(1886-1901) Nordenfelt I

Not many know that Greece was among the first nations that acquired a submarine, as early as 1886. Thorsten Nordenfelt, a Swedish inventor and industrialist that had become rich with his machine gun design, headhunted English submarine pioneer George Garrett to build Nordenfelt I. This quickly proved an unsatisfactory design, difficult to control and unable to stay underwater for more than five minutes. It was fitted with one whitehead torpedo that was held in an external tube. Surprisingly, it was the first time that a submarine was fitted with the very successful whitehead torpedo. However, there is no record of a torpedo being fired by Nordenfelt I, not even in trials. It was received with mixed feelings when it was officially demonstrated in 1885 and would possibly have remained unsold if Nordenfelt's agent in the Balkans wasn't that shady character, (later Sir) Basil Zacharoff, a Greek-French arms dealer and financier. He convinced the Greek government to pay £9,000 for this submarine that would give them the edge against the Turks. Then, he convinced the Turks that they should buy two of these (Nordenfelt II and III) because the Greeks already had one, and finally he convinced the Russians to buy another two, because the Turks had two. In practice, the Greek Nordenfelt I was a complete waste of money that was left to rot for 15 years before it was scrapped. The Turkish and Russian Nordenfelts were not more successful. One of the Turkish ones sank when it attempted to fire a torpedo and one of the Russian ones sank on the way to Russia when it was purchased. From then on, the Greek government was very cautious with submarines and did not try to buy another one until 1911. Zacharoff, on the other hand, had started his arms-dealing career that made him a multi-millionaire. In 1890 he was hired by Russian machine gun producer Maxim, and was buying shares of the company until he was able to tell his boss that he had become an equal shareholder. Later, he became the director of Vickers Munitions, one of the most successful companies in World War I, and also bought the Monte-Carlo casino. Zacharoff is often seen in popular culture. For example, in Tintin he is parodied as the weapons trader Basil Bazarov, who sells to both parties of a single conflict that he helps provoke.

Below, a page from The London Illustrated News showing a Greek squadron entering the Bay of Salamis in 1886. At the bottom right of the image, one can see the submarine.


Operational History
1882 - Laid down in Stockholm.
Sep. 1885 - Undergoes trials at Landskrona and later in the same month gives surface and submerged demonstrations in front of 39 dignitaries from the navies of several European powers, Japan and Mexico. Reports mention the Prince of Wales, the King and Queen of Denmark, and the Czarina among them.
1886 - Bought by Greece for £9,000 and renamed "Piraeus". It undergoes trials in Greece.
1901 - Stricken without having been used by the navy at all

Specifications
Nordenfelt I submarine "Piraeus"
Width: 3.66 m
Height: 3.35 m
Displacement: 60 tons
Crew: 3
Max. Depth: 50 ft (15 m)
Engine: 100 HP steam engine
Speed: (Surfaced) 9 knots. It would shut down its engine to submerge
Armament: 25.4 mm Nordenfelt cannon and one Whitehead torpedo

For gamers and game designers
The Nordefelt submarine is considered a complete failure. The Greeks never used it in action, possibly only as a training platform. While reasonably balanced when surfaced, it was extremely unstable when submerged. There is no record of Nordenfelt I firing a torpedo, but when one of the later Turkish Nordenfelts attempted to do so, it sank.

For modellers
A profile of the submarine:

The actual patent awarded to Nordenfelt for the submarine in 1882:

(1877-1949) Gras rifle

The Gras rifle is an example of military equipment that reached legendary status in Modern Greece. Despite the fact that it could fire only one shot at a time, its robustness and lethality made it a favourite weapon of guerilla fighters for 70 years, from the local revolts against the Ottoman Empire to the resistance against the Germans. In fact, the name "Grades" (Γκράδες) entered the Greek language to represent all kinds of rifles and was used in this manner until a few decades ago. The name "gradia" (γκραδιά) meant the shot of a Gras. Also, weak students and people that were not intelligent were often called "Grades" (Γκράδες). The colourised photo above shows guards of a Greek monastery in Mount Athos after having repelled Bulgarian invaders (1913). Some are possibly monks and there is one Gendarme among them. The front row, from left to right, carry Gras rifle, Gras cavalry carbine, two Gras musketoons and Gras rifle, while all three at the back carry Gras rifles.

The Gras is mentioned in numerous works of literature and in folk songs.

Operational History
1877 - Greece purchases about 60,000 Gras rifles from Steyr.
22 March 1886 - Last recorded order (1,000 Gras rifles). In total 129,000 have been bought since 1877 (118,000 infantry rifles, 6,000 artillery musketoons and 4,800 cavalry carbines).
24 Jul. 1923 - At the time of the Treaty of Lausanne, the Greeks have 77,000 Gras rifles & carbines, which corresponds to about 25% of the total number of rifles.
28 Oct. 1940 - At the time of the Italian invasion, the Greeks have 60,000 Gras rifles, which corresponds to about 13% of the total number of rifles.

