The British naval mission arrived in 1911, after Georgios Averof had already been ordered and launched. Lionel Tufnell brought experience from commanding a naval engineering college and received broad authority over procurement, infrastructure and training. Engineers and instructors formed the mission because Greece needed the capacity to maintain and operate its navy. His battleship proposal crossed national rivalries by combining German construction with American guns. The short interval before war left no chance of completing the proposed construction programme. Capable Greek officers and their willingness to accept outside advice were essential to the reform.
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Admiral Tufnell's mission rebuilds the Hellenic Navy
A British mission led by Lionel Tufnell receives unusually broad authority over Greek naval training, infrastructure, engineering, and procurement.