''Velos'' (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: Τ/Β Βέλος, "Arrow") was a that served in 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. ...

from 1907 to 1926. The ship, along with her three sister ships, was ordered from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in 1905 and was built in the Vulcan shipyard at

Stettin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major seaport, the largest city of northwestern Poland, and se ...

. 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 ...

, Greece did not enter the war on the side of the

Triple Entente The Triple Entente (from French meaning "friendship, understanding, agreement") describes the informal understanding between the Russian Empire, the French Third Republic, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was built upon th ...

until 1917 and, due to Greece's neutrality the four ''Niki''-class ships had been seized by the Allies in October 1916, taken over by the French in November and served in the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

from 1917 to 1918. By 1918, they were back on escort duty under Greek colors, mainly in the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

. '' Velos'' saw action in the

Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922) There have been several Greco-Turkish Wars: * Orlov revolt (1770) Greeks' first major, organized Revolt against the Ottoman Empire with the support of Russia *Greek War of Independence (1821–1830), against the Ottoman Empire * First Greco-Turkish ...

. In 1918, after the

Armistice of Moudros The Armistice of Mudros () ended hostilities in the Middle Eastern theatre between Ottoman Turkey and the Allies of World War I. It was signed on 30 October 1918 by the Ottoman Minister of Marine Affairs Rauf Bey and British Admiral Somerset Ar ...

, ''Velos'' entered the

Dardanelles The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey th ...

with the Allied fleet and was, under the command of Lieutenant Commander

Petros Voulgaris Petros Voulgaris (; 13 September 1883 – 26 November 1957) was a Greek Admiral who served briefly as Prime Minister of Greece in 1945. He was famous for his role in suppressing the 1944 Greek naval mutiny and restoring the fleet to combat readine ...

, the first Greek warship to enter

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 ...

. In 1919, she conducted escort missions in the

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 ...

carrying Greek refugees from

Pontus Pontus or Pontos may refer to: * Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea) * Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology * Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...

. ''Velos'' was stricken in 1926, while the two remaining ''Niki''-class ships were refurbished.Mach, p. 386

Citations

Bibliography

Sources

Official Website of Velos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Velos Niki-class destroyers Ships built in Stettin 1907 ships World War I destroyers of France World War I destroyers of Greece Military units and formations of Greece in the Balkan Wars

See also

Citations

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Sources