The ''Thetis''-class gunboats was a class of five naval ships of the

Hellenic Navy The Hellenic Navy (HN; el, Πολεμικό Ναυτικό, Polemikó Naftikó, War Navy, abbreviated ΠΝ) is the naval force of Greece, part of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy historically hails from the naval forces of vari ...

, originally developed for the

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mari ...

as ''Class 420'' and first commissioned in 1961.

Design

Similar in size to

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

s, all five ''Class 420''/''Thetis''-class vessels were built by Rolandwerft,

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

. Although they were designed, built, and designated as ''

Subchasers A submarine chaser or subchaser is a small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. Many of the American submarine chasers used in World War I found their way to Allied nations by way of Lend-Lease in World War II. ...

'' by the German Navy, subchasers became obsolete after the

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due to being unable to keep pace with advancements in submarine technology. Because the ships were designed to chase more modern submarines, they are more commonly referred to as

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

s. The main armament of ''Thetis''-class ships consisted of 20 mm and 40 mm guns, Mk 46 Mod5 torpedoes and mines and anti-submarine (A/S) mortars. The ships were also equipped with

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...

. Later the A/S mortars were replaced by a second 40 mm gun and the single torpedo tubes by triple mountings. Upgrades started in 2000 may have included enclosed 40 mm gun mountings and

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20 mm guns to replace the MGs. The last two ships of the class were decommissioned on 22 April 2010.

Ships in class

*''Niki'', P62 ("Victory", ex-''Thetis'', P 6052): commissioned in the German Navy on 1 July 1961, recommissioned in the Hellenic Navy on 6 September 1991, decommissioned on 2 April 2009. *''Doxa'', P63 ("Glory", ex-''Najade'', P 6054): commissioned in the German Navy on 12 May 1962, recommissioned in the Hellenic Navy on 6 September 1991, decommissioned on 22 April 2010. *''Eleftheria'', P64 ("Liberty", ex-''Triton'', P 6055): commissioned in the German Navy on 10 November 1962, recommissioned in the Hellenic Navy on 7 September 1992, decommissioned on 22 April 2010. *''Karteria'', P65 ("Perseverance", ex-''Hermes'', P-6053): Commissioned in the German Navy in 1962, recommissioned in the Hellenic Navy on 7 September 1992, decommissioned in 2004. *''Agon'', P66 ("Struggle", ex-''Theseus'', P 6056): commissioned in the German Navy in 1962, recommissioned for Hellenic Navy in the 8 November 1993, decommissioned in 2004, used as target and sunk with two Penguin missiles on 21 October 2008.HS ''Agon'' on Hellenic Navy website
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thetis-Class Naval ships of Greece Niki class Thetis class Gunboat classes Submarine chaser classes