The Hellenic Navy is the naval force of Greece, part of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy historically hails from the naval forces of various Aegean Islands, which fought in the Greek War of Independence. During the periods of monarchy it was known as the Royal Hellenic Navy.
A patrol boat is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and they generally range in size. They may be operated by a nation's navy, coast guard, police, or customs, and may be intended for marine, estuarine, or river environments.
Skaramangas Shipyards S.A., formerly Hellenic Shipyards S.A., is a large shipyard in Skaramagas, in West Athens regional unit, Greece founded in 1937 as a warship building company.
Modern Greek military ranks are based on Ancient Greek and Byzantine terminology.
The history of the Hellenic Navy begins with the birth of modern Greece, and due to the maritime nature of the country, this force has been the premier service of the Greek Armed Forces.
The Hellenic Merchant Navy refers to the merchant navy of Greece, engaged in commerce and transportation of goods and services universally. It consists of the merchant vessels owned by Greek civilians, flying either the Greek flag or a flag of convenience. As of 2020, Greece is the largest ship owner country in the world in terms of tonnage; with a total deadweight tonnage of 364 million tons and 4,901 Greek-owned vessels. Greece is a maritime nation by tradition, as shipping is arguably the oldest form of occupation of the Greeks and a key element of Greek economic activity since the ancient times. Today it is the second largest contributor to the national economy after tourism. The Greek fleet flies a variety of flags; however, some Greek shipowners gradually return to Greece following the changes to the legislative framework governing their operations and the improvement of infrastructure.
Adrias was a Type III Hunt-class destroyer that was originally built for the Royal Navy as HMS Border but never commissioned. Before her completion, she was loaned to the Royal Hellenic Navy on 20 July 1942 and commissioned as Adrias on 5 August 1942 in order to relieve heavy losses of ships sustained by the Royal Hellenic Navy during the German invasion of 1941 and throughout the war. Adrias took her name from the ancient Greek town of Adria in Italy, at the mouth of the Po river, after which the Adriatic Sea is named.
The La Combattante III type missile boats are two classes of fast attack craft built for the Hellenic Navy. The first group of four were ordered by Greece in September 1974 from France. The vessels had no class name but are referred to by type. They are similar to the La Combattante IIa-class fast attack craft already in service, but are larger and armed with torpedoes. A second group of six were ordered in 1978, to be built under license in Greece and use the Norwegian Penguin Mk 2 Mod 3 missiles. Since 2019, all the ships of the class use Harpoon anti-ship missiles.
The Osprey 55-class gunboat is a Danish-designed class of naval ship currently in service in the Hellenic Navy and Royal Moroccan Navy. Two ships were ordered by Greece in March 1988 and built by Hellenic Shipyards. The first one was laid down on 8 May 1989 and launched on 19 December 1989. The second ship was laid down on 9 November 1989 and launched on 16 May 1990. Armament is of modular design and therefore can be changed. 76-millimetre (3 in) guns replaced the Bofors 40 mm (1.6 in) guns in 1995, after being taken from decommissioned Gearing-class destroyers. Options on more of the class were shelved in favour of the slightly larger HSY-55 class.
The Osprey HSY-56A-class gunboat is a class of naval vessel currently in service in the Hellenic Navy. These ships are similar to HSY-55-class gunboat and were also built by Hellenic Shipyards (HSY). They are the most modern patrol vessels of Hellenic Navy. The first ship of the class, named Machitis, was commissioned on 29 October 2003. As of 2018, all of the four ships of the class are in active service.
Aetos was an Aetos-class destroyer which served in the Royal Hellenic Navy from 1912–1945.
USS Heron (MHC-52) is the second ship of Osprey-class minehunter.
USS Pelican (MHC-53) was the third Osprey-class coastal minehunter and the third ship in the Navy to bear the name of the bird. From 1 January 1997 on, Pelican was part of the Naval Reserve Force. In that role the ship was used as training platform for naval reservists. Both decommissioned and stricken from the Navy List on 16 March 2007, Pelican was transferred to the Hellenic Navy the same day. There she was recommissioned as Evniki.
Y-1 Katsonis was a Greek submarine active during the Second World War. Katsonis, together with her sister ship, Papanikolis, formed the first class of Greek submarines ordered after the First World War. The submarine was built at the Forges et Chantiers de la Gironde shipyard, in Bordeaux, between 1925 and 1927, and commissioned into the Hellenic Navy on 8 June 1928. Her first captain was Cdr Κ. Arvanitis.
The Hydra class are a group of four frigates in service with the Hellenic Navy. They were designed in Germany and are part of the MEKO group of modular warships, in this case the MEKO 200 design. The programme was authorised in 1988 and partially paid for with FMS aid and provisioned for the commission of six vessels. The first ship was built in Germany and commissioned in 1992 but suffered a serious fire while working up near Portland, England. Repairs were completed in 1993. The Greek built warships were delayed due to financial problems on the part of the Hellenic Shipyards completing in the late 1990s which also led to limiting the total number of vessels to four mainly after the acquisition of eight Kortenaer-class frigates from the Netherlands in the late 1990s.
Hydra (F-452) is the lead ship of the Greek Hydra-class frigate and flagship of the Hellenic Navy. The ship was built in the same shipyard as the Blohm + Voss MEKO 200 frigate class, on which its design was based. Three more vessels were built by Hellenic Shipyards Co. at Skaramagas in following years. It is the fifth ship in the Hellenic Navy to bear the name Hydra.
The Roussen class is a seven-strong class of British-designed fast attack missile boats improved and customized for the Hellenic Navy, also known as Super Vita. The class is named after its lead ship, which in turn is named after Lt Nikolaos Roussen, a World War II submarines officer who was killed in the suppression of the Navy mutiny in April 1944.
Limnos (F451) is an Elli-class frigate of the Hellenic Navy, and the third Greek warship to bear the name. The class is based on the Royal Netherlands Navy's Kortenaer class and was built in a Dutch shipyard; however, unlike later members of her class in the Hellenic Navy, she was not originally in Dutch service but was sold directly to Greece. Limnos was constructed in Vlissingen, Netherlands, along with her sister ship Elli. The contract for her construction was signed in Athens in July 1981, and her commissioning took place on 18 September 1982. After commissioning, Limnos joined the Hellenic Fleet on 5 November 1982, and, since then, she has actively participated in its activities.
Hellenic Navy 
