This is a St. Etienne HMG which was used by the French in WW1. It was an unexceptional design developed by the Government and suffered from reliability problems. The French preferred the much more reliable private company designed Hotchkiss HMG. After WW1 the French sold many of these to the Greeks to use as Fortress defense. The used a 50 round metal clip magazines, rather than belts which was another factor working against them.
Note the rifle carried by the Greek soldier, which appears to be a French Berthier from WW1.
This was a Schneider-Dahlgren mountain howitzer of 75 mm caliber. Actually, it was a very effective weapon-one of the few artillery pieces used by Greek forces which was well suited to the task, fighting the Italians in the Dinardic Alps.
The man in the center holds a French Chauchat LMG of WW1 vintage. It was NOT a good weapon, suffering from quality issues caused by the use of inferior materials in it's construction. To top it off, the basic mechanism was lacking and the curved magazines were easily damaged and subject to jams. During WW1 the French dumped as many as possible onto unsuspecting American forces who paid top dollar for them.
After WW1 the French sold them off en-masse to the poorer nations trying to acquire modern weaponry. The Greeks bought quite a few. Their use with Greek forces in WW2 was probably just as unsatisfactory as the French experience, but the Greeks had to make do.
Another pic of the Chauchat is below. It is not known if the Greeks converted their Chauchat's to use the 6.5 mm MS cartridge or left them in their original caliber-8 mm Lebel cartridge. But the Greeks had over 4000 Chauchats issued to their troops at the start of the conflict.
Would you trust this man"
This message has been edited by Landos on Jun 18, 2007 12:02 AM
Another Greek "weapon" was the Greek woman, who supported her men by carrying ammunition and supplies to soldiers in the front. And cleaning snow off mountain trails as in this case. Let no one doubt that Greek women carried their own weight in the war and then some!
Greeks lacked modern transportation for the most part and relied heavily on horses and mules. Here a horse team pulls a French 155 Howitzer of WW1 vintage. Note the rifle being carried by the soldier, which appears to be the standard Greek issue-a 6.5 mm Mannlicher Schoenherr bolt action rifle.
Would you trust this man"
This message has been edited by Landos on Jun 16, 2007 7:03 PM
Greek troops in a skirmish line brandishing Mannlicher rifles. The soldier in the background holds a small semi-automatic pistol which is either a Spanish "Ruby" (standard Greek issue for officers) or a captured Italian Baretta.
ANY INFO OR PHOTO ABOUT THE ANTI-TANK 47 MM (ITALIAN MADE)
THE ANTI-TANK GUNS 20 MM (BRITISH MADE)
THE ANTI-AIR GUN 37 MM
THAT GREEKS USED IN THE WAR?
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""Maniots, known for their martial qualities, were the first to join the Greek liberation movement. The society called the Filiki Eteria ("Company of Friends") sent their representatives Perrevos and Chrisospathis to organize the Maniots. On March 17, 1821, 12,000 Maniots gathered in the church of Taxiarchs (Archangels) of Areopoli and declared war against the Ottoman Empire. The flag of the revolution was white with a blue cross in the center. On top of the flag there was a sign, "Victory or death". The Maniots were responsible for writing "Victory" and not "Freedom" on their banner since Mani was always free. On the bottom of the flag lied an ancient inscription, "With the shield or on the shield."
Greek troops man an 81 mm mortar which was a common weapon on all sides in WW2. I can't determine the make of this mortar, but it could be German. Thoughts?
Another Schneider-Dahlgren mountain gun. This weapon was originally designed by the French, but a Greek Army officer made a number of improvements to the design and it was used to good effect by Greek forces against the italains. It was relatively light so it made easy carrying in the mountains. In fact, the barrel could be removed from the breech mechanism for easier carrying!
Greek troops carrying a St. Etienne HMG forward. This weapons was far from ideal for use in the mountains. It was big, heavy and the ammunition strips could be easily damaged leading to jams. The Greek Army tried to acquire some superior Czech metal-belt-fed HMG's before the war and did manage to procure a few. But for the most part Greek forces used ex-WW1 machine guns that were far from satisfactory.
