Evening star., 1897-04-26
THE RIVAL NAVIES
Comparative Strength of Turkey and
Greece at Sea. r~- sci
GATHERED FROM OFFICIAL SOURCES
Greeks Are Superior in Everything
but Numbers.
THEIR COAST DEFENSES S

So far the struggle between Greece and
Turkey has been substantially military, but
with the determination Of the Greeks to do
or die and to max. the most of their ma
terial, there is little chance of their navy
limiting its action to the wasteful bombard-
ment Of such seaport towns Platamona
Letokhori, Katarina and Kitros, on the
Gulf of Salonica. The work cut out for
them is to meet the Turkish fleet and ad-
| minister a substantial thrashing to make
a bold and striking attack upon Salonica,
the base of Turkish supplies for the east
ern division of the sultan's army.
1t has generally been believed that the
policy of the Greeks would be to maintain
the defensive only On land and to assume
an aggressive part by sea, and while the
force of circumstances has somewhat modi-
fled the purpose on the frontier, still it has
in no sense lessened the value of offensive
tactics on the part of the Grecian squad
rons.
Just as strong as the Turks are on land
they are as weak at sea, while the Greeks
have in their small navy an admirable force
of efficient ships.
The armored ships Of Greece are five in
number The "Basileos Georgios," the old
est of their armored ships, is an iron coast
defense vessel of ia tons displacement
bulit thirty years ago, and the "Basilissa
Olga" a wooden broadsde ship of 1000
tons displacement, is two years Junior
while the Hydra, recently active in Gre
tan waters; the "Psara'' and the "Spetsai"
are steel vessels built about seven years
ago. These three vessels are really the
backbone of the Grecan fleet and al
though of moderate size, having dfspIace-
plents OF only 4,SS5 tons, are notWithstapd-
lns' rema markable for their fighting qualities
compared with monsters such as are now
, coming into vogue, they might well be
| termed miniature battle ships, yet they pos-
sess concentration of power in limited
space Whlch might render an excellent ac-
count against vessels of more prodigious
promise. :.
Turkish Weakness
or the Turkish fleet, the most recent shin
is the 'Hamidieh.'' of iron, launched at
Constantinople in 1885. She is of 1900 tons
displacement, and has made something ike
ISi2 knots, while her complement is about
GU men. Sne carries ten guns of 10.3
Inches, two krupp guns of 6S inches. SIX
guns of light caliber, and two machine
guns. 1t would be unreasonable to deny
such a craft a certain military value had
sne not been on the stocks more than twen-
ty years. and already out of date at the
time of launching. The Azizieh ana the Os-
manleh complete the first division. Launch
ed In 1861 ahG repaired in 1875, these yes-
SelS may be negatively praised as the least
Objectionable of the Ottoman fleet of ar
mored ships Their redoubts are protected
does not reach beyond the belt. The bar
bette turrets are protected by A of armor
and inclose two 9.S-inch guns
IN tue central redoubt are eight pieces Of
G6-lnch guns. firing through the ordinary
nush port Finally, the main deck is armed
with six rapid-fire guns of 80 inches
These battle ships made twelve knots way
back in 1S6i-it is questionable If they can
DO 1t now; and, like the Hamidieh are
fitted with two torpedo tubes-one above
and one below the water line. They have
a displacement of 400 tons. AT a glance
one can see that these veSSelS-eyen should
their boilers and engines be efficient after
years OF idleneSs-are very ordinary ships
even when compared with the Grecian at
tie ships. which are of second class. -
The Greek fleet, in general way, has
suffered from the same handicap as has the
Turkish fleet, that of inacton; but it has
the advantage of possessing a homogeneous
squadron of three battle ships of so recent
GATE as 1880. which, notwithstanding their
moderate displacement $500 tons). possess
offensive and defensive qualities which
make them extremely formidable adversa-
ries for the entire Turkish fleet. With
speed of from IL to liz knots they would
be able to accept or decline battle upon
their own terms, or fight upon the lines
followed by Admiral to at the battle Of the
Yalu, that is, double at will upon the
eEemy's flank, and completely demoralize
the maneuvers of a slower antagonist
And, too. their very effective armaments of
rapid-fire guns could repeat that fateful
struggle in effect.
Pride of the Greeks.
OF the three battle ships of the Greeks
the Spetsai and Psara were in course Of
modification al La Seyne when the insur-
| Iection at Crete caused them to be re-
called 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 installation of a powerful
supplemental force of Canet rapid-fire guns
and the notifications to her masts, she
represents the most powerful ship OIL the
Greeks.
The armor belt of water-lne protection
is of steel, reaching from bow to stern, and
varies In thickness from 3-4 inches to
lis inches, and Is surmounted by pro-
lection of four plates Offering a thickness
of two inches.
The water-line region is of cellular con-
struction, and a wide belt of cellulose gives