Enosis (steamer)

"Enosis" was built in England in 1860 under the name "Owl". The steamer was bought in the USA , together with the steamers Crete and Arkady , with the beginning of the Cretan uprising of 1866 , with the money of the Greeks of London ^[2] . The steamer was given the name Enosis (compound), since Enosis with Greece was the ultimate goal of the rebels. The ship was hastily armed with 2 guns ARMSTRONG . The crew consisted of sailors of the Greek Navy , although the ship officially remained merchant. The ship arrived in Greece on time and was immediately used to transport refugees from Crete, ammunition and volunteers to Crete. Breaking through the ring of Ottoman ships, the steamer made 46 voyages to Crete, under the command of Captain N. Surmelis. After the crew of “ Arkadi ” burned down their ship in order to avoid capture, the main burden for the transfer of ammunition to Crete was assumed by “ Crete ”, but mostly “Enosis”. By the end of 1868, the uprising began to wane, but warlords remained on the island, continuing to fight for Enosis.

Continuous flights of "Enosis" began to be considered by the Turks as a humiliation for the Ottoman fleet . Sultan considered it a matter of honor to capture "Enosis" and called upon a capable British sailor Hobart to serve in the Ottoman fleet, making him Hobart Pasha and giving him the title of rear admiral. The main task of this Hobart was the seizure or drowning of Enosis at any price. For this purpose, Hobart was provided with the flagship of the Ottoman fleet 50-gun frigate "Hudavendikyar." Hobart correctly estimated that he had little chance of intercepting Enosis from Crete with its considerable length by the coastline. Having headed the flotilla in which the wheelboat cruiser Ijeddin was located, Hobart stood in anticipation of Enosis in the relatively small Greek island of Syros , which was one of the main supply bases of the Cretan rebels in those years. On December 2, returning from Crete to Syros, the captain of Enosis, Surmelis, discovered that Ijeddin and the Turkish flagship were on its steamer. In the ensuing pursuit, a happy shot of a Greek steamer hit the left wheel of a Turkish steam cruiser and Ijeddin lost speed. Skillful maneuvers Surmelis managed to get away from the Turkish flagship, and the well-aimed shots of the small Enosis gun made a mess in the ranks of the Turkish crew and nearly killed Hobart himself. Taking advantage of the ensuing confusion "Enosis" with triumph entered the port of Syros. Hobart followed him to the port aboard the Turkish flagship, demanding that the Greek authorities hand over to him a “pirate ship”, threatening that he would sink him in the port waters. There were interventions of European consuls who asked Hobart to leave Syros, as well as warnings of the captain of the French ship Vall standing on Syros that he would intervene in the event of an attack against Enosis. The rescued Greek flotilla, commanded by Captain George Stamatelos , demanded that Hobart Pasha go beyond the limits of Greek territorial waters. Thanks to the intervention of France, it was possible to avoid an open Greek-Turkish clash. Hobart Pasha withdrew, but at the head of the flotilla, already 7, the Turkish ships did not move away from Syros, preventing Enosis from delivering new volunteers to Crete ^[3] .

After the collapse of the Cretan Uprising, Enosis was officially incorporated into the Greek Navy. 11 years later, in 1880, Enosis was removed from the fleet ^[4] .