Hellenic sloop-of-war ''Kartería'' (;

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

for "Perseverance") was the first steam-powered warship to be used in combat operations in history. It was built in 1825 in an English shipyard for the revolutionary Hellenic Navy during the Greek War of Independence, on the order of Capt

Frank Abney Hastings Frank Abney Hastings ( el, Φραγκίσκος Άστιγξ) (14 February 1794 – 1 June 1828) was a British naval officer and Philhellene. Born to a noble British family, he served in the Royal Navy, seeing action at the Battle of Trafalgar ...

, a former

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

officer who had volunteered his services to the Hellenic Navy. The vessel was built by Daniel Brent Shipwrights in the Greenland South Dockyard,

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, London. It was financed mainly from the proceeds of the 2nd Greek Loan raised by the

London Philhellenic Committee The London Philhellenic Committee (1823–1826) was a Philhellenic group established to support the Greek War of Independence from Ottoman rule by raising funds by subscription for military supplies to Greece and by raising a major loan to stabil ...

, but also by Capt Hastings' private funds. The 233-ton vessel was propelled by steam-powered paddles. Power was generated by 2 small steam engines. The vessel also featured 4 masts and could operate under sail: it was envisaged that the vessel would normally cruise under

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, but switch to steam-power during combat operations, to allow maximum maneuvrability. It was armed with just 8 guns but all were 68-pounders, the most powerful calibre. The on-board furnaces that burnt coal to generate steam could also be used to heat cannon-shot to a red-hot state, creating highly incendiary missiles.

Active service

The ship entered service in Greece in 1826. It was the first steam warship to see combat. (The first steam warship ever built was American, the USS ''Demologos'', a 30-gun armoured warship launched in 1814, but never used in battle). Under the command of Hastings, the ''Kartería'' soon gained a fearsome combat reputation, taking part in numerous operations against the Ottoman Navy. (The ''Karteria'' fired 18,000 rounds in 1827 alone). The ship's most celebrated success was a raid on the port of Itea, near Salona ( Amfissa) in the Gulf of Corinth, on 29/30 September 1827, where it sank 9 Ottoman ships.Woodhouse (1965) 83

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Karteria Ships built in Rotherhithe 1825 ships Steamships Sloops of the Hellenic Navy Greek War of Independence naval ships of Greece