Specifications
Greek Gras Mle 1874 infantry rifle
Weight: 4.2 kg
Length: 1.32 m
Barrel Length: 0.82 m
Caliber: 11 mm
Action: Bolt-action
Feed System: Single shot
Muzzle velocity: 450 m/s

Greek Gras Mle 1874 artillery musketoon
Weight: 3.3 kg
Length: 0.99 m
Barrel Length: 0.49 m
Caliber: 11 mm
Action: Bolt-action
Feed System: Single shot
Muzzle velocity: 410 m/s

Greek Gras Mle 1874 cavalry carbine
Weight: 3.75 kg
Length: 1.171 m
Barrel Length: 0.72 m
Caliber: 11 mm
Action: Bolt-action
Feed System: Single shot
Muzzle velocity: 430 m/s

For gamers and game designers
At the time of its introduction, the gras was a very potent rifle. Later, it was considered too slow in comparison to more modern rifles. Still, although it could fire only one shot at a time, its 11mm caliber made it particularly lethal.

For modellers
Being a close ally of the French, Greece had tried to order Gras rifles from them, but at the time France was frantically re-arming as a result of the disastrous Franco-Prussian war and could not supply Greece. Then, the Greeks turned to Austrian Steyr for Gras rifles. The Gras rifles produced by Steyr for Greece were identical to the French Gras rifles, with the exception of the left receiver flat that is marked with Styer proofs and the left buttstock that carries a Greek cartouche. The rifle is chambered for the French Mle 1874 Gras cartridge.
The Gras Musketoons are a bit shorter than the rifles and the carbines are practically identical to the French Gras cavalry carbines, but with brass buttplate and barrel bands and turned down bolt handle.

(1879-1931) Cruiser "Miaoulis II"

It may seem trivial today, but until 1900 no Greek warship had ever sailed the Atlantic to reach the United States. This was first achieved by the cruiser Miaoulis II, commanded by Koundouriotis. Built in 1879 at the Forges & Chantiers de La Med La Seyne dockyards, she was purchased by Greece as part of the naval modernisation and expansion program that followed the unsuccessful Cretan uprising of 1866. The largest part of the cost of the ship was met by K. Nikodimou's newly founded "Company For Formation of National Navy". Her military moment of glory came in 1897, when she prevented a Turkish warship from landing troops in Crete. She quickly became obsolete though, as both Greeks and Turks were upgrading to newer, faster and most importantly armoured warships. She served on active duty as a training ship until stricken in 1931.

Operational History
1878 - Laid down. Dockyards: Forges & Chantiers de La Med La Seyne in France.
1879 - Commissioned.
1897 - Flagship of the 4th Squadron, under K. Zotos, during the Cretan revolt. It prevents the Turkish warship "Fonat" from landing troops in Siteia, Crete.
1900 - Under Koundouriotis, sails the Atlantic and arrives at the United States (Boston and Philadelphia). The first Greek warship to do so.
1912 - Becomes training ship for the school of gunnery and for the school of officers, in Poros.
1931 - Stricken.

Specifications
Miaoulis II light cruiser
Displacement: 1,820 tons
Shell Weight: 256 g
Length: 75 m
Beam: 11 m
Draft: 4.4 m
Propulsion: Both sail and 2,400 HP engine
Speed: 13.5 knots
Complement: 180
Armament: 3x 170 mm Krupp 25cal single, 1x 170 mm Krupp 20cal single, 6x 37mm 1pdr single
Armour: none
Cost: 2.3 million Gold Drachmas

For gamers and game designers
Miaoulis II had become obsolete by 1900. Its lack of armour and relatively low speed made it no match for the Turkish pre-dreadnoughts and cruisers.

For modellers
A scale model of Miaoulis II from the Hellenic Maritime Museum.

(1890-1929) Battleship "Psara"

In 1885, the government of Charilaos Trikoupis bought the Battleships "Hydra", "Psara" and "Spetsai" from France, as part of an effort to modernise the armed forces that had proved inadequate during the Cretan Revolt of 1866-1869 and the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878.

In the Greco-Turkish War of 1897, Psara, Spetsai and Hydra were at least 25 years newer than their Turkish counterparts. Nevertheless, due to their lack of coordination, they had little impact.

Operational History
1885 - Ordered from France.
1887 - Laid down at Forges et Chantiers de la Mediterranée at Granville, France (while the Hydra was built at St.Nazaire). Plans made by French Admiral Dupont.
1890 - Launched and commissioned.
1897 - Commanded by Vice-Admiral K. Chatzikiriakou, Psara sees limited action against the Turks in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897.
1899 - Psara represents Greece at the founding anniversary of the city of Nice in France, and at the festivities for the crowning of British King Edward VII.
1912 - Although antiquated by now, Psara participates in the two decisive naval victories of the Balkan Wars (Battle of Elli and Battle of Limnos). She is commanded by Andreas Miaoulis, a descendant of the famous Admiral of the 1821 Greek War of Independence.
1917 - Greece enters World War I and Psara serves as Coast Defence ship.
1919-1922 - Psara serves as Coast Defence ship during the Asia Minor Campaign.
1932 - Psara is scrapped.

