically it is considered bad luck to rename a vessel but not in this case.
Empress Catherine the Great
Goeben|Yayuz 