Aetos-class destroyer

Ierax in 1912
Class overview
NameAetos
BuildersCammell Laird, Birkenhead
Operators
In commission1912
Completed4
Lost1
Retired3
General characteristics as built
TypeDestroyer
Displacement
  • 980 long tons (1,000 t) (standard)
  • 1,175 long tons (1,194 t) (full load)
Length
  • 89.3 m (293 ft 0 in) oa
  • 86.9 m (285 ft 1 in) wl
Beam8.4 m (27 ft 7 in)
Draught2.6 m (8 ft 6 in)
Installed power5 × coal-fired White-Forster boilers
Propulsion2 × Parsons geared turbines; 2 shafts; 22,000 shp (16,405 kW)
Speed32 knots (59 km/h)
Complement90
Armament

The Aetos class were four destroyers were originally constructed for the Argentine Navy as the San Luis class. In Greek they are known as the Thiria (Greek: Θηρία, "Wild Beasts") class,[1] after the ships' names. They were purchased by the Royal Hellenic Navy in October 1912 when the Greek government expanded its navy after losing the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and in anticipation of the Balkan Wars. In December 1916, during World War I, three of the destroyers were seized by France and served in the French Navy until 1918, all except Panthir. They were returned to Greece in 1918. In 1924–1925, they were extensively rebuilt and continued in service into World War II, where they fought with the Allies. Leon was sunk by German aircraft at Suda Bay, Crete. The other three destroyers survived the war and were used as station ships during the Greek Civil War. They were discarded in 1946.

  1. ^ Παλαιά Πολεμικά Πλοία [Old Warships] (in Greek). Hellenic Navy. Retrieved 6 December 2018.