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''Georgios Averof'' () is a modified
armored cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a pre-dreadnought battles ...
built in Italy for the
Royal Hellenic Navy The Hellenic Navy (HN; , abbreviated ΠΝ) is the naval force of Greece, part of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy historically hails from the naval forces of various Aegean Islands, which fought in the Greek War of Independence. ...
in the first decade of the 20th century. The ship served as the Greek
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...
during most of the first half of the century. Although popularly known as a
battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...
() in Greek, she is in fact an armored cruiser (), the only ship of this type still in existence. The ship was initially ordered by the Italian
Regia Marina The , ) (RM) or Royal Italian Navy was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy () from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the changed its name to '' Marina Militare'' ("Military Navy"). Origin ...
, but budgetary constraints led Italy to offer it for sale to international customers. With the bequest of the wealthy benefactor George Averoff as down payment, Greece acquired the ship in 1909. Launched in 1910, ''Averof'' arrived in Greece in September 1911. The most modern warship in the Aegean at the time, she served as the flagship of admiral
Pavlos Kountouriotis Pavlos Kountouriotis (; 9 April 1855 – 22 August 1935) was a Greek admiral who served during the Balkan Wars, was regent of Greece, and the first president of the Second Hellenic Republic. In total he served four times as head of the Greek st ...
in the
First Balkan War The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...
, and played a major role in the establishment of Greek predominance over the
Ottoman Navy The Ottoman Navy () or the Imperial Navy (), also known as the Ottoman Fleet, was the naval warfare arm of the Ottoman Empire. It was established after the Ottomans first reached the sea in 1323 by capturing Praenetos (later called Karamürsel ...
and the incorporation of many Aegean islands to Greece. The ship continued to serve in
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, and the
interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...
, receiving a modernization in France in 1925 to 1927. Following the
German invasion of Greece The German invasion of Greece or Operation Marita (), were the attacks on Kingdom of Greece, Greece by Kingdom of Italy, Italy and Nazi Germany, Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usually known as the Gr ...
in April 1941, ''Averof'' participated in the exodus of the Greek fleet to
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
. Hopelessly obsolete and prone to mechanical breakdowns, she nevertheless spent the next three years as a convoy escort and guard ship in the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
and at the
Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...
. In October 1944, she carried the
Greek government in exile The Greek government-in-exile was formed in 1941, in the aftermath of the Battle of Greece and the subsequent occupation of Greece by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. The government-in-exile was based first in South Africa, then London, then, fi ...
back to liberated Athens, after the withdrawal of the German army. In 1952, she was decommissioned, before being moved to
Poros Poros (; ) is a small Greek island-pair in the southern part of the Saronic Gulf, about south of the port of Piraeus and separated from the Peloponnese by a wide sea channel, with the town of Galatas on the mainland across the strait. Its surf ...
, where she was berthed from 1956 to 1983. From 1984 until today, she has been reinstated on active duty as a
museum ship A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...
in the Naval Tradition Park in Faliro,
Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
. After maintenance in late 2017, she achieved seaworthiness state once again, allowing the ship to sail (towed) accompanied by Greek frigate '' Kountouriotis'' (F-462) (Φ/Γ Κουντουριώτης) to Thessaloniki Greece where she received more than 130,000 visitors over her 53-day stay.


