The ship was launched on 3 July 1909, and during fitting out, she was sold to the Ottoman Navy and renamed Nümune-i Hamiyet,[5] which means "symbol of patriotism".

[6] The purchase of the vessel, along with three of her sister ships—Muavenet-i Milliye, Yadigar-i Millet, and Gayret-i Vataniye—occurred in March 1910, at the same time that the Ottoman government acquired a pair of pre-dreadnought battleships.

[10] The naval command expected a war between the Ottoman Empire and the Balkan League and viewed that conflict as a greater threat to the country.

[11] Late in the conflict, in mid-1912, restive elements of the Ottoman navy and army formed the Military League, aimed at pressuring the Young Turk government for reforms and to protest its mishandling of the war with Italy.

They succeeded in securing the appointment of a naval officer to the post, who in turn ordered the fleet to stand down and abstain from further political involvement.

On 30 October, Nümune-i Hamiyet and Barbaros Hayreddin relieved Mecidiye and the destroyer Yarhisar off Midye, where they were guarding troopships landing reinforcements for the Ottoman Army fighting Bulgarian troops.

Neither side inflicted serious damage on the other, and after the ships disengaged, Nümune-i Hamiyet sent a report of the action to the a naval station at Nara, since Mecidiye's radio had been disabled.

[15] The Ottoman Army had become convinced that it could occupy Tenedos and that the fleet could support an amphibious assault on the island, over repeated objections from the naval command.

The Ottoman government nevertheless ordered the operation, and on 4 January 1913, the navy decided to make a major sweep toward the island, despite the fact that the regiment assigned to the landing had not yet arrived.

Nümune-i Hamiyet and the other II Division ships were among the first vessels to leave the Dardanelles, and they took up a defensive position by around 07:15 near the straits while the other elements of the fleet assembled themselves.

Early that month, reports of a Greek cruiser and four destroyers blockading the Gulf of İzmir prompted the Ottoman Navy to dispatch Mecidiye, Nümune-i Hamiyet, Gayret-i Vataniye, and Muavenet-i Milliye to investigate on 8 April.

Gayret-i Vataniye was detached to scout the Gulf of Saros and she spotted three Greek destroyers in the distance, but the range was too great to engage them and she rejoined the rest of the flotilla instead.

The opposing forces opened fire at long range, but neither side pressed their attack before the Ottomans turned back to the Dardanelles and the Greeks made for Imbros.

In mid-August, Nümune-i Hamiyet and Gayret-i Vataniye were sent to İzmit to join the flotilla stationed there, as the Ottomans set about strengthening the defenses of the Bosporus and the Dardanelles.

[18] When the Ottoman Empire entered World War I in late October 1914, Nümune-i Hamiyet was assigned to I Destroyer Squadron with her three sisters.

Further Russian successes against the collier convoys largely eliminate large-scale coal transportation by the end of 1915, which severely curtails operations by the Ottoman Navy due to lack of fuel.

[22] On 30 October 1916, Admiral Wilhelm Souchon sailed aboard Muavenet-i Millet in company with Nümune-i Hamiyet to Varna, to meet with Field Marshal August von Mackensen, who was leading German Army operations in Romania.

[24] On 20 January 1918, Yavuz Sultan Selim and Midilli sortied to attack the British squadron at Imbros, and Nümune-i Hamiyet, Muavenet-i Millet, Samsun and Basra escorted the two ships as far as Sedd el Bahr.

[25] Ottoman troops began re-occupying parts of the country that had been invaded by Russia, and on 1 March, Nümune-i Hamiyet, Muavenet-i Millet, Samsun, and Hamidiye escorted the transport SS Akdeniz with 300 soldiers to Trabzon.

On 20 March, she joined Muavenet-i Millet and Hamidiye to cover the German transport SS Patmos bringing occupation troops from Constanța, Romania, to Odessa, Russia.