The ship saw limited action in the Greco–Turkish War in 1897, as the Royal Hellenic Navy was unable to make use of its superiority over the Ottoman Navy. The Ottoman Navy had remained in port during the conflict, but a major naval intervention of the Great Powers prevented the Greeks from capitalizing on their superiority. In 1897–1900, "Hydra" and her sister-ships were partially rearmed; "Hydra" was modified at the La Seyne shipyard. Their small-caliber guns were replaced with one gun forward, eight  guns, four 3-pounders, and ten 1-pounder revolver cannon. One of the 14-inch torpedo tubes was replaced with a weapon. In 1908–1910, the old 5.9 in guns were replaced with new, longer L/45 models.