Greek destroyer Lonchi
Encyclopedia
Lonchi (Greek
: Α/Τ Λόγχη, "Spear") was a Thyella class
destroyer
that served in the Royal Hellenic Navy
beginning in 1907. The ship, along with her three sister ships, was ordered from England
in 1906 and was built in the Yarrow
shipyard at Cubitt Town
, London
. Lonchi was 220 feet (67.1 m), displaced 352 metric tons (346.4 LT), and was armed with two 18 in (45.7 cm) torpedo tubes, two 76 mm (3 in) guns, and two 57 mm (2.2 in) guns.
Lonchi saw active service during the Balkan Wars
, as part of the invasion fleet that seized several islands in the Aegean Sea in the first week of the war. For the remainder of the conflict, Lonchi participated in the naval blockade of the Dardanelles
. During World War I
, Greece belatedly entered the war on the side of the Triple Entente
and, due to Greece's neutrality the four Thyella class ships were seized by the Allies in October 1916, taken over by the French in November and served in the French Navy 1917–1918. By 1918, they were back on escort duty under Greek colors, mainly in the Aegean Sea
. Lonchi saw action in the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922). After the war, she was stricken in 1926 and broken up in 1931.
shipyard at Cubitt Town
, London
in 1905, along with three sister ships, Thyella
, Nafkratousa
, and Sfendoni. Lonchi was launched on 10 July 1907. The ship was 220 feet (67.1 m) long and had a beam of 20 in 6 in (6.25 m) and a draft of 6 ft (1.8 m). At normal displacement, Lonchi displaced 352 metric tons (346.4 LT), and at full combat load her displacement rose to 380 MT (374 LT). The ship was powered by a pair of vertical triple expansion engines supplied with steam by four Yarrow water-tube coal-burning boilers. The power plant had a designed output of 6000 ihp and a top speed of 30 knots (16.3 m/s), but on trials
, the four ships averaged between 6263 ihp and 6524 ihp and speeds of 31.8 knot.
Lonchi was armed with a variety of weapons. Her primary offensive armament was a pair of 18 in (45.7 cm) torpedo tubes in two revolving, above-water mounts emplaced on her stern
. She was also equipped with a light gun armament consisting of a pair of 76 mm (3 in) Hotchkiss guns and a pair of 57 mm (2.2 in) Hotchkiss guns.
, pitting the decaying Ottoman Empire
against Greece, Serbia
, and Bulgaria
, broke out on 19 October 1912. The Greek Navy quickly gained superiority in the Aegean; on the day before hostilities began, the main Greek naval force, including the powerful armored cruiser
Georgios Averof, the three elderly s, and fourteen destroyers including Lonchi, departed from Piraeus
and landed troops at Mudros Bay on the 20th. The island was firmly in Greek control by the next day, after which the naval force conducted a series of amphibious assaults throughout the Aegean, capturing Thasos
, Samothrace
, Imbros
, and Tenedos
in the span of several days. Following the seizure of the Aegean islands, the Greek Navy conducted a blockade of the Dardanelles
, which effectively kept the Ottoman Navy bottled up for the remainder of the war.
At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Greece's monarch, Constantine I
, decided to remain neutral. The Entente
powers landed troops in Salonika in 1915, which was a source of tension between France and Greece. Ultimately, the French seized the Greek Navy on 19 October 1916. The Greek light forces, including Lonchi, were incorporated into the French Navy and flew the French naval ensign. Constantine I refused to accept an agreement with the Entente, and was forced to abdicate. His son, Alexander of Greece
, was installed as king and acceded to Entente demands and declared war on the Central Powers
on 2 July 1917. Lonchi, however, remained in French service through 1918.
After the end of World War I and the defeat of the Ottoman Empire
, Greece moved to seize Ottoman holdings in the Aegean
and Asia Minor
. The entire Greek Navy, including Lonchi, was pushed into heavy service patrolling the eastern Mediterranean and in support of land operations. Operations came to a close in September 1922 when the Greek Army was forced to evacuate by sea, along with a sizable number of civilians, from Asia Minor. The fleet transported a total of 250,000 soldiers and civilians during the evacuation. By 1926, Lonchi was in bad condition and she was stricken from the naval register. The ship was finally broken up for scrap in 1931.
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;...
: Α/Τ Λόγχη, "Spear") was a Thyella class
Thyella class destroyer
The Thyella class of destroyers were ordered by the Royal Hellenic Navy before World War I when the Greek government embarked on a naval buildup after losing the Greco-Turkish War of 1897...
destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
that served in 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...
beginning in 1907. The ship, along with her three sister ships, was ordered from England
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1906 and was built in the Yarrow
Yarrow Shipbuilders
Yarrow Limited , often styled as simply Yarrows, was a major shipbuilding firm based in the Scotstoun district of Glasgow on the River Clyde...
shipyard at Cubitt Town
Cubitt Town
Cubitt Town is an area on the Isle of Dogs in Tower Hamlets in London, England. It is on the east of the Isle, facing Greenwich across the River Thames. To the west is Millwall, to the northwest Canary Wharf and to the north, across the Blue Bridge, Blackwall...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Lonchi was 220 feet (67.1 m), displaced 352 metric tons (346.4 LT), and was armed with two 18 in (45.7 cm) torpedo tubes, two 76 mm (3 in) guns, and two 57 mm (2.2 in) guns.
Lonchi saw active service 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 part of the invasion fleet that seized several islands in the Aegean Sea in the first week of the war. For the remainder of the conflict, Lonchi participated in the naval blockade of the Dardanelles
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately...
. 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, due to Greece's neutrality the four Thyella class ships were seized by the Allies in October 1916, taken over by the French in November and served in the French Navy 1917–1918. By 1918, they were back on escort duty under Greek colors, mainly in 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...
. Lonchi saw action in the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922). After the war, she was stricken in 1926 and broken up in 1931.
Construction
Lonchi was ordered from YarrowYarrow Shipbuilders
Yarrow Limited , often styled as simply Yarrows, was a major shipbuilding firm based in the Scotstoun district of Glasgow on the River Clyde...
shipyard at Cubitt Town
Cubitt Town
Cubitt Town is an area on the Isle of Dogs in Tower Hamlets in London, England. It is on the east of the Isle, facing Greenwich across the River Thames. To the west is Millwall, to the northwest Canary Wharf and to the north, across the Blue Bridge, Blackwall...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1905, along with three sister ships, Thyella
Greek destroyer Thyella
Thyella was a Thyella class destroyer that served in the Royal Hellenic Navy . It was the first ship of that name in the Hellenic Navy....
, Nafkratousa
Greek Destroyer Nafkratousa
Nafkratousa was a Thyella class destroyer that served in the Royal Hellenic Navy . It was named after an ancient ship of the Greek-Egyptian colony of Naucratis....
, and Sfendoni. Lonchi was launched on 10 July 1907. The ship was 220 feet (67.1 m) long and had a beam of 20 in 6 in (6.25 m) and a draft of 6 ft (1.8 m). At normal displacement, Lonchi displaced 352 metric tons (346.4 LT), and at full combat load her displacement rose to 380 MT (374 LT). The ship was powered by a pair of vertical triple expansion engines supplied with steam by four Yarrow water-tube coal-burning boilers. The power plant had a designed output of 6000 ihp and a top speed of 30 knots (16.3 m/s), but on trials
Sea trial
A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft . It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and can last from a few hours to many days.Sea trials are conducted to measure a vessel’s...
, the four ships averaged between 6263 ihp and 6524 ihp and speeds of 31.8 knot.
Lonchi was armed with a variety of weapons. Her primary offensive armament was a pair of 18 in (45.7 cm) torpedo tubes in two revolving, above-water mounts emplaced on her stern
Stern
The stern is the rear or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite of the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Originally, the term only referred to the aft port section...
. She was also equipped with a light gun armament consisting of a pair of 76 mm (3 in) Hotchkiss guns and a pair of 57 mm (2.2 in) Hotchkiss guns.
Service history
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...
, pitting the decaying 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...
against Greece, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, and Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, broke out on 19 October 1912. The Greek Navy quickly gained superiority in the Aegean; on the day before hostilities began, the main Greek naval force, including the powerful 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...
Georgios Averof, the three elderly s, and fourteen destroyers including Lonchi, departed from Piraeus
Piraeus
Piraeus is a city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens Urban Area, 12 km southwest from its city center , and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf....
and landed troops at Mudros Bay on the 20th. The island was firmly in Greek control by the next day, after which the naval force conducted a series of amphibious assaults throughout the Aegean, capturing Thasos
Thasos
Thasos or Thassos is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea, close to the coast of Thrace and the plain of the river Nestos but geographically part of Macedonia. It is the northernmost Greek island, and 12th largest by area...
, Samothrace
Samothrace
Samothrace is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. It is a self-governing municipality within the Evros peripheral unit of Thrace. The island is long and is in size and has a population of 2,723 . Its main industries are fishing and tourism. Resources on the island includes granite and...
, Imbros
Imbros
Imbros or Imroz, officially referred to as Gökçeada since July 29, 1970 , is an island in the Aegean Sea and the largest island of Turkey, part of Çanakkale Province. It is located at the entrance of Saros Bay and is also the westernmost point of Turkey...
, and Tenedos
Tenedos
Tenedos or Bozcaada or Bozdja-Ada is a small island in the Aegean Sea, part of the Bozcaada district of Çanakkale province in Turkey. , Tenedos has a population of about 2,354. The main industries are tourism, wine production and fishing...
in the span of several days. Following the seizure of the Aegean islands, the Greek Navy conducted a blockade of the Dardanelles
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately...
, which effectively kept the Ottoman Navy bottled up for the remainder of the war.
At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Greece's monarch, Constantine I
Constantine I of Greece
Constantine I was King of Greece from 1913 to 1917 and from 1920 to 1922. He was commander-in-chief of the Hellenic Army during the unsuccessful Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and led the Greek forces during the successful Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, in which Greece won Thessaloniki and doubled in...
, decided to remain neutral. The 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....
powers landed troops in Salonika in 1915, which was a source of tension between France and Greece. Ultimately, the French seized the Greek Navy on 19 October 1916. The Greek light forces, including Lonchi, were incorporated into the French Navy and flew the French naval ensign. Constantine I refused to accept an agreement with the Entente, and was forced to abdicate. His son, Alexander of Greece
Alexander of Greece
Alexander reigned as King of Greece from 1917 to 1920 until his unusual death as the result of sepsis contracted by being bitten by two monkeys.-Early life:...
, was installed as king and acceded to Entente demands and declared war on the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
on 2 July 1917. Lonchi, however, remained in French service through 1918.
After the end of World War I and the defeat of 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...
, Greece moved to seize Ottoman holdings in the 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 Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
. The entire Greek Navy, including Lonchi, was pushed into heavy service patrolling the eastern Mediterranean and in support of land operations. Operations came to a close in September 1922 when the Greek Army was forced to evacuate by sea, along with a sizable number of civilians, from Asia Minor. The fleet transported a total of 250,000 soldiers and civilians during the evacuation. By 1926, Lonchi was in bad condition and she was stricken from the naval register. The ship was finally broken up for scrap in 1931.