Greek ironclad Hydra
Hydra (Greek: Ὕδρα) was an ironclad warship of the Greek Navy, named for Hydra, one of the Saronic Gulf islands which played a key role in the war at sea during the Greek War of Independence. The lead ship of her class of ironclads, she was ordered in 1885 in response to a crisis in the Balkans and Ottoman naval expansion. The ship was launched in 1889 and delivered to Greece by 1892. She was armed with a main battery of three 10.8 in (270 mm) guns and five 5.9 in (150 mm) guns, and had a top speed of 17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph).
Hydra early in her career | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Greece | |
| Namesake | Hydra Island |
| Ordered | 1885 |
| Builder | St. Nazaire |
| Launched | 1889 |
| Decommissioned | 1918 |
| Fate | Scrapped in 1929 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Hydra-class ironclad |
| Displacement | 4,808 long tons (4,885 t) |
| Length | 334 feet 8 inches (102.01 m) |
| Beam | 51 ft 10 in (15.80 m) |
| Draft | 18 ft (5.5 m) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion |
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| Speed | 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) |
| Crew | 400 |
| Armament |
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| Armor | |
Hydra and her sisters saw heavy service with the Greek Navy. They participated in the Greco–Turkish War in 1897 until the Great Powers intervened and prevented the Greek Navy from capitalizing on their superiority over the Ottoman Navy. Hydra saw action in the First Balkan War at the Naval Battle of Elli and was present at the Naval Battle of Lemnos, but was too slow to actively engage the Ottoman forces. She did not see action during World War I, and was reduced to a gunnery training ship after the end of the war. She was ultimately broken up for scrap in 1929.