Greek cruiser Georgios Averof
Encyclopedia
Georgios Averof (Greek
: Θ/Κ Γεώργιος Αβέρωφ) is a Greek warship which served as the flagship
of the Royal Hellenic Navy
during most of the first half of the 20th Century. Although popularly known as a battleship
(θωρηκτό), it is in fact an armored cruiser
(θωρακισμένο καταδρομικό), and the only such ship still in existence.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Greece decided to reinforce its fleet, whose ships were fast becoming obsolete due to the fast-moving naval arms race
of the era. The authorities procured four destroyers (then a relatively new type of ship), but the most important addition was Averof. The vessel, belonging to the Pisa class, like her Italian sisters Amalfi
and Pisa , was being built at Orlando Shipyards at Livorno
in Italy
. When the Italian government cancelled the third ship of the class due to budgetary concerns, the Greek government immediately stepped in and acquired the ship with a 1/3 down payment (ca. 300,000 gold pound sterling
), paid with the help of a wealthy Greek benefactor, George Averoff
, whose name she consequently received. The ship was fitted with an extraordinary combination of Italian engines, French boilers, British artillery and German generators .Such was the earnestness of the Greek Navy to acquire and put the ship into operational use that she was delivered with a known deficiency in the barrel of one of her 7.5 inch guns, [a gouge in the barrel produced by a slipping of the rifling cutting tool] and hastily accepted for service on the [totally informed,as it turned out] opinion of Armstrong's chief ordnance Engineer, who judged the deffect as inconsequential to the gun's safety and performance.
The ship was launched on March 12, 1910. Her first captain was Captain Ioannis Damianos, who took command of the ship on May 16, 1911. Averof sailed for Britain, in order to participate in the festivities for the coronation of King George V
and to receive her first load of ammunition. The stay in Britain was troubled, however, including running aground at Spithead
on June 19, forcing the ship to be drydocked for repairs, brawls with locals and a near-mutiny resulting from the unfamiliarity of the Greek sailors with blue cheese
. It was clear that Captain Damianos was inadequate, so he was replaced by the highly esteemed Captain Pavlos Kountouriotis
, who quickly reimposed discipline and set sail for Greece. During the journey, Kountouriotis took care to train the crew, with the notable exception of gunnery practice, since ammunition was limited. Averof finally sailed in Faliron Bay, near Athens, on September 1, 1911. Averof was at the time the most modern and powerful ship in the navies of either the Balkan League
or the Ottoman Empire
.
, Kountouriotis was named Rear Admiral and Commander-in-Chief of the Hellenic Royal Navy. Averof, under Captain Sofoklis Dousmanis
, served as the flagship of the fleet, and she took part in the liberation of the islands of the northern and eastern Aegean
. During the naval battles at Elli
(December 3, 1912) and Lemnos
(January 5, 1913) against the Ottoman Navy, she almost single-handedly secured victory and the undisputed control of the Aegean Sea
for Greece. In both battles, due to her superior speed, armor and armament, she left the battle line and pursued the Turkish Fleet alone. During the Battle of Elli, Kountouriotis, frustrated by the slow speed of the three older Greek battleships, hoisted the Flag Signal
for the letter Z which stood for "Independent Action", and sailed forward alone, with a speed of 20 knots against the Turkish fleet. Averof succeeded in crossing the Turkish fleet's "T"
and concentrated her fire against the Ottoman flagship, thus forcing the Ottoman fleet to retreat in disorder. Likewise, during the Battle of Lemnos, when the older battleships failed to follow up with Averof, Kountouriotis did not hesitate to pursue independent action.
During both battles, the ship suffered only slight damage, while inflicting severe damage to several Turkish ships. These exploits propelled the ship and her Admiral to legendary status in Greece. After Lemnos
, the crew of the Averof affectionately nicknamed her "Lucky Uncle George", while the Turks nicknamed her the "devil ship" (sheitán papór). It is a notable fact that, due to the aforementioned delays in the delivery of ammunition, Averof fired her guns for the first time during the Battle of Elli.
, Averof did not see much active service, as Greece was neutral during the first years of the war, and in deep internal turmoil (see National Schism). After the Noemvriana
riots of 1916 however, she was seized by the French, and returned only after Greece's formal entry in the war, in June 1917. After the war's end, Averof sailed with other Allied ships to Constantinople
, receiving an ecstatic welcome from the city's Greeks. She continued as the flagship of the RHN under Rear Admiral I. Ipitis, participating in landings in Eastern Thrace and bombardments of the Turkish Black Sea
shore during the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922)
and helped in the evacuation of the refugees after the Greek Army's defeat. In 1925-27 she underwent major reconstruction in France, in which she received modern anti-aircraft armament, a new foremast and improved fire control equipment, while the obsolete torpedo tubes were removed.