THIS MINI "MORTAR" IS BOMBIDOBOLO
IT IS VB ( VIVENE-BESSIERE )FROM FIRST WAR WORLD
COULD LAUNCH MINI GRANADES WEIGHTING 600 GRAMMARIA EACH IN A DISTANCE OF 180 METERS
THERE WERE CONSIDER NECCESERY FOR THE DEAD CORNERS OF THE FORTRESSES GUNS AND FOR MOUNTAIN COMBACT
THE RANGE AND THE FAULTY QUALITY OF THE GRANADES MAKE IT ALMOST USELEES FOR THE FORTRESESS
GREEK ARMY TRY TO GET 50 MM AND 60 MM MODERN TYPES BUT CAUSE OF DELIVERY FAILURE
THEY USED THE VB BOMBIDOBOLA
FROM THE FOTRESSES THOSE MINI GRENADES COULD BE LAUNCH FROM NARROW TUBES TO THE OUTSIDE
BUT CAUSE THE AGE OF THIS WEAPON AND THE LACK OF RIGHT AMMUNITION MAKE MANY TUBES TO STACK!!!
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""Maniots, known for their martial qualities, were the first to join the Greek liberation movement. The society called the Filiki Eteria ("Company of Friends") sent their representatives Perrevos and Chrisospathis to organize the Maniots. On March 17, 1821, 12,000 Maniots gathered in the church of Taxiarchs (Archangels) of Areopoli and declared war against the Ottoman Empire. The flag of the revolution was white with a blue cross in the center. On top of the flag there was a sign, "Victory or death". The Maniots were responsible for writing "Victory" and not "Freedom" on their banner since Mani was always free. On the bottom of the flag lied an ancient inscription, "With the shield or on the shield."
This message has been edited by panos1980 on Jun 16, 2007 7:18 PM
This smiling Greek soldier sports a Mannlicher rifle. It was a good weapon, well made and performed very well. But the 6.5 caliber cartridge was a little underpowered for fighting in the mountains-as was the Italian 6.5 mm Carcano.
The soldier carries standard Greek "kit" except for the British style helmet. Greeks used both their own style helmets as well as some British ones. Greek troops were always undersupplied with materials and had to make do, but they had COURAGE in abundance!
Would you trust this man"
This message has been edited by Landos on Jun 16, 2007 7:24 PM
greeks used to adopt new bases to the old machine guns like SAINT ATIENNE AND HOTCHKISS
IN THE PHOTO MIGHT BE 20 MM
THIS IS A GERMAN 37 MM AA GUN
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""Maniots, known for their martial qualities, were the first to join the Greek liberation movement. The society called the Filiki Eteria ("Company of Friends") sent their representatives Perrevos and Chrisospathis to organize the Maniots. On March 17, 1821, 12,000 Maniots gathered in the church of Taxiarchs (Archangels) of Areopoli and declared war against the Ottoman Empire. The flag of the revolution was white with a blue cross in the center. On top of the flag there was a sign, "Victory or death". The Maniots were responsible for writing "Victory" and not "Freedom" on their banner since Mani was always free. On the bottom of the flag lied an ancient inscription, "With the shield or on the shield."
I NEED DESPERATE PHOTOS FORM MIKRASIATIKI CAMPAIGN AS WELL FILE IF YOU HAVE
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""Maniots, known for their martial qualities, were the first to join the Greek liberation movement. The society called the Filiki Eteria ("Company of Friends") sent their representatives Perrevos and Chrisospathis to organize the Maniots. On March 17, 1821, 12,000 Maniots gathered in the church of Taxiarchs (Archangels) of Areopoli and declared war against the Ottoman Empire. The flag of the revolution was white with a blue cross in the center. On top of the flag there was a sign, "Victory or death". The Maniots were responsible for writing "Victory" and not "Freedom" on their banner since Mani was always free. On the bottom of the flag lied an ancient inscription, "With the shield or on the shield."
This is a Bloch 152 fighter, of which the Greeks had a squadron. They gave good service against the Italians, but were outmatched against German Mescherschmitt 109's. These were probably the best fighter in the Greek air force.
