Hydra and her sister ships Spetsai and Psara were ironclad ships named after Greek islands that played an important role in the Greek War of Independence . The Hydra- class was ordered in 1885 in response to the crisis in the Balkans and the naval armament of the Ottoman Empire , launched in 1889 and 1890, and shipped in 1892.
commitment
The ships of the class saw extensive use, including in the Turkish-Greek War of 1897, in which they were defeated by the Turkish fleet until the other powers intervened. The class was used again in the Balkan Wars , there for example in the Battle of Elli and the Battle of Limnos, although the already insufficient speed of the old ships prevented effective use. The ships were not used during World War I , disarmed by the French from 1916 and sold for demolition around 1929.
literature
Gardiner, Robert (Ed.): Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905 . Conway Maritime Press, London 1979, ISBN 0-85177-133-5 , pp.387 .
