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Greek ironclad Hydra

Idra2b.jpg
Hydra - Ὕδρα
History
Hellenic Naval Ensign 1935.svgGreece
Namesake: Hydra Island
Ordered: 1885
Builder: St. Nazaire
Launched: 1889
Decommissioned: 1918
Fate: Scrapped in 1929
General characteristics
Class and type: Hydra class ironclad
Displacement: 4,808 t (4,732 long tons; 5,300 short tons)
Length: 334 feet 8 inches (102.01 m)
Beam: 51 ft 10 in (15.80 m)
Draft: 18 ft (5.5 m)
Propulsion: 2 steam engines
Speed: 17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph)
Crew: 400
Armament:
  • 3 × 10.8 in (270 mm) guns
  • 5 × 5.9 in (150 mm) guns
  • 4 × 3.4 in (86 mm) guns
  • 4 × 3-pounder guns
  • 4 × 1-pounder guns
  • 6 × 1-pounder revolver cannons
  • 3 × 14 in (360 mm) torpedo tubes
Armor:
  • Belt: 12 in (300 mm)
  • Barbettes: 14 in (360 mm)

Hydra (Greek: Ὕδρα) was an ironclad warship of the Greek Navy, named for Hydra, one of the Saronic Gulf islands which played a key role in the war at sea during the Greek War of Independence. The lead ship of her class of ironclads, she was ordered in 1885 in response to a crisis in the Balkans and Ottoman naval expansion. The ship was launched in 1889 and delivered to Greece by 1892. She was armed with a main battery of three 10.8 in (270 mm) guns and five 5.9 in (150 mm) guns, and had a top speed of 17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph).

Hydra and her sisters saw heavy service with the Greek Navy. They participated in the Greco–Turkish War in 1897 until the Great Powers intervened and prevented the Greek Navy from capitalizing on their superiority over the Ottoman Navy. Hydra saw action in the First Balkan War at the Naval Battle of Elli and was present at the Naval Battle of Lemnos, but was too slow to actively engage the Ottoman forces. She did not see action during World War I, and was reduced to a gunnery training ship after the end of the war. She was ultimately broken up for scrap in 1929.

In 1885, Greece ordered three new ironclads of the Hydra class.Hydra was ordered from the Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire shipyard in St. Nazaire, France during the premiership of Charilaos Trikoupis. The ship, named for the island of Hydra, was launched in 1889, and by 1892, she and her sister-ships Spetsai and Psara were delivered to the Greek fleet. The ship was 334 feet 8 inches (102.01 m) long between perpendiculars and had a beam of 51 ft 10 in (15.80 m) and a mean draft of 18 ft (5.5 m). She displaced 4,808 metric tons (4,732 long tons; 5,300 short tons) as built. She was powered by a pair of steam engines of unknown type; they were rated at 6,700 indicated horsepower (5,000 kW) and provided a top speed of 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph). Coal storage amounted to 500 t (490 long tons; 550 short tons).


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