""Maniots, known for their martial qualities, were the first to join the Greek liberation movement. The society called the Filiki Eteria ("Company of Friends") sent their representatives Perrevos and Chrisospathis to organize the Maniots. On March 17, 1821, 12,000 Maniots gathered in the church of Taxiarchs (Archangels) of Areopoli and declared war against the Ottoman Empire. The flag of the revolution was white with a blue cross in the center. On top of the flag there was a sign, "Victory or death". The Maniots were responsible for writing "Victory" and not "Freedom" on their banner since Mani was always free. On the bottom of the flag lied an ancient inscription, "With the shield or on the shield."
This message has been edited by panos1980 on Jun 16, 2007 8:07 PM
The Metaxas Line was a chain of fortifications constructed along the line of the Graeco-Bulgarian border, designed to protect Greece in case of a Bulgarian invasion during World War II. It was named after Ioannis Metaxas, the then dictatorial ruler of Greece, and chiefly consists of tunnels that led to observatories, emplacements and machine-gun nests. The constructions are so sturdy that they survive to this day, some of which are still in active service. Some of them are open to the public.
The Metaxas Line fortifications consist of 22 independent clusters, the largest of which is the Roupel Fortress as it covers 6.1 out of the 155 km of the full line and had been constructed at a height of 322 m. Illumination was initially mostly provided by oil-lamps, although generators were also installed. (Currently, the fortifications are supplied with public electricity, but they are also equipped with generators). Ventilation was achieved both naturally and artificially. Water was supplied via water-mains. The fortification works lasted four years and their cost at the time reached 100,400,000 drachmas.
[edit] History
Before the outbreak of World War II, the additions made to the Roupel Fortress were considered to be too weak. Thus, it was decided that further fortifications should be constructed, not only in the particular region, but also along the entire northern Greek borderline. The plans were drawn up in 1935 and work began at Kerkini in 1936. The original intention was that the full fortifications' line reach as far along the border as Ormenion. Greece, however, became involved in World War II in 1940, thus preventing completion. At the war’s outbreak, the fortification line had only reached Komotini, Thrace and was 155km long.
Like the Maginot Line on the Franco-German border, the Metaxas Line was outflanked by German forces -specifically when the Germans invaded Greece in April 1941 through Yugoslavia. The Germans initially attacked the Metaxas Line but they were unable to go through it because of the heavy resistance they encountered, so they decided to outflank the Line by moving troops to Greece through the Greek-Bulgarian borders which was poorly defended. German forces surrounded the Metaxas Line but the soldiers continued to resist bravely to the waves of attacks. The Greek Army surrendered on 21 April but the soldiers and officers kept on fighting until 23 April when the Germans used gas to make the defendants emerge from the fortifications. German General Wilhelm List who lead the attack against the Metaxas Line admired the bravery and courage of these soldiers. He took no prisoners and declared that the army was free to leave with their war flags, on condition that they surrender their arms and supplies. He also ordered his soldiers and officers to salute the Greek soldiers.The line was also poorly manned as most of the Greek Army was fighting against the Italians, on the Albanian frontier.
""Maniots, known for their martial qualities, were the first to join the Greek liberation movement. The society called the Filiki Eteria ("Company of Friends") sent their representatives Perrevos and Chrisospathis to organize the Maniots. On March 17, 1821, 12,000 Maniots gathered in the church of Taxiarchs (Archangels) of Areopoli and declared war against the Ottoman Empire. The flag of the revolution was white with a blue cross in the center. On top of the flag there was a sign, "Victory or death". The Maniots were responsible for writing "Victory" and not "Freedom" on their banner since Mani was always free. On the bottom of the flag lied an ancient inscription, "With the shield or on the shield."
This was the "Queen Olga", a Greek Destroyer. There were two of this design in Greek service in 1940 and it was the most modern ship in the Greek navy. It was a British design. This ship did great service in WW2, sinking numerous Italian military and merchant ships. It was finally sunk by German dive bombers in 1943, just after the Italian capitulation.
Most Greek destroyers in WW2 were ex-WW1 designs like this ship. Obsolete, they never-the-less did good service keeping Italian convoy's on guard in the Adriatic. Most were sunk before the wars end by the German aircraft and submarines.
The 3 working Greek subs at the start of the war were French Designs purchased in 1929. Small, cramped, with limited range, weaponry and diving characteristics they still kept the Italian convoys on edge. The Greeks knowing their subs were vulnerable to Italian bombing attacks kept them based in caves along the west coast of Greece! From there, they'd sortie out and attack Italian shipping.
