Georgios Averoff is the world's only surviving heavily armored cruiser of the early 20th century. During the Balkan Wars in 1912 and 1913, she gained her greatest glory as the Hellenic Navy fleet flagship by freeing the North and Central Aegean islands, as well as the coastal cities of East Macedonia and Thrace. In 1917, she entered World War I and served on the side of the Entente. She participated in the Asia Minor Campaign (1919-1922), carrying Greek troops to and from Smyrna. She served on the Allied side during World War II, having fled to Egypt with the rest of the fleet. She led the Greek naval force when the fleet dropped anchor in the Faliron Bay, Athens on October 17, 1944, at the end of the Nazi occupation. Averoff's last voyage was to Rhodes in May 1945, to commemorate the accession of Dodecanese from Italy. She was towed to her permanent berth in Faliron Bay in 1985, where is now open as a museum.
Sea - Military - Other, Museums - Sea
Links: www.hnsa.org
By: kjfitz