Greek battleship Psara
| 300px Psara - Θ/Κ Ψαρά | |
| Career (Greece) | 60px |
|---|---|
| Namesake: | Psara Island |
| Ordered: | 1885 |
| Laid down: | 1885 |
| Launched: | 1890 |
| Commissioned: | 1890 |
| Decommissioned: | c. 1920 |
| Fate: | sold for scrap |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | Standard 4,885 tons |
| Length: | 103 m |
| Beam: | 15.8 m |
| Draft: | 6.4 m |
| Propulsion: | steam engine |
| Speed: | 20-knot (37 km/h) maximum |
| Armament: |
3 x10.6-inch (269 mm) 5 x 5.9-inch (150 mm) |
| Armour: |
10-28 cm on the hull 7 cm on the deck |
The steel ironclad warship Psara (Greek: Θ/Κ Ψαρά), named for one of the Aegean Sea islands that played a key role in the war at sea during the Greek War of Independence, served in the Royal Hellenic Navy from 1889 - 1929.
The ship, along with her two sister ships of the Hydra class (Spetsai and Hydra), was ordered from France in 1885 during the premiership of Charilaos Trikoupis, as part of a wider reorganization and modernization of the Hellenic armed forces, which had proved themselves inadequate during the Cretan uprising of 1866 and the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878.
The ship saw limited action in the Greco-Turkish War (1897). In 1899 she visited officially Marseilles for the celebration of the anniversary of the foundation of the city and in 1902 represented the Greek government in the coronation of Edward VII of the United Kingdom. By the outbreak of the Balkan Wars in 1912, Psara was already obsolete, however she did take part in the war under the command of Captain Andreas Miaoulis. She, along with the other two Hydra class battleships, took part in the two decisive naval battles of Elli and Limnos.
During World War I, Greece belatedly entered the war on the side of the Triple Entente and the Hydra class ships served as coastal defense. Afterwards Psara became a school for quartermasters and later a school for junior boys at Poros, until she was sold for scrap in 1932.[1]
References
- ↑ Vice Admiral C. Paizis-Paradellis, HN (2002). Hellenic Warships 1829-2001 (3rd Edition). Athens, Greece: The Society for the study of Greek History. pp. 153. ISBN 960-8172-14-4.
See also
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