From Adm. Mezeviris' memoirs: (translated from Greek)
"[Battle of Elli, 2 Dec. 1912] The dawn of the first great day of the modern Greek Navy, 3 Dec. 1912, found our navy sailing between Imbros and Gallipoli. Until that day, our hopes to meet the enemy had been denied. In fact, crew and officers were spending their time being entertained by a flag officer's jokes. When the sun started to set, we saw the smoke of several ships coming from the narrows. Our flags were raised and the war trumpets sounded. Following the captain's order, I went to the guns and read the historic message of the Admiral to the crew:
'With God's power, the King's wishes and in the name of justice, I sail full speed ahead, certain of the win against our nation's enemy.'
During the battle, my role as safety officer was to deal with fires and damages, but there was no such problem. So, from the deck I could watch the battle evolving, although I would often inspect the teams below the deck, because they didn't have any officer. I vividly remember the 'Averof' speeding up and taking independent action against the enemy fleet and under attack from the enemy shore batteries. At some point, the ship seemed to be surrounded from every direction. With great anxiety we were looking (from the old battleships) at the ship that was in danger, but we couldn't help, because we were too slow. When Averof survived the engagement, everyone felt relief and there was wild enthusiasm. As we later realised, this audacious attack did not inflict the crucial blow against the enemy fleet that we were hoping for, because Averof's speed was limited due to overheating of the plastic shutters of the guns. Still, the retreat of the enemy, despite being at a better position and having suffered little damage, was a major victory of morale for the Greek Admiral.
The gunnery officer, afraid that his men's morale would drop if they stayed idle during the battle, had ordered them to fire from a distance that was out of range and without giving precise target. Being near him at the time, I reminded him about it and he replied: 'Let them fire anywhere, as long as they fire'. After many shells were wasted, the gunnery officer was convinced to order them to stop. The replenishment of these shells was manual and was done mainly by the kitchen crew, led by the athlete-sized civilian cook. With such speed replenishment was carried out that despite the continuous firing, in the end, the superstructure was full of unused shells. These were posing a danger, so they were ordered to move them back in the powder magazine.
At some point, I went out on the deck and found out that the some of the crew had left their stern powder magazine posts and were watching the battle, cheering whenever they would think an enemy ship was hit. With great difficulty I convinced them to return to their posts. The old battleships survived the battle without damage, but a little later were put in danger when a friendly torpedo from 'Averof' was accidentally fired against them."

"[Battle of Limnos, 5 Jan. 1913] ... Our old battleships took part only in the first half hour of the battle. Aboard 'Psara' we had the pleasure to identify at least one good hit against 'Messudiye', which was targetted by us and 'Hydra'. Since the guns of these ships were firing independently, we thought it was ours (the stern tower) that made the hit. There was wild cheering at that part of the ship and we could hardly hold the men below the deck from leaving their posts and coming to see the result of the hit. Apart from this case, however, we serving on the old battleships felt left out of the action. Several discussions, a lot of conflicts between officers and a lot of ink spent about this choice. The Admiral (Kountouriotis) had ordered the squadron of the three old battleships to follow him, but the message was not received, because the radio of battleship "Spetsai" had been damaged during the battle. One of the oddities of war! I was on the bridge at that time and what I vividly remember is the exasperation of Captain Andreas Miaoulis. Eventually, that brave seaman, so calm normally, but so full of energy during the battle, turned towards the officers and said: 'I believe I must exit the line'. He ordered a turn and full speed ahead until we reached 'Hydra' that was in front of us. At that time, the squadron leader 'Spetsai' changed direction and positioned itself in front of 'Psara' on the same route. 'Psara' slowed down and took its normal position in the line. It was, however, too late for the squadron to reach the retreating enemy."

Specifications
Hydra-class Battleship "Psara"
Displacement: Standard 4,885 tons
Length: 103 m
Beam: 15.8 m
Draft: 6.4 m
Propulsion: Steam engine
Speed: 17 knots in trials, but less than 13 knots in battle.
Armament: 3x 274mm, 5x 150mm
Armour: Hull 100-280mm, deck 70mm

For gamers and game designers

The three Hydra-class battleships were a failed experiment in terms of gun layout.
The central battery housed both the two 10.8" and five 6" guns, which meant that a single hit would take out almost the whole of the firepower.

There was no fire control system and due to the various gun sizes on the ship, it would be difficult to tell which splash corresponded to which gun.

In terms of protection, while they had a thick Creusot steel belt below water, the the above waterline armour was only 3", which left the boilers and engines quite vulnerable, and the ship could be taken out with one good hit. Nevertheless, gunhouse and barbette were well-armoured.

The following are some technical details of the guns that would be useful to a game designer:

274mm Guns: Weight of shell 260 kg, velocity 815 m/s
150mm Guns: Weight of shell 45 kg, velocity 597 m/s, range 8,000 yards

For Modellers
The three battleships had a small pipe ("auxiliary funnel") immediately before the first funnel; this was removed on Psara just before World War I. While Spetsai and Hydra were two-masted, Psara had three masts.
A model of Psara from the Hellenic Maritime Museum:



A profile of Psara without the auxiliary funnel (unknown source).