Greek cruiser Georgios Averof Georgios Averof ( ) is a modified armored cruiser built in Italy for the Royal Hellenic Navy in the first decade of the 20th century . The ship served as the Greek flagship during most of the first half of the century . Although popularly known as a battleship ( θωρηκτό ) in Greek , she is in fact an armored cruiser ( θωρακισμένο καταδρομικό ) , the only ship of this type still in existence . History . Construction and arrival in Greece . At the beginning of the 20th century , Greece decided to reinforce its fleet , whose ships were fast becoming obsolete due to the rapidly advancing naval technology of the era . The navy procured eight destroyers ( then a relatively new type of ship ) between 1905 - 1907 , but the most important addition was " Averof " . The ship , a like her Italian sisters and , was being built at Orlando Shipyards at Livorno in Italy . When the Italian government cancelled the third ship of the class due to budgetary concerns , the Greek government immediately stepped in and bought her with a one - third downpayment ( ca . 300 , 000 gold pound sterling ) , paid with the help of a wealthy Greek benefactor , George Averoff , whose name she consequently received . The ship was fitted with a combination of Italian engines , French boilers , British artillery and German generators . Such was the earnestness of the Greek Navy to acquire and put her into service that she was delivered with a known deficiency in the barrel of one of her 7 . 5 inch guns ( a gouge in the barrel produced by a slipping of the rifling cutting tool ) , and hastily accepted for service on the opinion of Armstrong Whitworth ' s chief ordnance engineer ( a totally informed opinion , as it turned out ) , who judged the defect as inconsequential to the gun ' s safety and performance . The ship was launched on 12 March 1910 . Her first captain was Captain Ioannis Damianos , who took command of her on 16 May 1911 . " Averof " sailed for Britain , in order to participate in the festivities for the coronation of King George V and to receive her first load of ammunition . The stay in Britain was troubled , however , including running aground at Spithead on 19 June , forcing her to be drydock ed for repairs , brawls with locals and a near - mutiny resulting from the unfamiliarity of the Greek sailors with blue cheese . It was clear that Captain Damianos was inadequate , so he was replaced by the highly esteemed Captain Pavlos Kountouriotis , who quickly reimposed discipline and set sail for Greece . During the journey , Kountouriotis took care to train the crew , with the notable exception of gunnery practice , since ammunition was limited . " Averof " finally sailed into Faliro Bay , near Athens , on 1 September 1911 . " Averof " was at the time the most modern and powerful ship in the navies of either the Balkan League or the Ottoman Empire . The Balkan Wars . With the outbreak of the First Balkan War in October 1912 , Kountouriotis was named Rear Admiral and Commander - in - Chief of the Hellenic Royal Navy . " Averof " , under Captain Sofoklis Dousmanis , served as the flagship of the fleet , and she took part in the takeover of the islands of the northern and eastern Aegean . During the naval battles at Elli ( 3 December 1912 ) and Lemnos ( 5 January 1913 ) against the Ottoman Navy , she almost single - handedly secured victory and the undisputed control of the Aegean Sea for Greece . In both battles , due to her superior speed , armor and armament , she left the battle line and pursued the Turkish Fleet alone . During the Battle of Elli , Kountouriotis , frustrated by the slow speed of the three older Greek battleships , hoisted the Flag Signal for the letter " Z " which stood for " Independent Action " , and sailed forward alone , with a speed of 20 knots against the Turkish fleet . " Averof " succeeded in crossing the Turkish fleet ' s " T " and concentrated her fire against the Ottoman flagship , thus forcing the Ottoman fleet to retreat in disorder . Likewise , during the Battle of Lemnos , when the older battleships failed to follow up with " Averof " , Kountouriotis did not hesitate to pursue independent action . In each battle the ship suffered only slight damage , while inflicting severe damage to several Turkish ships . These exploits propelled her and her Admiral to legendary status in Greece . After Lemnos , the crew of the " Averof " affectionately