San Giorgio vs. Averoff

fester

This is a curiousity post -- how would the Italian armored cruiser San Giorgio do versus the Greek armored cruiser Averoff in the winter of 1941 if the battle occurred in daylight with relatively calm seas near Crete?

I have a fascination with obsolete ships and this is one of the few ways I could see an armored cruiser clash in WWII.
 
Insider

Insider

Banned
well thats something I would want to see. San Gorgo has advantage on paper but it is crewed by Italians
 

Oldbill

I have to give the edge the Italians. The RM had ALOT more money to pour into ships than the Greeks did, and this would have been reflected in training and material readiness. About the only advantage the Greeks have will be a slight speed advantage (San Giorgio has had some boilers removed during a refit) and crew morale. Captain and crew of Averof were exceptional men, as proven by their decision to sail off to fight again instead of following orders to scuttle and surrender.
 
Lascaris

Lascaris

Uncle George has a 7 knot advantage, San Giorgio was down to 16 knots after her conversion to training ship and probably better fire control it had been modernization in France in the 1920s while I haven't seen any mention of serious modernization of the main guns fire control for San Giorgio . Training wise the Greeks have been receiving training by the British for the past generation (which is one of the reasons they got incorporated more or less easily into the RN Mediterranean fleet in 1941). And I short of suspect they were starting with more experienced recruits in the first place given how Greece in 1938 had 1.889 million tons of merchant shipping to 3.24 million tons for Italy with about a sixth her population. So I'll give that to Averof given the tactical advantage these 7 knots give it.
 

steamboy

With ships like this and their gunnery systems and weapons, they really lack the capacity to hurt each other at range, their armour is proof against their guns at long range so if after a few hits the two didn't break off but instead went at each other hammer and tongs it gets into a close quarters brawl, at which point its the risk of a mutual kill-kill for the two ships. San Giorgio has the advantage of slightly heavier main guns, and probably superior fire control but i'd say the Greeks would be better trained and more aggressive.

Really it comes down to who gets the first serious hit, but this is only going to occur at ranges under 10,000 yards and closer.
 

Oldbill

Lascaris said:
Uncle George has a 7 knot advantage, San Giorgio was down to 16 knots after her conversion to training ship and probably better fire control it had been modernization in France in the 1920s while I haven't seen any mention of serious modernization of the main guns fire control for San Giorgio . Training wise the Greeks have been receiving training by the British for the past generation (which is one of the reasons they got incorporated more or less easily into the RN Mediterranean fleet in 1941). And I short of suspect they were starting with more experienced recruits in the first place given how Greece in 1938 had 1.889 million tons of merchant shipping to 3.24 million tons for Italy with about a sixth her population. So I'll give that to Averof given the tactical advantage these 7 knots give it.
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Good points. I'd not considered these.
 
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