Their main achievment was forcing the Italians and later the Germans to deploy anti-submarine forces to checkmate them. But they still achieved some significant sinkings of axis shipping.
Greek light cruiser Elli, which was treachorously sunk by an Italian sub bofore the war started! Many Greek seamen died in the attack-they were celebrating a holiday when torpedoed.
submarines like Triton and Papanikolis were the best among the allies
note that Papanikolis submarine had been wantedfrom the germans and offered money
for it's capture
this only reapeted again in the second world war with the german battleship Bismark when the allies offered money for it's capture
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""Maniots, known for their martial qualities, were the first to join the Greek liberation movement. The society called the Filiki Eteria ("Company of Friends") sent their representatives Perrevos and Chrisospathis to organize the Maniots. On March 17, 1821, 12,000 Maniots gathered in the church of Taxiarchs (Archangels) of Areopoli and declared war against the Ottoman Empire. The flag of the revolution was white with a blue cross in the center. On top of the flag there was a sign, "Victory or death". The Maniots were responsible for writing "Victory" and not "Freedom" on their banner since Mani was always free. On the bottom of the flag lied an ancient inscription, "With the shield or on the shield."
"The Greeks knowing their subs were vulnerable to Italian bombing attacks kept them based in caves along the west coast of Greece! From there, they'd sortie out and attack Italian shipping."
yes those caves are most in the Paxos and Kerkyra islands
there are tourist trips into that caves today
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""Maniots, known for their martial qualities, were the first to join the Greek liberation movement. The society called the Filiki Eteria ("Company of Friends") sent their representatives Perrevos and Chrisospathis to organize the Maniots. On March 17, 1821, 12,000 Maniots gathered in the church of Taxiarchs (Archangels) of Areopoli and declared war against the Ottoman Empire. The flag of the revolution was white with a blue cross in the center. On top of the flag there was a sign, "Victory or death". The Maniots were responsible for writing "Victory" and not "Freedom" on their banner since Mani was always free. On the bottom of the flag lied an ancient inscription, "With the shield or on the shield."
And who can forget the Armored Cruiser "Averof"! Though outmoded in 1940 she put to sea when the Germans invaded and made it to Alexandria with much of the Greek fleet. There she was renovated and she spent the next couple of years doing patrol service in the Indian ocean for the British.
This is either a Greek AA crew with this Breda weapon or it's an Italian AA crew after the surrender. Pic was taken right next two the Parthenon, so I suspect it's a Greek AA crew.
In the category of "Weapons Greece paid for but did not Receive(!)" is the F4F Wildcat. Greece bought about 20 of these fighters before the Italians attacked, but the US did not deliver them. I believe they were instead given to the Brits as the US had written off Greece and the European continent as a lost cause.
Hotchkiss-Benet LMG of the type Greece procured in large numbers from France after WW1. Greece used many of these against the Italians. Greek gunsmiths had reworked the guns to make them more reliable, increased the rate of fire and many were changed over from strip feed to metal link belt feed. They weren't exactly a "light" LMG, but they were effective. Another view of the same LMG is below:
Would you trust this man"
This message has been edited by Landos on Jun 17, 2007 11:48 PM This message has been edited by Landos on Jun 17, 2007 2:42 AM
Austrian Schwarzlose HMG of WW1 vintage. Greeks received many of these as war reparations after WW1. They were still in use during WW2. They had the advantage of using the same 6.5 mm cartridge the standard Greek Mannlicher rifle used-both being of Austrian vintage.
The Greeks used these HMG's mostly for static defense, like in the Metaxas Line forts. They were too heavy for infantry use.
The Legendary Destroyer "ADRIAS" (A Story Of Greek Seamanship )
Adrias was a Hunt III class destroyer that was originally built for Royal Navy as HMS Border (L67) but never commissioned. Before her completion, she was loaned to Royal Hellenic Navy on July-20-1942 and commissioned as Adrias (L67) on August-5-1942 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 (Herodotus vi. 127, vii. 20, ix. 92; Euripides, Hippolytus,736).