History


Construction and arrival in Greece

At the beginning of the 20th century, Greece decided to reinforce its fleet, whose ships were fast becoming obsolete due to the rapidly advancing naval technology of the era. The navy procured eight
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...
s (then a relatively new type of ship) between 1905 and 1907, but the most important addition was the armored cruiser ''Georgios Averof''. Like her Italian sisters and , she was being built at Orlando Shipyards, Livorno, Italy. When the Italian government cancelled the third ship of the class due to budgetary concerns, the Greek government immediately stepped in and bought her with a one-third downpayment (ca. 300,000 gold
pound sterling Sterling (symbol: £; currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of sterling, and the word '' pound'' is also used to refer to the British currency general ...
), the bequest of a wealthy Greek benefactor, Georgios Averof, whose name she consequently received. The ''Averof'' was fitted with a combination of Italian engines (Ansaldo type), French boilers (Belleville type), British guns (Armstrong type), and German generators and armor (Krupp type). The most discernible difference between the cruiser and her Italian sisters was the shape of her six gun turrets. The ''Averof'' encased her British-built guns in rounded pillbox-form housings with convex roof plates. She was also fitted with a foremast, which her sister-ships did not receive until after the start of the First World War. She was also equipped with a stern balcony (paying homage to the old wooden sailing ships of the Middle Ages and of the Greek War of Independence). She was also equipped with a small orthodox chapel inside her, dedicated to Saint Nicholas, the Patron Saint of sailors. And was finally equipped with a steel ram in her inverted bow (paying homage to the ancient triremes). Such was the urgency of the Greek Navy to see the ship in service, that they accepted her with a gouge inside one of the gun barrels. This had been caused by the slip of a rifling tool, but
Armstrong Whitworth Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Tyne and Wear, Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomot ...
's chief ordnance engineer correctly judged the defect as inconsequential to the weapon's performance and safety. The ''Averof'' was launched on 12 March 1910. She would be the last commissioned armored cruiser in the world, a class of warship that had already been rendered obsolete by the
battlecruiser The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of att ...
. Her first captain,
Ioannis Damianos Ioannis Damianos (, 1861–1920) was a senior Greek Navy officer who fought in the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913. He was born on 31 January 1861 in Hydra. He served in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and in the Balkan Wars of 1912–13 as head of the I ...
, took command on 16 May 1911, and the ''Averof'' immediately sailed to England for the Coronation Naval Review of
King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...
. While there, she would also receive the first load of ammunition for her British-built guns. The stay in England was troubled by running aground at
Spithead Spithead is an eastern area of the Solent and a roadstead for vessels off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast, with the Isle of Wight lying to the south-west. Spithead and the ch ...
on 19 June, which forced her into
drydock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
. While waiting for repairs, her crew was involved in a large brawl with the locals, caused by their unfamiliarity with the mould found on edible
blue cheese Blue cheese is any cheese made with the addition of Microbial food cultures, cultures of edible Mold (fungus), molds, which create blue-green spots or veins through the cheese. Blue cheeses vary in flavor from mild to strong and from slightly ...
. Captain Damianos was deemed inadequate to maintain discipline, and replaced by the esteemed taskmaster,
Pavlos Kountouriotis Pavlos Kountouriotis (; 9 April 1855 – 22 August 1935) was a Greek admiral who served during the Balkan Wars, was regent of Greece, and the first president of the Second Hellenic Republic. In total he served four times as head of the Greek st ...
. During the journey home, Captain Kountouriotis thoroughly trained his crew, with the exception of gunnery practice, as ammunition was limited to special deliveries from Britain. The ''Averof'' finally reached Faliro Bay, near Athens, on 1 September 1911. At that time, she was the most modern and powerful warship in the navies of the
Balkan League The League of the Balkans was a quadruple alliance formed by a series of bilateral treaties concluded in 1912 between the Eastern Orthodox kingdoms of Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro, and directed against the Ottoman Empire, which still ...
or the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
.


