Following the Greco-Turkish War of 1897, during which the Ottoman fleet had proved incapable of challenging Greece's navy for control of the Aegean Sea, the Ottomans began a naval expansion program, initially rebuilding several old ironclad warships into more modern vessels. In response, the Greek government decided in 1905 to rebuild its fleet, which at that time was centered on the three s of 1880s vintage. Beginning in 1908, the Greek Navy sought design proposals from foreign shipyards. Tenders from Vickers, of Britain, for small, battleships were not taken up.