Command of Adrias was accepted by Commander Ioannis Toumbas in Newcastle, England, on July-20-1942. Upon completion of the training period on August-26, while sailing under foggy conditions with only the left engine functioning, she ran aground near Scapa Flow. It took four months to repair. No responsibility was attributed to the captain for the accident. In the beginning of January-1943, after the completion of repairs, Adrias sailed to the Mediterranean where she participated in missions escorting convoys.
On January-27-1943, while positioned 360 miles NW off Cape Finisterre Adrias was believed to have sunk the German U/Boat U-553 (British Admiralty's signal presumed her possibly sunk). When the war ended the loss of the German submarine was officially confirmed to have occurred on January 27. However, the name of the ship that caused the sinking was not mentioned. During that same operation on February-13-1943, Adrias sunk or seriously damaged the U/Boat U-623 (the last report from that submarine was dated February 9, 1943).
Adrias took part in numerous convoy escorts in the Mediterranean Sea as well as in the Sicily landing operations, where on the night of July-20-1943, in cooperation with British destroyer HMS Quantock she successfully confronted 3 German torpedo boats during a night engagement and sunk two of them. On September-20-1943, representing Greece, she participated in the force of 4 Allied ships to which the Taranto-based Italian Fleet, sailing towards Malta, surrendered.
On October-22-1943, during operations in the Dodecanese Islands and while near the island of Kalymnos with the British destroyer HMS Hurworth, Adrias struck a mine. From the explosion, her bow was torn off. The English Flotilla Commander onboard Hurworth ordered Commander Toumbas to abandon ship. Hurworth, while trying to come to Adrias's rescue, also hit a mine and sunk taking 143 men with her. In spite of the damage suffered, Adrias took on the survivors of Hurworth (among them her Commander) and managed to reach the nearby coast of Gumusluk in neutral Turkey with 21 men of her crew dead and 30 wounded. After some minor repairs, the ship sailed on December 1 for Alexandria, despite her missing bow. After a trip of 730 nautical miles, of which 300 were within the range of Luftwaffe's Junkers Ju 88 bombers based in occupied Greece, (the threat of them forced her to sail only at night despite her limited maneuverability), she managed to reach Alexandria on December 6 (day of the Feast of St. Nicholas, patron saint of seamen) where she was enthusiastically greeted by the British Fleet and other Allied ships. This achievement was considered a brilliant example of seamanship, and provided a morale boost to the Royal Hellenic Navy and other allied ships in the Mediterranean Sea.
After the liberation of Greece from the Germans, Adrias, with her bow temporarily repaired, arrived in Faliro with the rest of the ships of the Hellenic Fleet. The ship was never fully repaired due to the termination of war operations in the Mediterranean and sailed to England where she was returned to the Royal Navy.
(photo: Adrias with her bow destoyed)
(painting: Adrias sailing in the port of Alexandria under the greetings of the allies)
Look at this picture even the German soldiers seem like they do not know what they are doing there or fighting for.causing death to themselves and Greeks.
Hitler will have to go down as one of the worst tactitions and leaders of all time.
Best in rhetoric but nothing else.It ww2 panned out and finished as Ataturk had predicted years earlier.Hitler was lucky in a sense he had good officers whom were light yers more intelligent then him.
Nice pics by the way.
---------------
WWW.THETRUTHISSOUR.COM
This message has been edited by celikyumruk on Jun 17, 2007 3:39 PM
Rifle cartridges for comparisons. The Greek Mannlicher-Schonaeur 6.5 mm cartridge is second from the left. Compare it with the 30-06 cartridge second from the right. The Greek 6.5 cartridge, while have lower muzzle velocity and bullet mass had excellent ballistic characteristics and great stopping power. African hunters had used the 6.5 mm MS for many years against big game-lions and even elephants (though it was frankly very underpowered for this last!)
But, in reality the 6.5 mm MS was underpowered for fighting in the mountains. It did the job, but a more powerful cartridge like the Mauser 7.92 would have been better.
Russian Tokarev pistol. Many of these were used by Greek troops, although they were not standard issue. Similar mechanism to the 1911 Colt, they used a 7.6 mm Russian cartridge.
