Martin Antonenko
A Fixture
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The only surviving ship of its kind...!
On March 12, 1910, the newest, most modern and largest ship of the Royal Greek Navy, the armored cruiser "Georgios Averof" ("Γεώργιος Αβέρωφ"), was launched at the Italian shipyard "Cantiere navale fratelli Orlando" in Livorno...:
"Georgios Averof" - named after a very rich Greek entrepreneur...
...who had donated the money for the purchase of the Hulk and its completion to his government, is a so-called armored cruiser of the "pre-dreadnought" era - and thus actually outdated, since it still has a hodgepodge of guns of various calibers and sides of the empire which makes effective fire control in combat practically impossible...
Basically, the ship was already technically obsolete when it was launched - modern navies such as those of the British and Germans now rely on ships with a uniform type of gun, the superiority of which was impressively demonstrated by the British "Dreadnought".
The armored cruiser "Averof" was actually intended for the Italian Navy, but shortly after the start of construction in 1908 the Italians ran out of money - and Greece had acquired the not even half-finished battlecruiser in 1909.
However, the Greeks are so generous that they - clearly visible in the next photo - have the Italian tricolor hoisted next to their own flag when they are launched...:
The ship was completed, equipped and armed in Italy and not officially commissioned until September 1911 in Greece as the new fleet flagship - with greek orthodox pope and all!
In 1912 and 1913, the ship took part in its only naval battles, as part of the Balkan Wars of Liberation against the Ottomans!
The armored cruiser survived the naval battles of Elli (December 3, 1912) and Lemnos (January 5, 1913) without damage (but didn't do any harm to the enemy either!).
Since the Ottoman Navy has nothing to compare it with, it ensures the Greeks dominance at sea!
During the First World War, the ship did not fire a single shot (Greece is neutral!) and even during the subsequent Greek raid to dismember the collapsed Ottoman Empire, she only transported refugees from Turkish Smyrna (today: Izmir) to Greece after the Turkish general Mustapha Kemal chased the land robbers away again.
Even in the Second World War, the ship did not make a single "sharp" use!
When Hitler's Wehrmacht troops broke through the Greek defenses during their attack on Greece on April 18, 1941, the fleet flagship fled first to Crete to the British base "Suda Bay" and then to Egypt (the next photo shows her in Port Said). .:
From 1942, the "Averof" then took over patrols and escort services for the Royal Navy from British Bombay - again without firing a single shot!
The old armored cruiser made its greatest appearance on October 17, 1944:
The Germans have left Greece and the Greek royal family is returning to the country from British exile by ship...:
Until 1952 the "Averof" remained the flagship of the Greek Navy and is - at 42 years old! - the oldest serving fleet flagship of all time.
And she still exists - if only as a - very well preserved museum ship. Since 1984 she has been a museum ship as part of the "Trokadero Marina Ship Museum" in the port of Paleo Faliro, near Athens.
This means that the ship can claim another superlative for itself: it is the - worldwide! - only surviving armored cruiser from the "Pre-Dreadnought" era!
All others were scrapped or - like their German counterparts "Gneisenau" and "Scharnhorst" - are lying on the bottom of the ocean...
The "Georgios Averof", on the other hand, is even - conditionally! - ready to sail and continues to set sail for events, mostly in the summertime. ...:
On March 12, 1910, the newest, most modern and largest ship of the Royal Greek Navy, the armored cruiser "Georgios Averof" ("Γεώργιος Αβέρωφ"), was launched at the Italian shipyard "Cantiere navale fratelli Orlando" in Livorno...:
"Georgios Averof" - named after a very rich Greek entrepreneur...
...who had donated the money for the purchase of the Hulk and its completion to his government, is a so-called armored cruiser of the "pre-dreadnought" era - and thus actually outdated, since it still has a hodgepodge of guns of various calibers and sides of the empire which makes effective fire control in combat practically impossible...
Basically, the ship was already technically obsolete when it was launched - modern navies such as those of the British and Germans now rely on ships with a uniform type of gun, the superiority of which was impressively demonstrated by the British "Dreadnought".
The armored cruiser "Averof" was actually intended for the Italian Navy, but shortly after the start of construction in 1908 the Italians ran out of money - and Greece had acquired the not even half-finished battlecruiser in 1909.
However, the Greeks are so generous that they - clearly visible in the next photo - have the Italian tricolor hoisted next to their own flag when they are launched...:
The ship was completed, equipped and armed in Italy and not officially commissioned until September 1911 in Greece as the new fleet flagship - with greek orthodox pope and all!
In 1912 and 1913, the ship took part in its only naval battles, as part of the Balkan Wars of Liberation against the Ottomans!
The armored cruiser survived the naval battles of Elli (December 3, 1912) and Lemnos (January 5, 1913) without damage (but didn't do any harm to the enemy either!).
Since the Ottoman Navy has nothing to compare it with, it ensures the Greeks dominance at sea!
During the First World War, the ship did not fire a single shot (Greece is neutral!) and even during the subsequent Greek raid to dismember the collapsed Ottoman Empire, she only transported refugees from Turkish Smyrna (today: Izmir) to Greece after the Turkish general Mustapha Kemal chased the land robbers away again.
Even in the Second World War, the ship did not make a single "sharp" use!
When Hitler's Wehrmacht troops broke through the Greek defenses during their attack on Greece on April 18, 1941, the fleet flagship fled first to Crete to the British base "Suda Bay" and then to Egypt (the next photo shows her in Port Said). .:
From 1942, the "Averof" then took over patrols and escort services for the Royal Navy from British Bombay - again without firing a single shot!
The old armored cruiser made its greatest appearance on October 17, 1944:
The Germans have left Greece and the Greek royal family is returning to the country from British exile by ship...:
Until 1952 the "Averof" remained the flagship of the Greek Navy and is - at 42 years old! - the oldest serving fleet flagship of all time.
And she still exists - if only as a - very well preserved museum ship. Since 1984 she has been a museum ship as part of the "Trokadero Marina Ship Museum" in the port of Paleo Faliro, near Athens.
This means that the ship can claim another superlative for itself: it is the - worldwide! - only surviving armored cruiser from the "Pre-Dreadnought" era!
All others were scrapped or - like their German counterparts "Gneisenau" and "Scharnhorst" - are lying on the bottom of the ocean...
The "Georgios Averof", on the other hand, is even - conditionally! - ready to sail and continues to set sail for events, mostly in the summertime. ...:
