Hellenic Navy
[citation needed] The motto of the Hellenic Navy is "Μέγα τὸ τῆς θαλάσσης κράτος" from Thucydides' account of Pericles' oration on the eve of the Peloponnesian War.Under the leadership of capable admirals, most prominently Andreas Miaoulis from Hydra, the Greek fleet achieved early victories, guaranteeing the survival of the revolution in the mainland.Plagued by internal strife and financial difficulties in keeping the fleet in constant readiness, the Greeks failed to prevent the capture and destruction of Kasos and Psara in 1824, or the landing of the Egyptian army at Modon.When Ioannis Capodistrias became governor of newly liberated Greece in 1828, the Greek fleet consisted of few remaining ships, which had participated in the war for independence.The first minister of "Naval affairs" was Konstantinos Kanaris, and the most powerful ship of the fleet at that time, the frigate Hellas, had been constructed in the United States in 1825.Young people were initially trained at the military school of Scholi Evelpidon and afterwards they were transferred to the navy, as there was no such thing as a Naval Academy.[5] On October 29, 1863, following an enthronement ceremony in his native Copenhagen and a tour of several of the European capitals, Prince Wilhelm of Denmark arrived aboard the Greek flagship Hellas, to take up the throne as King George I of Greece.Such failure led to the government awakening to the problem of naval insufficiency and the adoption of a policy stating that: "The navy, as it represents a necessary weapon for Greece, should only be created for war and aim to victory."Because of this, the fleet was supplied with new and bigger ships, reflecting a number of innovations including the use of iron in shipbuilding industry and the invention of the torpedo; with these advances, the effectiveness and the appearance of the Hellenic Navy changed.After the war, in 1897, the Ottoman Empire embarked on a program of naval expansion for its fleet and as a response to that, in 1909, the cruiser Georgios Averof was bought from Italy.In 1910, a British naval mission arrived, headed by Admiral Lionel Grant Tufnell, in order to recommend improvements in the organization and training of the navy.To that end, its commander-in-chief, Rear Admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis, established a forward base at the Moudros bay at Lemnos, directly opposite the Dardanelles straits.Both governments embarked on a naval armaments race, with Greece purchasing the battleships Lemnos and Kilkis and the light cruiser Elli as well as ordering two dreadnoughts, Vasilefs Konstantinos and Salamis and a number of destroyers.After some minor repairs at Gümüşlük Bay in Turkey Adrias managed to return to Alexandria in a 400-mile (640 km) trip, even though all the forepart of the ship, up to the bridge, was missing.After World War II, the Royal Hellenic Navy was significantly strengthened by the concession of British and Italian ships.The arrivals of Hydra class (MEKO 200 HN) and more Standard-class frigates, along with the orders for more missile corvettes, Poseidon-class (Type 209) submarines, and naval helicopters allowed for the retirement any obsolete vessels.Greece ordered Type 214 submarines that feature an air-independent propulsion (AIP) system, Sikorsky S-70B-6/10 Aegean Hawk helicopters, and Project 1232.2 Zubr-class hovercraft from Russia & Ukraine.[10] Also, plans for the Hellenic Navy to acquire the Sa'ar 72 Israeli corvette of the new Themistocles class came to fruition after an agreement signed in June 2020, with exclusive production in Greece.None of the ships was equipped with a remote weapon station (RWS) for the purpose of asymmetric warfare and coastal defence and the electronic countermeasures systems (ECM) were absent or obsolete.