The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1897-04-26
GREECE'S FIGHTING SHIPS
Her Vessels Not Large, But Ex-
tremely Effective.
They Are Speedier Than the Turk
lsh en-1i-TVar-Greek Sailors
Among the Best in Europe.

The armored Ships of Greece are five in
number The BasileOs GeOrgioS is an iron
coast defense vessel Of 1 IVA tons diSplace
ment, built thirty years ago, and the Basil
isSa olga, d wooden broadsideShip Of ? 600
tons displacement, is two years her Junior,
while the Fydra, recently active in Cretau
waters; the Psara and the Spctsai, are steel
vessels, built about seven years ago. The
last three vessels are really the backbone
OF the GTecian fleet, and, although Of mod
crate size, having displaccments of only
1855 tons. are, Notwithstanding, remark
able for their fighting qualities. Compared
with monsters such are now coming into
vogue, they might well be termed miniature
battleShips, yet they possess a Concentra-
ton OF power in a limited space which
might render an excellent account against
larger vessels.
OF the Turkish fleet the most recent ship
is the Hanndieh, of iron, launched az Con
stantinople in 1885. She is of 1900 tons
displacement and has made something
like 13 IL knots, while her COMPLIMENTS
about 600 men. She carries ten guns Of
1913 inches, two Krupp guns Of 5 inches,
six guns of light caliDer aud two machine
guns 1t would be unreasonable to deny
such a craft a certain military value had
she not been on the stocks more than
twenty years and already out OF date at
the time Of launching.
The AZizich and the Osmanich complete
the first division. Launched in lS64 and
repaired in 1895, these vessels may be
negatively praised as the least Objection
able OF the ottoman two 9.S-inch guns.
In the central redoubt are protected 10y
l IL inches of armor, which, no viewer, does
not reach beyond the belt The barbette
turrets are protected by 1 "a inches Of
armor and inclose two 9.s-inch guns. In
the central redoubt are eight pieces Of
6.6inch guns, firing through the ordinary
flush port Finally, the main decks armed
with six rapid-fire guns OF 80 inches
These hattleShips made twelve knots in
1864; it i s questionable if they can do it
now Like the Hamidieh, they are fitted
with two torpedo tubes, one above and one
below the water line They have a dis
placement of 6,4C0 tons. These vessels,
even should their boilers and engines be
efficient after years of idleneSs, are very
ordinary ships, compared even with the
Grecian Tat tleships, which are OF the
second class
The Greek fleet, in a general way, has
suffered from the same handicap as has
the Turkish fleet-that Of inaCtiOn-but
it has the advantage Of possessing j homo
gepeous squadron OF three battleships of
so recent date as 1890, which, notwith
standing their moderate Splaccment
a 800 tonS) possess offensive and defen-
sive qualities which make them foImi
dable adversaTies for the entire Turkish
fleet. With a speed OF fGom seven teen
to seventeen and one-half knots, they
would be able to accept or decline battle
upontheirown terms, OF fightupon the lines
followed by Admiral Ito at the battle of
the YalU-that is, double at viii upon the
enemy's flank and completely demoralize
the maneuvers of a slower antagonist
or the three battleships of the Greeks
the SpetSai and Psara were in course of
modification when the instruction at
Crete caused them to be recalled to the
Levant. The intended work upon the
Spetsai was stopped at once; but by dint
of great industry, the proposed changes
were effected on the Psara, and today, /
with the insta Ilation of a powerful snp-
Elemental force of rapid-fire guns and the
notifications OF her masts, she represents
the most powerful ship of the Greeks. The
armor belt OF water1line protection is Of
steel, reaching from bow TO stern, and
varies in thickness from 3-4 inches to IL 8
inches She is surnounted by a prOtec-
ton of four plates, offering a thickness of
two inches. The water-line region is of
cellular construction, and wide belt Of
cellulose gives added protection.
The citadel forward is armored with
steel OF 9 ga inches, and contains two
guns of 10 g caliber on the upper deck and
five guns Of SO inches on the main deck.
A third gun OF 1913 inches is Installed in n
barbette turret on the center line aft. AT
the extreme bow there is a single gun Of
SO inches, while eight other rapid-fire
guns of 2 .5-inch calber have been placed
in the central superstructure. In addition
there is secondary force OF four 1 So
inch; twelve .46-inch, and four 2.75-inch
rapd-fire guns mounted in the tops and on
the bridges. Finally, these battleships
are provided with three torpedo launching
tubes-one in the bow and twoin broadside
AS can be seen, each of these vessels has |
inches, three of SO inches, two of 25 |
inches, and one OF 3 8 inches, and the enc
my that flees before that force is likely |
to receive a most damaging prodding, while |
should the Turk accept fight the Greek |
ships can place themselves wherever they
please and pour in most destructive fire. |
or the twelve first-class torpedo boats
of the Greek flotilla six are designated i
sea going, and have a recorded speed of |
nineteen knots, and should they be called |
into service in the Archipelago would be /
able to repeat, at the expense of the Turks, |
the great deeds of Caaaris.
In the event OF naval struggle between |
the two nations it must not be forgotten |
that the Greeks from time immemorial have |
been natuI al and intrepid seamen, while the |
Turks for many long year have elapsed |
into highly marked tiecadence.
The actual composition of the two aaeies,