Hydra class battleship
Encyclopedia
The three Hydra-class ships, Hydra, Spetsai and Psara, were ordered from France in 1885 during the premiership of Charilaos Trikoupis
, as part of a wider reorganization and modernization of the Greek armed forces, which had proved themselves inadequate during the Cretan uprising of 1866 and the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878.
The ships saw limited action in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897, as the Royal Hellenic Navy failed to make use of its superiority over the Ottoman Navy. By the outbreak of the Balkan Wars in 1912, the three Hydra-class ships were antiquated, but did take part in the war, in which Greece liberated the islands of the Eastern Aegean
and defeated Turkey in the two decisive naval battles of Elli
and Limnos
.
During World War I
, Greece belatedly entered the war on the side of the Triple Entente
and the Hydra class ships served as coastal defense. They were already obsolete and were decommissioned immediately after the war (1918–1920), although their hulks survived as naval training facilities and accommodation space for a decade.
Charilaos Trikoupis
Charilaos Trikoupis was a Greek politician who served as a Prime Minister of Greece seven times from 1875 until 1895....
, as part of a wider reorganization and modernization of the Greek armed forces, which had proved themselves inadequate during the Cretan uprising of 1866 and the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878.
The ships saw limited action in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897, as the Royal Hellenic Navy failed to make use of its superiority over the Ottoman Navy. By the outbreak of the Balkan Wars in 1912, the three Hydra-class ships were antiquated, but did take part in the war, in which Greece liberated the islands of the Eastern Aegean
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
and defeated Turkey in the two decisive naval battles of Elli
Naval Battle of Elli
The Battle of Elli , also known as the Battle of the Dardanelles, took place near the mouth of the Dardanelles on as part of the First Balkan War between the fleets of Greece and the Ottoman Empire...
and Limnos
Naval Battle of Lemnos
The Battle of Lemnos , fought on , was a naval battle during the First Balkan War, which defeated the second and last attempt of the Ottoman Empire to break the Greek naval blockade of the Dardanelles and reclaim supremacy over the Aegean Sea from Greece....
.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Greece belatedly entered the war on the side of the Triple Entente
Triple Entente
The Triple Entente was the name given to the alliance among Britain, France and Russia after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907....
and the Hydra class ships served as coastal defense. They were already obsolete and were decommissioned immediately after the war (1918–1920), although their hulks survived as naval training facilities and accommodation space for a decade.