History | |
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Greece | |
Namesake | Psara Island |
Ordered | 1885 |
Builder | Le Havre Shipyards |
Launched | 1890 |
Fate | Sold for scrap 1932 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Hydra-class ironclad |
Displacement | 4,808 long tons (4,885 t) |
Length | 334 feet 8 inches (102.01 m) |
Beam | 51 ft 10 in (15.80 m) |
Draft | 18 ft (5.5 m) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed | 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) |
Crew | 400 |
Armament |
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Armor |
Psara (Greek: Θ/Κ Ψαρά) was a steel-built ironclad warship named for one of the Aegean Sea islands that played a key role in the war at sea during the Greek War of Independence. The final vessel of the Hydra class, she was ordered in 1885 in response to a crisis in the Balkans and Ottoman naval expansion. The ship was launched in 1889 and delivered to Greece by 1902. She was armed with a main battery of three 10.8 in (274 mm) guns and five 5.9 in (150 mm) guns, and had a top speed of 17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph).
Psara and her sisters saw extensive service with the Greek Navy. They participated in the Greco–Turkish War in 1897 until the Great Powers intervened and prevented the Greek Navy from capitalizing on their superiority over the Ottoman Navy. Psara saw action in the First Balkan War at the Naval Battle of Elli and was present at the Naval Battle of Lemnos, but was too slow to actively engage the Ottoman forces. She did not see action during World War I, and was reduced to a training ship for stokers after the end of the war. She was ultimately broken up for scrap in 1932.