Balkan Wars

With the outbreak of the
First Balkan War The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...
in October 1912, Kountouriotis was named
rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...
and commander-in-chief of the Hellenic Royal Navy. ''Averof'', under Captain Sofoklis Dousmanis, served as the flagship of the fleet, and she took part in the takeover of the islands of the northern and eastern Aegean. During the naval battles at
Elli In Norse mythology (a subset of Germanic mythology), Elli (Old Norse: , "old age"Orchard (1997:38).) is a personification of old age who, in the ''Prose Edda'' book ''Gylfaginning'', defeats Thor in a wrestling match.Graeme Davis (2013). ''Thor: ...
(3 December 1912) and
Lemnos Lemnos ( ) or Limnos ( ) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos (regional unit), Lemnos regional unit, which is part of the North Aegean modern regions of Greece ...
(5 January 1913) against the Ottoman Navy, she almost single-handedly secured victory and the undisputed control of the Aegean Sea for Greece. In both battles, due to her superior speed, armor and armament, she left the battle line and pursued the Turkish Fleet alone. During the Battle of Elli, Kountouriotis, frustrated by the slow speed of the three older Greek
battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...
s, hoisted the Flag Signal for the letter '' Z'' which stood for "Independent Action", and sailed forward alone, with a speed of against the Turkish fleet. ''Averof'' succeeded in
crossing the T Crossing the ''T'' or capping the ''T'' is a classic naval warfare tactic used from the late 19th to the mid-20th centuries in which a line of warships crosses in front of a line of enemy ships to allow the crossing line to bring all their guns ...
of the Turkish fleet and concentrated her fire against the Ottoman
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...
, thus forcing the Ottoman fleet to retreat in disorder. Likewise, during the Battle of Lemnos, when the older battleships failed to follow up with ''Averof'', Kountouriotis did not hesitate to pursue independent action. In each battle the ship suffered only slight damage, while inflicting severe damage to several Turkish ships. These exploits propelled her and her Admiral to legendary status in Greece. After the Battle of Lemnos, the crew of ''Averof'' affectionately nicknamed her "Lucky Uncle George", while the Turks dubbed her "Şeytan papor" ("The Devil's Ship"). It is a notable fact that, due to the aforementioned need to conserve ammunition which had to be secured from Britain, ''Averof'' fired her guns for the first time during the Battle of Elli. ''Georgios Averof'' is credited with successfully closing the Aegean Sea to Ottoman transports bringing fresh troops and supplies to the front during the First Balkan War. This success had a concrete impact on the land action where the Ottoman forces suffered decisive defeats. It is hypothesized that in the lack of such decisive control of the sea by the Greek Navy, the Ottoman Empire might have reinforced its forces on the Balkan Peninsula and therefore fared better in the war.


World War I and aftermath

During
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, ''Averof'' did not see much active service, as Greece was neutral during the first years of the war, and in deep internal turmoil (see
National Schism The National Schism (), also sometimes called The Great Division, was a series of disagreements between Constantine I of Greece, King Constantine I and Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos over Kingdom of Greece, Greece's foreign policy from 19 ...
). After the '' Noemvriana'' riots of 1916, she was seized by the French, and only returned after Greece formally entered the war on the side of the Allies in June 1917. After the armistice, ''Averof'' sailed with other Allied warships to
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
, where she received an ecstatic welcome from the city's many Greeks. Under Rear Admiral Ioannis Ipitis, the cruiser continued to serve as flagship of the Royal Hellenic Navy. During the
Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) The Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922 was fought between Greece and the Turkish National Movement during the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War I, between 15 May 1919 and 14 October 1922. This conflict was a par ...
, she supported troop landings in
Eastern Thrace East Thrace or Eastern Thrace, also known as Turkish Thrace or European Turkey, is the part of Turkey that is geographically in Southeast Europe. Turkish Thrace accounts for 3.03% of Turkey's land area and 15% of its population. The largest c ...
, bombarded the Turkish
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
coastline, and helped to evacuate refugees after the Greek Army's defeat. From 1925 to 1927, the cruiser underwent a major refit in France, during which she received modern anti-aircraft armament, a new tripod-foremast and conning tower, improved fire-control equipment, and an overhaul of her engines, boilers, and furnaces. The ship's obsolete 17-inch torpedo tubes were also removed. Given her age, the cost of converting the vessel to fuel-oil firing was considered prohibitive. In March 1935 the vessel evacuated
Eleftherios Venizelos Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos (, ; – 18 March 1936) was a Cretan State, Cretan Greeks, Greek statesman and prominent leader of the Greek national liberation movement. As the leader of the Liberal Party (Greece), Liberal Party, Venizelos ser ...
from
Kasos Kasos (; , ), also Casos, is a Greek island municipality in the Dodecanese. It is the southernmost island in the Aegean Sea, and is part of the regional unit Karpathos-Kasos. The capital of the island is Fri. , its population was 1,223. ...
in the Dodecanese following his failed coup attempt. On 20 May 1937, ''Averof'' joined the warships of fourteen other nations at the ''Coronation Naval Review'' in Spithead, England. She was the only one of the 150 vessels present which had also attended the previous coronation review in 1911. King George VI was reminded of the fact, as he warmly welcomed ''Averof''s captain, during the preliminary introduction of Britain's naval guests.


