Post by Diarist on Nov 20, 2014 20:49:34 GMT 1
The Navy, shortly before the Balkan Wars, was composed of a destroyer and battleship fleet. Its mission was primarily offensive, aiming at capturing the Ottoman-held islands of the Eastern Aegean, and establish naval supremacy in the area. To that end, its commander-in-chief, Rear Admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis, established a forward base at the Moudros bay at Lemnos, directly opposite the Dardanelles straits. After defeating the two Turkish sallies from the Straits at Elli (December 1912) and Lemnos (January 1913), the Aegean Sea was secured for Greece.
The Balkan Wars were followed by a rapid escalation between Greece and the Ottoman Empire over the as yet unclear status of the islands of the Eastern Aegean. Both governments embarked on a naval armaments race, with Greece purchasing the obsolete battleships Lemnos and Kilkis and the light cruiser Elli as well as ordering two dreadnoughts, the Vasilefs Konstantinos and the Salamis and a number of destroyers. However, with the outbreak of the Great War, construction of the dreadnoughts stopped.
Initially during the war, Greece followed a course of neutrality, with the Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos favoring the Entente and pro-German King Constantine I advocating neutrality. This dispute eventually led to a deep political conflict, known as the "National Schism". In November 1916, in order to apply pressure on the royal government in Athens, the French confiscated the Greek ships. They continued to operate with French crews, primarily in convoy escort and patrol duties in the Aegean, until Greece entered the war on the side of the Allies in July 1917, at which point they were returned to Greece. Subsequently, the Greek Navy took part in the Allied operations in the Aegean, in the Allied expedition in support of Denikin's White Armies in the Ukraine, and in the operations of the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922 in Asia Minor.
After Greece's catastrophic defeat, the 1920s and early 1930s were a politically turbulent period, with the economy in a bad state, so the Navy received no new units, apart from the modernization of four destroyers and the acquisition of six French submarines in 1927 and four Italian destroyers in 1929.
The fleet:
The two battleships, Lemnos and Kilkis, were former US Mississippi-Class ships being used as training ships - 13,000 tons, 4 × 12-inch guns, 8 × 8-inch guns, 8 × 7-inch guns, 12 × 3-inch guns.
An armoured cruiser, Georgios Averof, the flagship - 10,200 tons, 4 × 234mm (9.2in) guns, 8 × 190mm (7.5in) guns. 16 × 76mm (3in) guns.
A protected cruiser, Elli - 2,600 tons, 3 x 6" and 2 x 3" guns.
8 destroyers and 6 submarines.
Source: Wikipedia - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Hellenic_Navy
The Balkan Wars were followed by a rapid escalation between Greece and the Ottoman Empire over the as yet unclear status of the islands of the Eastern Aegean. Both governments embarked on a naval armaments race, with Greece purchasing the obsolete battleships Lemnos and Kilkis and the light cruiser Elli as well as ordering two dreadnoughts, the Vasilefs Konstantinos and the Salamis and a number of destroyers. However, with the outbreak of the Great War, construction of the dreadnoughts stopped.
Initially during the war, Greece followed a course of neutrality, with the Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos favoring the Entente and pro-German King Constantine I advocating neutrality. This dispute eventually led to a deep political conflict, known as the "National Schism". In November 1916, in order to apply pressure on the royal government in Athens, the French confiscated the Greek ships. They continued to operate with French crews, primarily in convoy escort and patrol duties in the Aegean, until Greece entered the war on the side of the Allies in July 1917, at which point they were returned to Greece. Subsequently, the Greek Navy took part in the Allied operations in the Aegean, in the Allied expedition in support of Denikin's White Armies in the Ukraine, and in the operations of the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922 in Asia Minor.
After Greece's catastrophic defeat, the 1920s and early 1930s were a politically turbulent period, with the economy in a bad state, so the Navy received no new units, apart from the modernization of four destroyers and the acquisition of six French submarines in 1927 and four Italian destroyers in 1929.
The fleet:
The two battleships, Lemnos and Kilkis, were former US Mississippi-Class ships being used as training ships - 13,000 tons, 4 × 12-inch guns, 8 × 8-inch guns, 8 × 7-inch guns, 12 × 3-inch guns.
An armoured cruiser, Georgios Averof, the flagship - 10,200 tons, 4 × 234mm (9.2in) guns, 8 × 190mm (7.5in) guns. 16 × 76mm (3in) guns.
A protected cruiser, Elli - 2,600 tons, 3 x 6" and 2 x 3" guns.
8 destroyers and 6 submarines.
Source: Wikipedia - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Hellenic_Navy