1st-Class Captain M. Meletopoulos ( Greek Πλοιάρχος Μ. Λελετόπουλος ), originally an American PGM-22 , before that an American PC 1553 - a Greek gunboat [approx. 1] . She took part in the Civil War in Greece . Belonged to a group of 24 American patrol artillery boats of the PGM-9 type ( eng. PGM-9 class motor gunboats ) , which in turn were isolated from a large series (343 units) of American hunters of the PC-461 type ( eng. PC-461 class submarine chasers ) .
| 1st-Class Captain M. Meletopoulos, R-57 | |
|---|---|
| Πλοιάρχος Μ. Μελετόπουλος, P-57 | |
| Service | |
 USA Greece | |
| Class and type of vessel | Gunboat ( USA ) Gunboat ( Greece ) |
| Organization | U.S. Navy Royal Navy of Greece |
| Manufacturer | Deloe Shipbuilding, Bay city, Mich |
| Launched | December 16, 1943 |
| Commissioned | August 22, 1944 |
| Withdrawn from the fleet | February 1, 1971 . |
| Main characteristics | |
| Displacement | 280 t (theoretical) 295 t (practical) |
| Length | 175 feet |
| Width | 23 feet |
| Draft | 10 ft 1 in |
| Engines | 2 diesel |
| Power | 3600 l. with. |
| Mover | 2 screws |
| Speed | 19 knots |
| Crew | 59 people |
| Armament | |
| Artillery | 1 gun 3`` / 50 |
| Flak | 1 twin 40 mm gun, 6 20 mm guns |
| Anti-submarine weapons | (since 1963 - multi-barrel hedgehog bomber |
Content
United States Navy
Gunboat Captain 1st Rank M. Meletopoulos was built at Deloe Shipbuilding, Bay city, Mich . The descent took place on December 19, 1943 . In the American fleet since August 22, 1944 . Initially, the ship belonged to a series of hunters of the PC-461 class, but then, among 24 ships of the series, it went through a modification and was transferred to a series of gunboats of the class PGM-9 (PGM-9 class motor gunboats). September 6, 1947, in the midst of the Civil War in Greece , the ship, including 5 more of the same type of ships, was transferred to the Royal Navy of Greece.
As part of the Royal Navy of Greece
The Greek flag was hoisted on December 11, 1947 in Norfolk . The ship arrived at the main base of the Greek fleet on the island of Salamis on May 11, 1948 . The ship received the name of the captain of the hospital ship " Attica " Dimitrios Meletopoulos , who died with the ship in the Kafireas Strait on April 11, 1941 , after the bombing of the hospital ship by German aircraft. At the same time, the Royal Navy received another 5 ships of the same type: Blessas , Pesopoulos , Hadzikonstandis , Laskos and Arslanoglu . All gunboats of the series, due to the ruggedness of the coastline of Greece, were involved in the fire support of the royal army, in military operations against the partisans of the Democratic Army . At the end of the Civil War, the gunboats of the series were used to patrol around the islands of the eastern Aegean and Dodecanese .
The ship was withdrawn from the fleet on February 1, 1971 [1] .
Notes
- Comments
- ↑ In the U.S. Navy, ships were classified as motor gunboats, but in the Greek Navy they were classified as gunboats
- Notes