World War II and aftermath

In the early morning of 18 April 1941, after the collapse of the Greco-German front, the ''Averof''s crew disobeyed direct orders to scuttle the ship in preventing her possible capture by the enemy. They cut through a closed harbor-boom with axes and handsaws to let the vessel escape, and their commanding officer embarked up a rope ladder to join them as the vessel was underway. Under the constant threat of Luftwaffe air strikes (which had sunk many Greek and British warships during the evacuation), the cruiser sailed to
Souda Bay Souda Bay () is a bay and natural harbour near the town of Souda on the northwest coast of the Greek island of Crete. The bay is about 15 km long and only two to four km wide, and a deep natural harbour. It is formed between the Akroti ...
,
Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
and then on to the UK naval station at
Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
, arriving in Egypt on 23 April. While too slow to serve with the British Fleet in the Mediterranean, and also lacking sufficient anti-aircraft armament for that theatre of operation, the old armored cruiser was considered quite appropriate for escorting Indian Ocean convoys. In this capacity, she could offer more firepower than a contemporary heavy cruiser (albeit with less gunnery range), and twice their respective armour protection, quite sufficient to deal with the threat posed by German raiders operating in the sector. This task also required no more speed than her then greatly reduced maximum of 12 knots. So from September 1941 through October 1942, under British control, she was assigned to convoy escort and patrol duties in the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
and based at
Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
. The ''Averof'' left Alexandria on 30 June and passed through the Suez Canal to Port Tewfiq (Port Suez). The three weeks spent there saw her crew involved in the rescue of sailors and soldiers aboard the Cunard Line troopship MV ''Georgic'', which was set ablaze and sunk at an adjacent berth during a Luftwaffe air raid on 6 July. With several of her boilers deactivated, and the fuel-oil spraying mechanism for her coal furnaces now inoperable, the ''Averof'' was then capable of only 9 knots, insufficient for her planned convoy duties. So on 20 July, the ship departed for Port Sudan, where she underwent three weeks of emergency repairs to her oil-accelerant apparatus, raising her cruising speed to the required minimum. The vessel then resumed her passage of the Red Sea and reached the port of Aden, in late-August. From there, she sailed in an unassigned convoy crossing of the Indian Ocean, arriving at Bombay on 10 September 1941. As the ''Averof'' had not seen an overhaul of her boilers and furnaces since 1926, mechanical problems continued to plague the vessel and ultimately cut short her usefulness in convoy service. On 28 September she was assigned to escort an oil tanker convoy (BP.16) from Bombay to Basra in the Persian Gulf, but was detached before completing the voyage due to faulty boilers. This was of extra concern because on 24 September, the German
auxiliary cruiser An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...
''Kormoran'' had sunk the ''Stamatios G. Embiricos'' at the equator, ending three months of raider inactivity in the sector. By the time the ''Averof'' was forced to leave her convoy, the Greek freighter was already four days overdue to Columbo, Ceylon, meaning the enemy would have had a week to sail in any direction from the ''Embiricos last known position. However, the ''Kormoran'' had moved southeast towards Australia (and her fateful meeting with HMAS ''Sydney''), and convoy BP.16 reached Basra safely on 5 October. The ''Averof'' returned to Bombay on 4 October, where the cruiser underwent emergency repairs. On 20 December, she finally sailed again from Bombay to “cover” a troop-support convoy (BM.31B) headed for Singapore with a stop at Columbo. Here she was detached, returning to Bombay on 5 January 1942. On 9 January the ''Averof'' again put to sea in advance of the unescorted departures of six troopships from Bombay and Karachi, headed for Basra (BP.31A – 31B). The cruiser could not hope to keep up with these vessels, traveling at 14 to 16 knots, so she was once again designated as a patrol vessel (“defensive cover”) for the sea lane in which they would eventually overtake her. Turning in the Gulf of Oman, the ''Averof''s lookout spotted a modern freighter appearing to shadow the warship at a safe distance. The cruiser went to “battle stations” over the possible sighting of a merchant raider, but the suspicious vessel altered course and sped away. This incident appears to have prompted a call for gunnery practice after the ship returned to Bombay on 15 January. During these exercises in the bay outside the harbor, the recoil from one of the ''Averof''s eight-gun broadsides fractured the mounts on two of her active boilers and sent them crashing to the deck. The vessel limped into port for major repairs and did not venture out again until she departed Bombay in early November 1942. By then, she had been dubbed, “Georgios Never-off”, by the base’s Royal Navy personnel. Again repaired to a cruising capability of 12 knots, she sailed for Port Said, Egypt, in an independent passage of the Arabian and Red Seas, and took up duties as a Suez Canal guard ship from mid-November 1942. ''Averof'' was the only World War I-era armored cruiser to serve in her original capacity during World War II (several old Japanese vessels of the type acted as training ships, or were converted for minelaying). While her 9.2-inch British-built ordnance was no longer in sea service with the Royal Navy, many of these weapons had been moved to coastal batteries and their shells were readily available. The British 7.5-inch naval gun was still employed on three of the Royal Navy's ''Hawkins''-class heavy cruisers, as well as shore installations, so its ammunition also remained in production. However, this was not to prove a factor in ''Averof''s viability, as she was never again required to fire her guns in anger. On 17 October 1944, once again as the flagship of the exiled Hellenic Navy, and under the command of Captain Theodoros Kountouriotis (the Admiral's son), she carried the Greek government-in-exile from Cairo to liberated Athens. ''Averof'' continued as Fleet Headquarters until she was decommissioned in 1952. Afterward, the vessel remained anchored at Salamis until she was towed to
Poros Poros (; ) is a small Greek island-pair in the southern part of the Saronic Gulf, about south of the port of Piraeus and separated from the Peloponnese by a wide sea channel, with the town of Galatas on the mainland across the strait. Its surf ...
, where she was berthed from 1956 to 1983.