[14] On November 6, 2020, the Navy submitted its initial preference for the acquisition of 4 MMSC Littoral Combat Ships developed by Lockheed Martin.The FFG(X) type frigate, now named Constellation class, is a multi-mission guided-missile ship, under development for the United States Navy by Fincantieri Marinette Marine.However all other proposals, also including those from the Netherlands, the UK, Spain and Italy, remained on the table pending closest evaluation of the packages offered by all participating companies.During his visit to the French capital and his meeting with President Emmanuel Macron, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced the procurement of 3+1 French FDI-HN Frigates and 3+1 Gowind-HN class Corvettes in a €5 billion deal spreading to 2026,[16] with the later class still being configured to meet the Hellenic Navy's needs.By 2030, the recently upgraded Type-209/1500 AIP (HS Okeanos, former Type-209/1200) will have exceeded 50 years since entering service; therefore it is questionable whether it will still be part of the Greek fleet by that time.All older vessels of other types, with the exemption of three Votsis class boats which are about to be retired soon with the introduction of the new Roussens, have replaced their old MM38 and Penguin missile systems with Harpoon launchers.[23] The project was the development and construction, in collaboration with the Navy, of an advanced Asymmetric Warfare Vessel (AWV) that uses the latest technologies and composite materials.In April 2020 the Navy received the first four Mark V Special Operations Craft, ordered via the United States Excess Defense Articles programme.[26] A decision was made in 2014 for the re-activation of existing Lockheed P-3B Orions and their submission to a program of overhaul, upgrade and service life extension.The Zubr craft have a military lift of total 130 tonnes of cargo with three battle tanks, eight armoured vehicles, ten personnel carriers and 140 troops or combinations of those and a speed of 40 knots when fully loaded.It also operates two Greek-built transport ships of the Pandora class, six coastline patrol boats, three minehunters, three torpedo retrievers, seventeen tugboats (both open sea and harbour), four oceanographic & scientific research vessels and two lighthouse tenders.
Hellenistic-era warshipsGreecewarshipsmemorial shipsaircraftHellenic Armed ForcesSt. NicholasGreek War of IndependenceGreco-Turkish War (1897)Balkan WarsWorld War IRussian Civil WarGreco-Turkish War (1919–1922)World War IIOperation Golden FleeceUNIFILOperation Desert StormOperation Desert ShieldOperation Sharp GuardOperation Enduring FreedomOperation Active EndeavourOperation AtalantaOperation Ocean Shield2011 military intervention in LibyaWar on TerrorOperation IriniOperation Prosperity GuardianOperation AspidesChief of the Navy General StaffVice AdmiralAndreas MiaoulisKonstantinos KanarisPavlos KountouriotisIoannis DemestichasromanizedAegean IslandsmonarchyGreen-water navyThucydidesPericlesPeloponnesian WaranchorChristian crosstridentGreek OrthodoxyPoseidonGreek mythologyHistory of the Hellenic NavyNikiphoros LytrasSaronicSpetsaiOttoman Empireships of the linefireshipsMuhammad Ali of EgyptBattle of NavarinoBritainFranceRussian EmpireIoannis CapodistriasHellasUnited StatesScholi EvelpidonanarchyBattle of IteaYiannis PoulakasKing OttoNafplionHMS MadagascarLoudovikosLeonidas PalaskasmodernizationpiratesKing George I of GreeceCretanRusso-Turkish WarSalamisNaval AcademyIlias KanellopoulosFrench naval missionCharilaos TrikoupisGreco-Turkish WarHellenic Navy General StaffGeorgios AverofLionel Grant TufnellL'IllustrationBattle of LemnosMoudrosLemnosDardanellesKilkisdreadnoughtsFirst World WarThe Hellenic Navy in 1917occupation of ConstantinopleEleftherios VenizelosEntenteKing Constantine INational SchismAllied expeditionDenikinWhite ArmiesUkraineGreco-Turkish War of 1919–1922Italian destroyersMilitary history of Greece during World War IIAdriasGreco-Italian WarIonian SeaStrait of OtrantodivisionsNazi Germanyattacked GreeceLuftwaffeBritish Mediterranean FleetAlexandriaRoyal NavyVasilissa OlgaMediterranean SeaOperation OverlordKalymnosfast attack craftType 209 submarinesFRAM IINetherlandsStandard-class