Kountouriotis was a Greek destroyer of the Dardo class

Freccia class destroyer

The Freccia class destroyer was a class of destroyers built for the Regia Marina, the Italian Royal Navy, in the 1930s. It was basically an enlarged version of the earlier Turbine class destroyers...

, which served with the Hellenic Navy

Hellenic Navy

The Hellenic Navy is the naval force of Greece, part of the Greek Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy has its roots in the naval forces of various Aegean Islands, which fought in the Greek War of Independence...

 during the Second World War. It was named after the admiral and politician Pavlos Kountouriotis

Pavlos Kountouriotis

Pavlos Kountouriotis was a Greek admiral and naval hero during the Balkan Wars and the first and third President of the Second Hellenic Republic.-Family Background:The Kountouriotes was a prominent Arvanite family from the island of Hydra...

, who was the commander of the Greek Fleet during the Balkan Wars

Balkan Wars

The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...

, as well as serving twice as President of the Second Hellenic Republic. She was the second ship to bear this name.

She was constructed in Sestri Ponente

Sestri Ponente

Sestri Ponente is an industrial suburb of Genoa in northwest Italy. It is part of the Medio Ponente municipio of Genoa.-Geography:It is situated on the Ligurian Sea to the west of the city, between Cornigliano and Pegli...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, by Cantieri Odero, and commissioned by the Hellenic Navy in 1933. After the outbreak of the Greco-Italian War

Greco-Italian War

The Greco-Italian War was a conflict between Italy and Greece which lasted from 28 October 1940 to 23 April 1941. It marked the beginning of the Balkans Campaign of World War II...

, she participated in the naval operations, especially in the second and third naval raids against Italian shipping in the Strait of Otranto

Strait of Otranto

The Strait of Otranto connects the Adriatic Sea with the Ionian Sea and separates Italy from Albania. Its width at Punta Palascìa, east of Salento is less than . The strait is named after the Italian city of Otranto.- History :...

 (December 15–16, 1940, and 4–5 January 1941). During the German invasion of Greece

Battle of Greece

The Battle of Greece is the common name for the invasion and conquest of Greece by Nazi Germany in April 1941. Greece was supported by British Commonwealth forces, while the Germans' Axis allies Italy and Bulgaria played secondary roles...

, along with several other ships, she managed to flee to Alexandria

Alexandria

Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...

. Subsequently, she underwent repairs and modernization in Bombay from June 1941 to April 1942. She returned to escort duties in the Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

, with the British pennant number

Pennant number

In the modern Royal Navy, and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth, ships are identified by pennant numbers...

H 07, until November 15, 1943, when she was placed in active reserve. She was decommissioned in 1946.