This first cruiser turned out quite handsomely and was christened the Olympia. Several followed, inspired by many real designs of heavy and light cruisers around the world. This was over 20 years ago.
Now, more mature and drizzled with the technological marvel of the Paint-program and Internet, this same man can share his ideas to a larger audience.
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First the back drop to why the creation of a cruiser-based fleet was chosen. The assumption is that Greece (or Hellas) won the peace negotiations in Fontainebleau, its army being victorious on the Asian shores, defeating the rag-tag armies of Mustafa Kemal Pasha. Its navy defeated in detail and next bottled up the remnants of the former Osmanli navy under Hassan Rauf Bey, Adm. Pavlos Kondourioutis basking in glory. In short, a Greater Hellas, now with Imperial ambitions is created. In the final negotiations the Imperial City (Konstantinopel) is handed over to Hellas and made Capital anew. In Asia Minor large swaths of land are ceded by the humbled Turks. As far as the city of Philadelpheia (Alasehir) and the river Meander, SE of the city did the new imperial borders reach.
Also the Dodecanese islands were handed over by Italy, though with much reluctance. Cyprus was being negotiated over between Britain and the new regional great power.
Thus had a far greater and more populous Kingdom been created. On Jan 6, 1924 King Constantine I officially assumed the old Byzantine Imperial diadem and the regnal number of XII (to mark continuity from the last Emperor, Constantine XI Palaeologus Dragases)
A nation thus endowed with several vital water arteries and the potential to control a substantial part of the trade in the East-West direction, required a modern, substantial navy to defend its interests.
The new navy minister, Vice-Adm. Stephanos Stephanopolous-Comnenou, resolved that battleships were passe and would do only limited useful service. The Admiral had faithfully studied amongst others, the cruises of the German East-Asiatic Squadron, as well as the US deployement of the 'Big Ten' during the pre-war period in the Pacific. He became firmly convinced that the possession of a homogenous group of fast, heavily armed cruiser, both of the new, heavy category type as well as the normal light category type could, if skillfully emplyed tip the scale against an adversary employing battleships. In essence he was an adherent of Jackie Fisher's maxim of Speed, Speed, and Speed. He dispatched delegations around the leading naval powers, including Japan to determine the correct types to be ordered. In the meantime older ships were phased out; the old, virtually useless battleships were decommissioned or mothballed awaiting disposal. The crux to his strategic vision was the connection between the Aegean and the Black Seas through the Sea of Marmora. By being able to transit with comparative speed units from the two major areas of operation, the Capital could be shielded, while denying an enemy even local superiority. Battleships, in Stephanopolous' opinion could not perform this task adequately.
His goal was to rebuilt the Royal Navy into a crack, swift and hard-hitting cruiser force, supported by destroyers, MTBs and submarines.
In 1930 two units were ordered in the US. They were based on the Northampton-class heavy cruisers, but extensively modified to suit Greek requirements.
The Olympia was built by Bethlehem Steel, Quincy Mass, launched on Nov. 15, 1930 and completed 15 months' later.
Her sister, the Philadelpheia (named both after the heroic, historic Byzantine city in Asia Minor and the US city of Philadelphia in recognition of the friendly ties between the United States and Hellas) was laid down at NYS, Camden, NJ, launched, Feb. 12, 1931 and completed in Jan. 1934.
The two sisters featured a unique bridge arrangement: the Admiral's bridge was raised one deck-level and appeared to 'fly'. Also the ships shipped lattice masts, since the Greek Admirality was firmly convinced of their superiority in battle. Theirs were a light-weight type, which, however, were extremely sturdy. The funnels were raised with approx 6 feet compared to the original Northampton, and the Olympia displayed one oldfashioned feature: a wrap-around sternwalk aft.
The reliable but rather slow 8" gun in unprotected gunhouses was also shipped by these vessels, in addition to the 5"/25s. Otherwise much equipment and weaponry emanated from either Italy, Britain or France. Since the Hellenic tactical doctrine called for massed torpedo attacks in conjunction with the artillery fight between the enemy ships, this class doubled the number of torpedo tubes carried to sixteen arranged in four quad banks. The Olympia , in addition was rather sumptously outfitted as a fleet flagship and remainded in that function, till her retirement, in 1950!
I give you the Royal Hellenic Navy's Fleet flagship: Olympia:
- But if it really is giving so much trouble I'll have a look at it later and will update the picture.