Would you trust this man"
This message has been edited by Landos on Jun 18, 2007 12:04 AM
Spanish Ruby Pistol, which was standard issue for Greek senior officers. It fired a .32 cartridge and was underpowered-similar to the small Baretta carried by Italian senior officers.
The Russian Nagant revolver was also widely used by Greek troops. It had been Greek military issue since the Balkan Wars. Though outmoded by the time of WW2, it gave good service particularly among the Partisans.
Czech HMG that was also produced in England under the designation "BESA". It was air cooled, metal belt fed and fired the Mauser 7.92 cartridge. Greek armed forces picked up some of these just prior to the conflict in an attempt to upgrade their automatic weapon capability. They were excellent machine guns, but the Greeks had few of them.
Would you trust this man"
This message has been edited by Landos on Jun 17, 2007 11:52 PM
Greek forces also acquired a few Czech LMG's of the Model 26. These guns were what inspired the later Bren and were excellent weapons. The Greeks used the few they had as infantry support machine guns at which they were superb!
Another pic of the Bloch MB-152 which was the best fighter the Greek Air Force had. It had respectable performance and four 7.5 mm machine guns. The engine manufactured by Rhone-Gnome and didn't have all the bugs worked out of it-issues with overheating were common. Still, it gave a good account of itself against Italian aircraft though it was challenged by more capable German aircraft.
Hello from Chicago (possible site of the 2016 Olympics)!
Great thread with some pretty interesting pictures of the Greek forces in WWII. A few points I would like to make....
1. Metaxas must be given credit for recognizing, in the mid 1930's, that another European war was inevitable. His efforts to modernize the armed forces as well as improve the strategic position of Greece (as in new roads, railroads in the frontier areas and of course the Metaxas Line) enabled Greece (within its limits) to face the shock of war. I remember reading somewhere that prior to Greece's entry into the war that Metaxas ordered that Athens reduce electrical use at night.
2. In the mid to late 1930's, Metaxas wanted very much to see Greece free itself from the economic grip of Germany. He was able to secure some trade agreements with Britain (despite the grumblings of some in the British government about previous loans to Greece that were not yet repaid).
3. About the Grumman F4F Wildcat fighter. Actually there were 30 of the 'Cats that were on the way to Greece. But after Greece fell, they went to North Africa for the British forces there. For someone like myself who is a HUGE naval history buff (especially carrier warfare--I wanted to be a US Navy pilot but I have bad eyesight), I have always wondered how Greek-flown Wildcats would have performed against the Italian and especially German aircraft. I also believe that some P-40's were destined for Greece but of course, never made it.
4. One question about the photos of Greek soldiers in the snow....why don't they have any gloves?!?!? I read somewhere that Greece had a very large number of frostbite cases.
5. I did not know this but prior to the Italian invasion, Greece was a major supplier of ammunition to British forces in North Africa.
There is a book written by Betty Wason called "Miracle in Hellas:The Greeks Fight On" that was written in 1943. She was a correspondent who was with the Greeks in Albania and also witnessed when the Germans came into Athens. It is a fascinating book with a first-hand account of talking to Greek soldiers and civilians from the euphoria of the early victories in Albania to the fear of the advancing Germans and the first few months of occupation.
Hey, CG, great to hear some intelligent comments in this forum.
Per the F4F's, I don't think they would have matched up well against the German fighters at any rate. The war in Europe was about speed and altitude, not maneuverability. The Wildcats would have done well against the Italians though.
But the Bloch MB-152's were good fighters as well. They suffered engine reliability problems, but gave good service when in the air. Problem is, the Greeks had far too few of them (only about a dozen), the rest of the Greek fighters being obsolete Polish designs.
Greeks used their terrain and weather advantages to good effect against superior equipped enemies. And they were fighting defensively, which helped as well.
Regarding the lack of gloves, many of the photo's I posted are somewhat "staged". They were real troops, but put into positions for morale boosting photo's for the newspapers. You can see the same troops in a number of these photos (especially the guy with the too small helmet)! I'm certain that actual combat photos would have shown troops more dressed for the conditions, including gloves.
Greeks used submachine guns very seldom. They were not really suited for the type of conflict in the northern Greek mountains. But Greeks did acquire a few submachine guns for special units. Among those used most often were the Russian PPD-40 (show here with a drum magazine, they also used a 35 round curved box magazine) and the Thompson M1928 (shown below).