After Germany's attack against Greece
in 1941 and the collapse of the front, the ship's crew disobeyed the orders to scuttle the ship to avoid capture by the Germans, and sailed to Souda Bay
, Crete
, under the constant threat of German air strikes (which had sunk HMS Kelly
, the ship commanded by Lord Louis Mountbatten, and many other Greek and British warships during the evacuation of Greece). The Commanding Officer embarked from a rope ladder when the ship was already underway. Thence the ship sailed to Alexandria
, arriving there on April 23. From August 1941 to the end of 1942, the ship was assigned to convoy escort and patrol duties in the Indian Ocean
, based at Bombay. After that, she was anchored at Port Said
. On October 17, 1944, once again as the flagship of the exiled Hellenic Navy, under the command Captain Theodoros Koundouriotis (the Admiral's son), she carried the Greek government-in-exile back to liberated Athens. The ship continued to serve as Fleet Headquarters until she was decommissioned in 1952. She remained anchored at Salamis until she was towed to Poros
, where she remained from 1956 to 1983.
The ship is regarded as in active service, carrying the Rear Admiral's Rank Flag a square blue flag with white cross, like the Greek jack, with two white stars in each of the two squares on the flagstaff side (see photo at right, also see and) on the top of the mainmast with the Masthead Pennant
(a long triangular blue flag with a white orthogonal Greek cross) displaced downward. Every Hellenic Navy ship entering or sailing in Faliron Bay honours the Averof while passing. The crew are ordered to attention (with the "Still to" order) and from the relevant Boatswain's pipe
(or bugle call) every man on decks stands to attention, officers saluting, looking to the side where the Averof is in sight until "Continue" is ordered (this link is an mp3
sound recording of the order in Greek "Still to port side", the boatswain's pipe call and the order "Continue").
In June 2010 the ship was involved in a scandal after being used as the stage for a lavish wedding party by Greek shipowner Leo Patitsas and TV persona Marietta Chrousala
. The publication of photos from the party by the Proto Thema
tabloid caused major political uproar, resulting in the dismissal of the ship's commander, Commodore
Evangelos Gavalas.
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;...
: Θ/Κ Γεώργιος Αβέρωφ) is a Greek warship which served as the flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
of the Royal 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 most of the first half of the 20th Century. Although popularly known as a battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
(θωρηκτό), it is in fact an 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...
(θωρακισμένο καταδρομικό), and the only such ship still in existence.
Construction and arrival in Greece
Arms race
The term arms race, in its original usage, describes a competition between two or more parties for the best armed forces. Each party competes to produce larger numbers of weapons, greater armies, or superior military technology in a technological escalation...
of the era. The authorities procured four destroyers (then a relatively new type of ship), but the most important addition was Averof. The vessel, belonging to the Pisa class, like her Italian sisters Amalfi
Italian armored cruiser Amalfi
Amalfi was a of the Italian Royal Navy built in the first decade of the 20th century. She was a participant in the Italo-Turkish War and the First World War before she was sunk in July 1915....
and Pisa , was being built at Orlando Shipyards at Livorno
Livorno
Livorno , traditionally Leghorn , is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009.- History :...
in 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...
. When the Italian government cancelled the third ship of the class due to budgetary concerns, the Greek government immediately stepped in and acquired the ship with a 1/3 down payment (ca. 300,000 gold pound sterling
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
), paid with the help of a wealthy Greek benefactor, George Averoff
George Averoff
George M. Averoff , alternately Georgios Averof , was a Greek businessman and philanthropist of Aromanian origin....
, whose name she consequently received. The ship was fitted with an extraordinary combination of Italian engines, French boilers, British artillery and German generators .Such was the earnestness of the Greek Navy to acquire and put the ship into operational use that she was delivered with a known deficiency in the barrel of one of her 7.5 inch guns, [a gouge in the barrel produced by a slipping of the rifling cutting tool] and hastily accepted for service on the [totally informed,as it turned out] opinion of Armstrong's chief ordnance Engineer, who judged the deffect as inconsequential to the gun's safety and performance.
