Two Towers
At the outset, I would like to apologise to readers for the misleading title, which may suggest a connection with the work of the famous J. R. R. Tolkien, when in fact the opposite is true. This text will not draw on the realm of fantasy, as it focuses on specific historical facts of naval warfare.
At the outset, I would like to apologise to readers for the misleading title,
which may suggest a connection with the work of the famous J. R. R. Tolkien,
when in fact the opposite is true. This text will not draw on the realm
of fantasy, as it focuses on specific historical facts of naval warfare.
Two Towers
Petr Uzsák
Greece‘s submarine force is not particularly
well known to the general public, but its
history includes several remarkable episodes.
Few people know, for example, that as early
as 1912 the Greek submarine Delfin attacked
the Ottoman light cruiser Macidiye, albeit
unsuccessfully. Nevertheless, it was the first
underwater torpedo attack in military history.
Today, two preserved conning towers of
Greek submarines can be seen in Athens—
which explains the title. The first comes from
the pre-WWI vessel Y-2 Papanikolis and is
held in the collection of the Piraeus Maritime
Museum. The second artefact mentioned is
the conning tower of the submarine Y/B S118
Okeanos. It stands in Flisvos Park in the Palaio
Faliro district and represents the post-WWI
German school of submarine design.
Y P
In the mid-1920s, the Greek monarchy
ordered the construction of two submarines
in France, its first submarine order since the
end of the Great War (now known as the First
World War). As noted, the order comprised two
vessels. We will focus on the one designated
Y 2 Papanikolis, whose sister ship was
designated Y 1 Katsonis.
Construction of the submarine Papanikolis
began at the Chantiers de la Loire shipyard
in Nantes in 1925. It was a conventional diesel-
electric design of the Schneider–Laubeuf type.
It was not an entirely new project, but a design
derived from the French Circé class. The boat
was completed in 1927 and was accepted
and commissioned by the Hellenic Navy
in December of that year. To be precise,
this took place at 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday,
21 December 1927, in the port of Toulon.
The very next day, the crew conducted an
acceptance trial that included a practice
torpedo launch and a test firing of the deck gun.
Its first commanding officer was Commander
(Cdr) Panagiotis Vandoros.
Two days later, on the afternoon of 24
December 1927, the boat weighed anchor and
departed Toulon for Greece. It arrived five
days later, on the afternoon of 29 December,
where it received a ceremonial welcome.
It then moored at its assigned berth, Buoy
No. 8 at Salamina Naval Base. The boat‘s
mission was coastal defence, as it had not
been designed for extended ocean-going
deployments. Its range was 3,500 nautical
miles (approximately 6,500 km), which
was nevertheless entirely adequate for
Mediterranean conditions.
Its principal technical specifications were
as follows: length 62.5 m; beam 5.3 m; draught
3.6 m; full displacement 605 tonnes surfaced
and 787 tonnes submerged. Propulsion was
provided by diesel engines with a combined
output of 970 kW and electric motors rated at
750 kW. Driving two propellers, they could give
the boat a speed of 14 knots on the surface
(25 km/h) and 9 knots submerged (16 km/h).
The armament comprised two internal bow
torpedo tubes of 533 mm calibre, two external
bow torpedo tubes of the same calibre, two
external stern torpedo tubes also of 533 mm
calibre, and a 100 mm deck gun. The crew
consisted of six officers and 39 petty officers
and sailors.
After acceptance by the navy, the vessel and
its crew carried out routine peacetime duties
involving training, maintenance and visits to
various Greek towns and islands. In 1929, for
example, the submarine visited the islands of
TWO TOWERS
Loading a torpedo aboard the Greek
submarine Xifias in Toulon, France.
It was a sister ship of the submarine
Delfin, mentioned in the article.
Photo: Galica
INFO Eduard14
August 2026