Chapter 106 Destroyer

In view of Tesla's outstanding contribution this time, for the purpose of protecting the superior artillery technology of the Greek army, and this exquisite movable piston design cannot be announced to the world in a short period of time, Emmanuel personally informed Tesla The laboratory allocated 2.5 million drachma of experimental funds as compensation to him.

At the same time, Tesla personally guaranteed that the technical details of the rapid-fire gun must not be disclosed to other people or organizations without the permission of the Greek Army.

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Outside the Port of Gibraltar on the Mediterranean Sea, three destroyers departing from the United Kingdom and having just finished replenishing coal and supplies at the Port of Gibraltar lined up in a column, blaring their whistles, cutting through the waves, and sailing towards the Eastern Mediterranean.

In May 1901, three of the destroyers (torpedo boats) purchased from the United Kingdom, due to their small tonnage, with a displacement of only more than 200 tons, had been completed and were received by the Greek naval crew sent to the United Kingdom for training. In Contorio Returned to Greece under the command of Captain Theis.

After receiving the news, Constantine personally went to the port of Piraeus to participate in the commissioning ceremony of the three warships.

Standing on the pier, I looked at the three "petite" destroyers slowly approaching the shore, and the sailors lined up on the sides of the destroyers. The blue and white cross of the Greek flag on the mast was flying in the wind.

When the three ships passed Constantine's position, the sailors saluted His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

After the warship was berthed and stabilized, the sailors led by Contoriotis stepped off the ship.

"Captain, welcome back to Greece" Constantine said warmly.

After that, he carefully looked at the sailors following Kontoriotis. There were only about ten people. It was impossible for a dozen crew members to drive three destroyers back to Greece from Britain.

Seeing Constantine's doubts, Contoriotis understood the reason and took the initiative to explain: "Every time we dock, no more than one-fifth of the entire crew will do it without the permission of the officer." The crew can get off the ship."

"In addition to making sailors more familiar with their ships, life at sea, and shipmates, this also puts warships on alert at all times. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, many times the French and Spanish fleets gave half of their crews a holiday. As a result, it was attacked by the British fleet due to lack of manpower."

"That's it." Constantine nodded, indicating that he understood.

It seems that this group of crew members have learned the British naval regulations thoroughly under the strict training of the British.

“The reason why this rule is in place is based on the lesson learned from the Dutch’s surprise attack on the Thames River and the towing away of the British naval flagship and prisoners during the Anglo-Dutch War. The Royal Navy also stipulated that whenever a ship docks, only the captain, except the captain, must A maximum of one-fifth of the crew members on the ship can be allowed to go ashore. The crew members who go ashore have to seek permission from the captain. They are usually responsible for purchasing supplies. It is rare for the crew members to have a holiday. "Seeing Constantine is very generous. A look of interest, Contoriotis went on to explain.

"Captain Kontoriotis, from today on, you are the commander of this destroyer fleet," Constantine said.

"Although these three ships are small ships with a displacement of no more than 300 tons, the fish they are equipped with are deadly weapons for the enemies of the Greek navy," Constantine encouraged.

Having said this, Constantine couldn't help but complain about the British. The main weapons of these three destroyers are the British William White torpedoes. One torpedo was sold to Greece for 600 pounds, which is about 15,000 when converted into drachma. Drachmae, too expensive.

While the two were chatting about the navy, Kontoriotis suddenly said to Constantine: "Your Highness, I wonder if you have the idea of ​​forming a Marine Corps for the Greek Navy?"

"Marine Corps? Do we need Marine Corps?" Constantine asked curiously.

Most of Constantine's thoughts were spent on the Greek Army. The Ottoman's huge army advantage firmly attracted Constantine's attention. What role could the Marine Corps play when facing the Ottomans in Greece? Woolen cloth?

"Your Highness, there are islands in the Aegean Sea," Kontoriotis said hurriedly.

"Once there is a war between Greece and the Ottomans in the future, we will definitely take back those islands where a large number of Greeks live. If the navy can have a marine force, it will be much easier to face the situation of landing on the islands in the future."

Constantine was startled, and then he thought to himself, that's right. Almost all of the islands dotted in the Aegean Sea were Greeks. It would be right to have a Marine Corps that was familiar with water and was good at amphibious landings.

"Do you have any ideas, Captain?" The two came to the streets near the dock area and found a coffee shop with a quiet environment.

"Your Highness, when I was receiving training in the UK, I saw a kind of rubber boat in the UK. It was very simple. It was tied up with a few rubber tires. After inflating, the originally small hull could float on the water. "Contoriotis put down his coffee cup and whispered.

Rubber boats, island landings, and marines, Constantine was thinking about these three terms.

"How many men do you think the Greek Marines need? Captain" Constantine asked.

After all, Constantine is not a professional navy, so this kind of matter still requires naval professionals to give opinions.

"The number of people does not need to be large. About 1,000 people are enough. You just need to be familiar with water. Of course, the weapon requirements are somewhat special and require some lightweight fire support weapons."

Constantine kept looking at the table with his left hand, thinking about the role of the Marine Corps. What Kontoriotis said about landing on the island inspired him.

"Captain, I have a doubt. Do you think it is feasible to carry out amphibious landing with a large number of soldiers under the current technical conditions?" Constantine asked seriously.

Constantine was a little unsure about the feasibility of landing operations, but he was inspired by Kontoriotis, so he had this question.

"There is only one possibility, that is, to seize the opponent's important port city. Otherwise, according to the current technical conditions, it is unlikely to land a large number of soldiers." Kontoriotis heard Constantine's question, combined with Greece's current imaginary enemy, only Ottoman, and thought that His Highness was asking about the feasibility of landing on the Aegean coast of Asia Minor, and hurriedly replied, wanting to dispel Constantine's crazy idea.

Under the current technical conditions, this kind of cross-sea expedition is not something that Greece can do at all.

"I can give you 2,000 soldiers familiar with water, Captain Kontoriotis. From today on, your rank will be promoted to major. In addition to commanding the destroyer formation, this marine corps will also be handed over to you. You will train them." This is not that Constantine promoted the rank casually. The rank of this former naval captain should have been promoted after he received training as a British naval officer.