Karteria (steam warship with hot shot)
Karteria (vapor de guerra con balas rojas)
- Date
- 1826-1827 · confidence medium
- Place
- Nafplio, Argolis, Greece
- Credited to
- Frank Abney Hastings (Greek navy)
- Field
- Conflict
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
An armed paddle steamer, built in England and brought to Greece in 1826, which operated against the Ottoman fleet in the Greek War of Independence. It used red-hot shot and is cited as one of the first steam warships used in combat.
The priority is disputed: other steamers had already served as warships (e.g. Fulton's Demologos, 1815, which never fought). It is called the 'first steamer in combat' but would have to be compared with East India Company steamers in Burma (1824). Place: base of operations; it was built at Deptford (London).
What it led to
- use of steam in naval warfare before steam warships became general
- tactics of gunboats and steamers against sailing fleets