History of the Hellenic Navy
Under the leadership of capable admirals, most prominently Andreas Miaoulis of Hydra, the Greek fleet achieved early victories, guaranteeing the survival of the revolt 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 despite victories at Samos and Gerontas.
When Ioannis Capodistrias became governor of newly liberated Greece, 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.
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 obsolete battleships Lemnos and Kilkis and the light cruiser Elli as well as ordering two dreadnoughts, Vasilefs Konstantinos and the Salamis and a number of destroyers.
Greece entered World War II with a weak navy consisting of ten destroyers, two outdated battleships, two light cruisers and six submarines.
[3] The Hellenic Navy suffered its first loss of the war on 15 August 1940 (two months before the formal outbreak of hostilities) when the cruiser Elli was sunk by the Italian submarine Delfino, possibly acting on Mussolini's orders.
It was then decided to shift the remaining fleet (one cruiser -the famous Georgios Averof-, six destroyers, five submarines, three torpedo boats and a number of auxiliary vessels) to Alexandria in Egypt.
After some minor repairs at Gümüşlük Bay in Turkey Adrias managed to return to Alexandria in a 400-mile trip, even though all the forepart of the ship, up to the bridge, was missing.
The arrivals of the 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 the retirement of the obsolete vessels.
The advance continued when Greece ordered Type 214 submarines that feature an air-independent propulsion system, Sikorsky S-70B-6/10 Aegean Hawk helicopters and Zubr-class hovercraft from Russia.
