Elli file photo [15793]

Elli

CountryGreece
Ship ClassZhaohe-class Protected Cruiser
BuilderNew York Shipbuilding, United States
Laid Down14 Jun 1911
Launched4 May 1913
Sunk15 Aug 1940
Displacement2,149 tons standard; 2,642 tons full
Length322 feet
Beam39 feet
Draft14 feet
Speed26 knots
Crew238
Armament3x152mm guns, 2x76mm guns, 3x40mm anti-aircraft guns, 2x483mm torpedo tubes, 100 naval mines
Armor19-25mm main deck, 37mm steering gear, 76mm conning tower

Contributor:

ww2dbaseOriginally laid down by New York Shipbuilding in the United States for Qing Dynasty China under the name of Feihong as the third of the Zhaohe-class protected cruisers, by the time she was finished, Qing had been overthrown by the Republic of China, which only took delivery of the two ships built in Britain. As the result, the ship was sold to the Greek Navy in 1914, which renamed her Elli. Elli served in the 1919-1922 Greco-Turkish War. In 1920, she had her armament upgraded in France. In Aug 1940, while she was at anchor in the harbor of Tinos island in Greece, celebrating the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, she was attacked and sunk by Italian submarine Delfino. At the time, Greece and Italy were not yet at war, thus making this a potentially explosive international political situation, but the government of Greece decided to announce this attack as conducted by an unknown attacker in the hope that peace could still be attained. After the European War, Italy would give Greece cruiser Eugenio di Savoia as compensation for the sinking of Elli; Eugenio di Savoia would be commissioned into the Royal Hellenic Navy in 1950 as the new Elli.

ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia

Last Major Revision: Jul 2012

Protected Cruiser Elli Interactive Map

Photographs

Greek cruiser Elli, circa 1920s or 1930s

Elli Operational Timeline

14 Jun 1911 The keel of Feihong was laid down by New York Shipbuilding in the United States.
4 May 1913 Feihong was launched by New York Shipbuilding in the United States without a buyer.
15 Aug 1940 The 2,640-ton Greek cruiser-minelayer Elli was torpedoed by the Italian Squallo-slass submarine Delfino during a religious festival Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos while at anchor at Tinos Island, Greece at 0825 hours; 9 were killed, 24 were wounded. Delfino also fired a torpedo at anchored passenger ships Elsi and Esperos, but those torpedoes missed, damaging the wharf instead.




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Protected Cruiser Elli Photo Gallery
Greek cruiser Elli, circa 1920s or 1930s


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