nicknamed her " Lucky Uncle George " . It is a notable fact that , due to the aforementioned delays in the delivery of ammunition , " Averof " fired her guns for the first time during the Battle of Elli . Georgios Averof is credited with successfully closing the Aegean Sea to Ottoman transports bringing fresh troops and supplies to the front during the First Balkan War . This success had a concrete impact on the land action where the Ottoman forces suffered decisive defeats . It is hypothesized that in the lack of such decisive control of the sea by the Greek Navy , the Ottoman Empire might have reinforced its forces on the Balkan Peninsula and therefore fared better in the war . World Wars and aftermath . During World War I , " Averof " did not see much active service , as Greece was neutral during the first years of the war , and in deep internal turmoil ( see National Schism ) . After the " Noemvriana " riots of 1916 , she was seized by the French , and returned only after Greece ' s formal entry in the war in June 1917 . After the war ' s end , " Averof " sailed with other Allied ships to Constantinople , receiving an ecstatic welcome from the city ' s Greeks . She continued as the flagship of the RHN under Rear Admiral I . Ipitis , participating in landings in Eastern Thrace and bombardments of the Turkish Black Sea shore during the Greco - Turkish War ( 1919 – 22 ) and helped in the evacuation of the refugees after the Greek Army ' s defeat . In 1925 - 27 she underwent major reconstruction in France , in which she received modern anti - aircraft armament , a new foremast and improved fire control equipment , while the obsolete torpedo tubes were removed . After Germany ' s attack against Greece in 1941 and the collapse of the front , the ship ' s crew disobeyed the orders to scuttle her to avoid capture by the Germans , and sailed to Souda Bay , Crete , under the constant threat of German air strikes ( which had sunk many Greek and British warships in the evacuation of Greece ) . Her Commanding Officer embarked from a rope ladder when she was already underway . From Souda Bay she sailed to Alexandria , arriving there on 23 April . From August 1941 to the end of 1942 she was assigned to convoy escort and patrol duties in the Indian Ocean , based at Bombay . After that , she was anchored at Port Said . On 17 October 1944 , once again as the flagship of the exiled Hellenic Navy , under the command Captain Theodoros Koundouriotis ( the Admiral ' s son ) , she carried the Greek government - in - exile back to liberated Athens . She continued as Fleet Headquarters until she was decommissioned in 1952 . She remained anchored at Salamis until she was towed to Poros , where she remained from 1956 to 1983 . " Averof " as a floating museum . In 1984 the Navy decided to restore her as a museum , and in the same year she was towed to Palaio Faliro , where she is anchored as a functioning floating museum , seeking to promote the historical consolidation and upkeep of the Greek naval tradition . Free guided tours are provided to visiting schools and on holidays . She is berthed at Trocadero quay , next to Faliro Marina and the Resteion swimming pool and park . The ship is regarded as in active service , carrying the Rear Admiral ' s Rank Flag a square blue flag with white cross , like the Greek jack , with two white stars in each of the two squares on the flagstaff side ( see photo at right , also see and ) atop the mainmast with the Masthead Pennant ( a long triangular blue flag with a white orthogonal Greek cross ) displaced downward . Every Hellenic Navy ship entering or sailing in Faliro Bay honours the " Averof " while passing . The crew are ordered to attention ( with the " Still to " order ) and from the relevant Boatswain ' s pipe ( or bugle call ) every man on decks stands to attention , officers saluting , looking to the side where the " Averof " is in sight until " Continue " is ordered ( this link is an mp3 sound recording of the order in Greek " Still to port side " , the boatswain ' s pipe call and the order " Continue " ) . In June 2010 the ship was involved in a scandal after being used as the stage for a lavish wedding party by Greek shipowner Leo Patitsas and TV persona Marietta Chrousala . The publication of photos from the party by the " Proto Thema " tabloid caused major political uproar , resulting in the dismissal of her commander , Commodore Evangelos Gavalas .