The ship was launched on March 12, 1910. Her first captain was Captain Ioannis Damianos, who took command of the ship on May 16, 1911. Averof sailed for Britain, in order to participate in the festivities for the coronation of King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
and to receive her first load of ammunition. The stay in Britain was troubled, however, including running aground at Spithead
Spithead
Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds, except those from the southeast...
on June 19, forcing the ship to be drydocked for repairs, brawls with locals and a near-mutiny resulting from the unfamiliarity of the Greek sailors with blue cheese
Blue cheese
Blue cheese is a general classification of cow's milk, sheep's milk, or goat's milk cheeses that have had cultures of the mold Penicillium added so that the final product is spotted or veined throughout with blue, blue-gray or blue-green mold, and carries a distinct smell, either from that or...
. It was clear that Captain Damianos was inadequate, so he was replaced by the highly esteemed Captain 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 quickly reimposed discipline and set sail for Greece. During the journey, Kountouriotis took care to train the crew, with the notable exception of gunnery practice, since ammunition was limited. Averof finally sailed in Faliron Bay, near Athens, on September 1, 1911. Averof was at the time the most modern and powerful ship in the navies of either the Balkan League
Balkan League
The Balkan League was an alliance formed by a series of bilateral treaties concluded in 1912 between the Balkan states of Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro and Serbia, and directed against the Ottoman Empire, which at the time still controlled much of the Balkan peninsula...
or the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
.
The Balkan Wars
With the outbreak of the First Balkan WarFirst 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...
, Kountouriotis was named Rear Admiral and Commander-in-Chief of the Hellenic Royal Navy. Averof, under Captain Sofoklis Dousmanis
Sofoklis Dousmanis
Sofoklis Dousmanis was a Greek naval officer. Distinguished in the Balkan Wars, he became twice the chief of the Greek Navy General Staff, and occupied the post of Navy Minister in 1935....
, served as the flagship of the fleet, and she took part in the liberation of the islands of the northern and 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...
. During the naval battles at 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...
(December 3, 1912) and Lemnos
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....
(January 5, 1913) against the Ottoman Navy, she almost single-handedly secured victory and the undisputed control of the Aegean Sea
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...
for Greece. In both battles, due to her superior speed, armor and armament, she left the battle line and pursued the Turkish Fleet alone. During the Battle of Elli, Kountouriotis, frustrated by the slow speed of the three older Greek battleships, hoisted the Flag Signal
International maritime signal flags
The system of international maritime signal flags is one system of flag signals representing individual letters of the alphabet in signals to or from ships...
for the letter Z which stood for "Independent Action", and sailed forward alone, with a speed of 20 knots against the Turkish fleet. Averof succeeded in crossing the Turkish fleet's "T"
Crossing the T
Crossing the T or Capping the T is a classic naval warfare tactic attempted from the late 19th to mid 20th century, in which a line of warships crossed in front of a line of enemy ships, allowing the crossing line to bring all their guns to bear while receiving fire from only the forward guns of...
and concentrated her fire against the Ottoman flagship, thus forcing the Ottoman fleet to retreat in disorder. Likewise, during the Battle of Lemnos, when the older battleships failed to follow up with Averof, Kountouriotis did not hesitate to pursue independent action.
During both battles, the ship suffered only slight damage, while inflicting severe damage to several Turkish ships. These exploits propelled the ship and her Admiral to legendary status in Greece. After Lemnos
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....
, the crew of the Averof affectionately nicknamed her "Lucky Uncle George", while the Turks nicknamed her the "devil ship" (sheitán papór). It is a notable fact that, due to the aforementioned delays in the delivery of ammunition, Averof fired her guns for the first time during the Battle of Elli.
World Wars and aftermath
During World War IWorld 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...
, Averof did not see much active service, as Greece was neutral during the first years of the war, and in deep internal turmoil (see National Schism). After the Noemvriana
Noemvriana
The Noemvriana of November–December 1916 was a political dispute, which led to an armed confrontation in Athens between the royalist government of Greece and the Allies forces over the issue of Greece's neutrality during World War I....
riots of 1916 however, she was seized by the French, and returned only after Greece's formal entry in the war, in June 1917. After the war's end, Averof sailed with other Allied ships to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, receiving an ecstatic welcome from the city's Greeks. She continued as the flagship of the RHN under Rear Admiral I. Ipitis, participating in landings in Eastern Thrace and bombardments of the Turkish Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
shore during the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922)
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...
and helped in the evacuation of the refugees after the Greek Army's defeat. In 1925-27 she underwent major reconstruction in France, in which she received modern anti-aircraft armament, a new foremast and improved fire control equipment, while the obsolete torpedo tubes were removed.
After Germany's attack against 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...
in 1941 and the collapse of the front, the ship's crew disobeyed the orders to scuttle the ship to avoid capture by the Germans, and sailed to Souda Bay
Souda Bay
Souda Bay is a bay and natural harbour on the northwest coast of the Greek island of Crete. The bay is about 15 km long and only two to four km wide, and a deep natural harbour. It is formed between the Akrotiri peninsula and Cape Drapano, and runs west to east...
, Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
, under the constant threat of German air strikes (which had sunk HMS Kelly
HMS Kelly (F01)
HMS Kelly was a K-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy, and flotilla leader of her class. She served through the early years of the Second World War; in Home Waters, off Norway and in the Mediterranean. Throughout her service, Kelly was commanded by Lord Louis Mountbatten. She was lost in...
, the ship commanded by Lord Louis Mountbatten, and many other Greek and British warships during the evacuation of Greece). The Commanding Officer embarked from a rope ladder when the ship was already underway. Thence the ship sailed 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...
, arriving there on April 23. From August 1941 to the end of 1942, the ship was assigned to convoy escort and patrol duties in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
, based at Bombay. After that, she was anchored at Port Said
Port Said
Port Said is a city that lies in north east Egypt extending about 30 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal, with an approximate population of 603,787...
. On October 17, 1944, once again as the flagship of the exiled Hellenic Navy, under the command Captain Theodoros Koundouriotis (the Admiral's son), she carried the Greek government-in-exile back to liberated Athens. The ship continued to serve as Fleet Headquarters until she was decommissioned in 1952. She remained anchored at Salamis until she was towed to Poros
Poros
Poros is a small Greek island-pair in the southern part of the Saronic Gulf, at a distance about 58 km south from Piraeus and separated from the Peloponnese by a 200-metre wide sea channel, with the town of Galatas on the mainland across the strait. Its surface is about and it has 4,117...
, where she remained from 1956 to 1983.
The Averof today
In 1984, the Navy decided to restore her as a museum, and in the same year she was towed to Faliron Bay, where she is anchored to this day and functioning as a floating museum, seeking to promote the historical consolidation and upkeep of the Greek naval tradition. Free guided tours are provided to visiting schools and on holidays. She is anchored at the Trocadero quay, next to the Faliron Marina and the Resteion swimming pool and park.The ship is regarded as in active service, carrying the Rear Admiral's Rank Flag a square blue flag with white cross, like the Greek jack, with two white stars in each of the two squares on the flagstaff side (see photo at right, also see and) on the top of the mainmast with the Masthead Pennant
Pennant (commissioning)
The commissioning pennant is a pennant flown from the masthead of a warship. The history of flying a commissioning pennant dates back to the days of chivalry with their trail pendants being flown from the mastheads of ships they commanded...
(a long triangular blue flag with a white orthogonal Greek cross) displaced downward. Every Hellenic Navy ship entering or sailing in Faliron Bay honours the Averof while passing. The crew are ordered to attention (with the "Still to" order) and from the relevant Boatswain's pipe
Boatswain's pipe
A boatswain's call or pipe is a pipe used on naval ships by a boatswain. It is pronounced, and sometimes spelled, "bosun's call".The pipe consists of a narrow tube which directs air over a metal sphere with a hole in the top. The player opens and closes the hand over the hole to change the pitch...
(or bugle call) every man on decks stands to attention, officers saluting, looking to the side where the Averof is in sight until "Continue" is ordered (this link is an mp3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
sound recording of the order in Greek "Still to port side", the boatswain's pipe call and the order "Continue").
In June 2010 the ship was involved in a scandal after being used as the stage for a lavish wedding party by Greek shipowner Leo Patitsas and TV persona Marietta Chrousala
Marietta Chrousala
Marietta Chrousala also spelled Marieta Chrousala, Marieta Hrousala, born 1983 in Rizari, Edessa, is a Greek fashion model and television presenter.-Career:...
. The publication of photos from the party by the Proto Thema
Proto Thema
To Proto Thema is a Greek newspaper, published every Sunday. It was launched in 2005 by Makis Triantafyllopoulos, Themos Anastasiadis, and Tassos Karamitsos...
tabloid caused major political uproar, resulting in the dismissal of the ship's commander, Commodore
Commodore (rank)
Commodore is a military rank used in many navies that is superior to a navy captain, but below a rear admiral. Non-English-speaking nations often use the rank of flotilla admiral or counter admiral as an equivalent .It is often regarded as a one-star rank with a NATO code of OF-6, but is not always...
Evangelos Gavalas.
External links
- Georgios Averof Museum Web Page
- HNSA Web Page: Hellenic cruiser Averof
- History of Georgios Averof cruiser
- The ship in brief
- Photographic tour of the ship
- Relevant U boat Net page
- Photo gallery
- "G. Averof" March in mp3 from the Greek Navy's web page