A relic from over one-hundred years ago, and the only armoured cruiser left in existence.
The Georgios Averof is my favourite warship in history, mainly due to the personal connection I have with the vessel that I will get more into detail later on.
An armoured cruiser was a large warship that mainly saw action during the First World War with nations not continuing to build them after that. Their armour and armament was second only to battleships and battle-cruisers.
The Georgios Averof is an Italian Pisa class armoured cruiser built for what was at the time the Royal Hellenic Navy and is now the only surviving armoured cruiser on the planet and is maintained to a very high standard due to her historical significance.
Construction started in 1907 and she was commissioned in 1911 and was in service with Greece up until 1952 serving in numerous wars including the First and Second World Wars.
This ship is my favourite warship not only because it is both incredibly beautiful and technologically fascinating but it was actually the warship my great grandfather served on during the Second World War. I have in fact visited the ship when I went to Greece in 2012 and thus has a big personal value for me which gives it the special spot of being my favourite warship in history.
Index
Armoured cruiser: A type of warship that was built up until the end of the First World War, in simple terms can be considered a 'mini battleship'.
Battle-cruiser: had similar weapons to battleships but much thinner armour so that they could be much quicker.
Battleship: A warship type which consisted of the thickest armour and the biggest guns.
Commissioning: When a warship is officially put into active service.
HS: Hellenic Ship (the prefix for a commissioned vessel of the Hellenic Navy).
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