Greek cruiser Elli
Encyclopedia
Elli (Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
: Κ/Δ Έλλη) was a 2,600 ton Greek light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
(in Greek Εύδρομο (interwar period term) or Ελαφρύ Καταδρομικό (World War II terminology)) named for a naval battle
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...
of the First Balkan War
First Balkan War
The First Balkan War, which lasted from October 1912 to May 1913, pitted the Balkan League against the Ottoman Empire. The combined armies of the Balkan states overcame the numerically inferior and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies and achieved rapid success...
in which Greece was victorious.
She was originally ordered built as the Fei Hung by the Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
government, but due to the Nationalist revolution
Xinhai Revolution
The Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, also known as Revolution of 1911 or the Chinese Revolution, was a revolution that overthrew China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing , and established the Republic of China...
in 1912-13, the order was cancelled. Completed in 1914 by New York Shipbuilding in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, she was purchased by Greece as part of their program of naval expansion after 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...
. She saw action 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...
and in the Asia Minor Expedition
Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922)
The Greco–Turkish War of 1919–1922, known as the Western Front of the Turkish War of Independence in Turkey and the Asia Minor Campaign or the Asia Minor Catastrophe in Greece, was a series of military events occurring during the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire after World War I between May...
.
In 1920 she underwent a reconstruction in France along with the armored cruiser
Armored cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Like other types of cruiser, the armored cruiser was a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship, and fast enough to outrun any battleships it encountered.The first...
. In that reconstruction she obtained modern anti-aircraft armament and the equipment to carry and lay 100 sea mines
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
.
She was sunk during peacetime, on August 15, 1940, 8:25 am while she rode at anchor, by the Italian submarine Delfino near the island of Tinos
Tinos
Tinos is a Greek island situated in the Aegean Sea. It is located in the Cyclades archipelago. In antiquity, Tinos was also known as Ophiussa and Hydroessa . The closest islands are Andros, Delos, and Mykonos...
. The Elli was in Tinos participating in the celebrations of the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos
Dormition of the Theotokos
The Dormition of the Theotokos is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches which commemorates the "falling asleep" or death of the Theotokos , and her bodily resurrection before being taken up into heaven. It is celebrated on August 15 The Dormition...
. One of the three torpedoes fired hit the Elli under the one operating boiler and she caught fire and sunk. Nine petty officers and sailors were killed and 24 were wounded. The same submarine attempted to torpedo the passenger ships M/V Elsi and M/V Esperos anchored in the port. This attempt failed and only a section of the port's wharf was damaged by torpedoes.
Fragments of the torpedoes were recovered, and identified as Italian in origin. The Greek government however, trying to avoid a confrontation with 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...
at the time, announced that the nationality of the attacking submarine was unknown, an act that did not prevent 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...
two months later, and did not convince the Greek people who were well aware of the real perpetrator.
After war, as compensation for the sinking of Elli, Italy gave Greece the cruiser which was commissioned in June 1950 for the Royal Hellenic Navy with the name Elli. She served until 1973. Since 1982, a Standard-class frigate, , the lead ship of the bears the same name.