''Averof'' as a floating museum

In 1984 the Navy decided to restore her as a
museum ship A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...
, and in the same year she was towed to
Palaio Faliro Palaio Faliro (, ; Katharevousa: Palaion Faliron, Παλαιόν Φάληρον, meaning "Old Phalerum") is a town on the Saronic Gulf coast and a municipality in the southern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. At the 2021 census it had ...
,
Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
where she is anchored as a functioning floating museum, seeking to promote the historical consolidation and upkeep of the Greek naval tradition. Free guided tours are provided to visiting schools and on holidays. In 2016 she was retrofitted with an internal elevator allowing access to most decks by visitors with movement disabilities. She is berthed at Trocadero quay, as part of the Naval Tradition Park. The ship is crewed and regarded as in active service, carrying the Rear Admiral's rank flag a square blue flag with white cross, like the Greek jack, with two white stars in each of the two squares on the flagstaff side atop the
mainmast The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the median line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, giving necessary height to a navigation light ...
with the
masthead pennant The commissioning pennant (or masthead pennant) is a pennant (also spelled "pendant") flown from the masthead of a warship. The history of flying a commissioning pennant dates back to the days of chivalry with their trail pendants being flown f ...
(a long triangular blue flag with a white orthogonal Greek cross) displaced downward. Every Hellenic Navy ship entering or sailing in Faliro Bay honours ''Averof'' while passing. The crew are ordered to attention (with the "Still to" order) and from the relevant
boatswain's pipe A boatswain's call, pipe, or bosun's whistle is a Pipe (instrument), pipe or a Diaphragm (acoustics), non-diaphragm type whistle used on naval ships by a boatswain. The pipe consists of a narrow tube (the gun) which directs air over a metal sphe ...
(or bugle call) every man on decks stands to attention, officers saluting, looking to the side where ''Averof'' is in sight until "Continue" is ordered. In June 2010 the ship was involved in a scandal after being used as the stage for a lavish wedding party by Greek shipowner Leon Patitsas and TV persona
Marietta Chrousala Marietta Chrousala (: born March 11, 1983) is a Greek model, entrepreneur former television presenter and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Star Hellas 2003 and represented her country at Miss Universe 2003 pageant where she placed Top ...
. The publication of photos from the party by the '' Proto Thema'' tabloid caused major political uproar, resulting in the dismissal of her commander,
Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...
Evangelos Gavalas. On 26 April 2017, the ''Averof'' was towed from her museum dock at Palaio Faliro to the Skaramangas Shipyard, in Elefsis. Two commercial tugs and a pilot craft maneuvered the cruiser under the command of the
Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...
Sotiris Charalambopoulos. A Greek Navy tug and a helicopter also assisted the operation. At the shipyard, the ''Averof'' underwent two months of maintenance and repairs, partially funded by Greek shipping magnate and philanthropist,
Alexandros Goulandris Alexandros J. "Aleko" Goulandris (1927 – 25 May 2017) was a Greek shipowner, the son of Nicholas J. Goulandris, the founder of N. J. Goulandris. In 1952, his father left the family firm, Goulandris Bros., and founded N. J. Goulandris in Londo ...
. In May 2017, Goulandris, together with ''Hydra Ecologists Club'', and several retired Hellenic Navy officers, announced their intention to begin a thorough review of the mechanical parts that would need to be newly machined or refurbished, so that the ship might eventually sail the Aegean under steam power. If realised, it would make the ''Averof'' the oldest operational steel warship in the world. Goulandris died on 25 May 2017, three weeks after the announcement.


