 At the start of the Greco-Turkish War in February 1897, "Mesudiye" was found to be unfit for combat, as were most of the other major warships of the fleet.On 15 May "Mesudiye" and several other warships attempted to hold a training exercise, which only highlighted the poor state of training of the ships' crews.Following the end of the war, the government decided to begin a naval reconstruction program.