Greek destroyer Niki

      Greek destroyer Niki.jpg
      Career (Greece)
      Ordered: 1905
      Builder: Stettiner Vulcan AG
      Laid down: 1905
      Launched: 30 May 1906
      Commissioned: 1906
      Decommissioned: 1945
      Fate: Broken up
      General characteristics
      Class & type: Niki-class destroyer
      Displacement: 350 tons
      Length: 67 m
      Beam: 6.1 m
      Draught: 2.7 m
      Propulsion: 2 shafts, 6,800 hp
      Speed: 30 knots
      Armament: Gun 2 X FR 3in 7.6cm 12pdr Hotchkiss Single & Gun 4 X FR 57mm 6pdr 40cal Hotchkiss QF Single & Torpedo 2 X FR 18in 45cm

      Niki (Greek: Τ/Β Νίκη, "Victory") was a Niki-class destroyer that served in the Royal Hellenic Navy (1907 - 1945).

      The ship, along with her three sister ships, was ordered from Germany in 1905 and was built in the Vulcan shipyard at Stettin.

      During World War I, Greece belatedly entered the war on the side of the Triple Entente and, due to Greece's neutrality the four Niki class ships were seized by the Allies in October, 1916, taken over by the French in November and served in the French Navy from 1917-18. By 1918, they were back on escort duty under Greek colors, mainly in the Aegean Sea.

      Niki saw action in the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922). In 1919, she conducted escort missions in the Black Sea carrying Greek refugees from Pontus. Later, while covering the Greek Army's disorganized retreat after the fall of Smyrna on September 4, 1922, Niki's commander, Lt. Commander D. Hatziskos was killed by a sniper.

      After the war, Niki was refurbished from 1925-1927. She also participated in the Second World War, first carrying supplies in the Ionian Sea and after surviving the German invasion of April, 1941, Niki served in conjunction with the Royal Navy based in Alexandria, Egypt. After the end of World War II, Niki was stricken in 1945.

      References

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      Last modified on 28 February 2013, at 16:07