This message has been edited by Landos on Jun 18, 2007 12:13 AM
French Grenade (1935 improved fusing) that was often used by Greek troops. They also used surplus WW1 French Grenades which the Greek Army had bought after that war-such as the type below.
This message has been edited by Landos on Jun 18, 2007 12:26 AM
GER Mark's Grandpa (Login TuAF35LightningII) The Conquerors (Turkey)
Re: Greek WW2 weapons.
June 18 2007, 2:27 AM
Would you guys mind if I use this photo as my new signature?
very true indeed that greece was materialisticly ill prepared for the war she would soon be thrown in,thus inadequate & antiquated weopons were used for lack of anything better,even the american army was a victim of the very same defective french machine guns greece was forced to use,never the less a few facts are worthy to be remembered
1.one of the greatest maritime disasters of all time occured in the adriatic when an old hellenic sub(papanikolis?)sunk an italian warship/transport with thousands aboared killed.
2.the small outnumberd Haf managed not only to valiantly fight the invaders ,but also managed to bomb rome in the process.
3.the majority of the haf consisted of old polish bi planes.
2.the small outnumberd Haf managed not only to valiantly fight the invaders ,but also managed to bomb rome in the process.
I never read this! Post details!
3.the majority of the haf consisted of old polish bi planes.
This is not true. The majority of HAF fighters were Polish gull-wing (but single wing) aircraft of mid-1930's pedigree. The actual Designation was the Pzl-24 and it had a 1000 HP Gnome-Rhone 14 cylinder air cooled engine and 4 machine guns. They were manuverable and gave a good account of themselves against the Italians-who DID deploy biplanes (The CR-42, for example) that were comparable in performance to this aircraft.
While the Pzl fighters were not as capable as the top Italian (let alone German!) models, they were close enough in performance to put up a good fight. And they were used as ground attack fighters to good effect.
This message has been edited by Landos on Jun 18, 2007 3:28 AM
as i've said before,im not that computer literate to be able to post links & pics such as your good self,but brother believe me when i say that the haf did indeed bomb rome!
One of the few bombers deployed by the HAF was the Briston Blenheim, which was in fact a Light Bomber. Most were destroyed on the ground when the Luftwaffe caught them in strafing runs. They were used to bomb Italian troop and supply concentrations in Albania successfully.
Another Light Bomber used by the HAF was the Potez 633, a French design. It employed two 800 HP Gnome-Rhone radial engines and could carry 400 Kg's of bombs. Had a crew of thee-Pilot, Navigator/Radio Operator and Rear Gunner. Only 11 were delivered to Greece though they had bought 24-the other 13 were embargoed when France fell to the Germans.
In this rare picture, a British Air Sergeant and a Greek mechanic stand in front of a HAF Potez 633.
Would you trust this man"
This message has been edited by Landos on Jun 18, 2007 3:46 AM
The HAF also had a few Avro Anson light bombers. Here is a rare pic of one which escaped to Alexandria-along with 4 other Ansons and a few Blenheims and Potez bombers.
In Alexandria King George visits the reformed 13 Hellenic Squadron, composed of aircraft which had escaped the Axis forces. He walks in front of a Blenheim which had made it to Egypt.
Paper instructions given to Greek women showing how to knit socks, gloves and scarf so they are "official issue" and all the same. Greek women made much of the warm clothing Greek troops used during the winter.
Morning of 28 October 1940. The Greek radio stopped its regular program to broadcast BREAK NEWS. The speaker announced that the Italians just invaded Greece. The Greek Armed Forces defend the motherland.
""Maniots, known for their martial qualities, were the first to join the Greek liberation movement. The society called the Filiki Eteria ("Company of Friends") sent their representatives Perrevos and Chrisospathis to organize the Maniots. On March 17, 1821, 12,000 Maniots gathered in the church of Taxiarchs (Archangels) of Areopoli and declared war against the Ottoman Empire. The flag of the revolution was white with a blue cross in the center. On top of the flag there was a sign, "Victory or death". The Maniots were responsible for writing "Victory" and not "Freedom" on their banner since Mani was always free. On the bottom of the flag lied an ancient inscription, "With the shield or on the shield."