''Averof'' sails again

The cruiser's two months of dry dock inspection and hull maintenance were a prelude to the vessel's first voyage in 72 years. On 5 October 2017, the ''Averof'' left her long-time berth at Palaio Faliro, and was towed 250 miles across the open sea to a 50-day exhibition-docking on Thessaloniki's urban waterfront. The vessel was escorted by up to six large tugs and a pilot craft from ''Zouros Salvage & Towage''. A Hellenic Navy tugboat also accompanied them. On 7 October, the group approached the Thessaloniki dock with horns and sirens blaring, their fire-fighting nozzles shooting great plumes of water skywards. An honor guard of Greek sailors and a Hellenic Navy band were arrayed along the dock to meet the ship. After 7 weeks of heavy visitation (over 130,000 visitors in 53 days) by the general public, the ''Averof'' returned to her Palaio Faliro museum dock on 13 December.


Image gallery

File:Averof1.jpg, Layout File:Kountouriotis and crew on the deck of Averof.jpeg, Admiral Kountouriotis with the crew of ''Averof'' on the ship's deck File:The Greek Navy during the Second World War A15183.jpg, A naval band plays under ''Averof''s main guns, shortly before celebrating Independence Day during World War II File:Cruiser Averof lithograph by Christidis.jpg,
Lithograph Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...
honouring ''Averof'' printed after the
Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...
File:Averof painting 1919 Bosporus.jpg, Painting depicting ''Averof'' in the Bosporus during the
occupation of Constantinople The occupation of Istanbul () or occupation of Constantinople (12 November 1918 – 4 October 1923), the capital of the Ottoman Empire, by British, French, Italian, and Greek forces, took place in accordance with the Armistice of Mudros, w ...
in 1919.
Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia (; ; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (; ), is a mosque and former Church (building), church serving as a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The last of three church buildings to be successively ...
in the background File:Sofoklis Dousmanis.jpg, Sofoklis Dousmanis File:Greek cruiser Georgios Averof 0422.jpg, View of quarterdeck in 2013


References


Sources

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External links


''Georgios Averof'' Museum Web Page

3D tour of the ship

26 April, 2017, Towed Palaio Faliro (Athens) to Elefsis Drydock (Athens)5–7 Oct. 2017, Towed Athens-to-Thessaloniki5–7 Oct. 2017, Towed Athens-to-Thessaloniki (aerials)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Georgios Averof 1910 ships Military units and formations of Greece in the Balkan Wars Museum ships in Greece Pisa-class cruisers Cruisers of the Hellenic Navy Ships built in Livorno World War I cruisers of Greece World War II cruisers of Greece