Naval Legends

Documentary series on warships that changed the course of history in the 20th century

Format Documentary Series
Episodes 4 (30 – 45 min each)
Language English

The Author

John C. Carr

John Carr

Author & Historian

JOHN CARR was born in England in 1948. He worked for years as a journalist and correspondent for the biggest newspapers (The Times, Wall Street Journal Europe, etc.) in the Mediterranean region and especially in Greece.

He is a lover of Greek history and lives in Greece.

He wrote the books: THE DEFENSE AND THE FALL OF GREECE, 1940-1941, THORIKTO AVEROF – LIGHTNING IN THE AEGEAN, THE WARRIOR EMPERORS OF BYZANTIUM, THE COMNINE DYNASTY and MUSSOLINI’S VICTORY AT HIGH 731.

Episodes

HMS Dreadnought
1ST

Britain: HMS Dreadnought

This ship and others in its class enabled Britain’s Royal Navy to control the sea lanes vital for the country’s food and raw materials imports, and introduced oil power to supersede coal-fired vessels.

Japanese Navy Aircraft Carrier Kaga
2ND

Japan: Kaga

This was the first Japanese aircraft carrier to shape Japan’s initial dominance in the Pacific area in World War Two. Originally built as a battleship in 1921, it bypassed the restrictions of the Washington Naval Treaty by being converted into an aircraft carrier, commissioned in 1928. The Kaga and other carriers enabled the Imperial Japanese Navy to carry out the radical new doctrine of mass air strikes of the kind that attacked Pearl Harbor.

USS Missouri
3RD

U.S.A.: USS Missouri

This Iowa-class battleship played an important part in America’s naval battles during World War Two, but it’s primarily known as the ship on which Japan formally surrendered to the Allies in 1945. It has been preserved as a floating museum at Pearl Harbor.

4TH EPISODE

RHNS Averof:
Thunder in the Aegean

Full Treatment and initial working script

The History

The Hellenic Navy’s most famous warship, the Georgios Averof, this year completes its 111th year of existence. Though it is now anchored as a floating naval museum, its history has been an adventure in itself.

Thanks to the courage and ability of its crews, it has passed unscathed through wars and revolts. With no exaggeration, the Averof can be considered to have won the First Balkan War (1912-13) almost unaided.

Outside Greece the astounding story of the Averof has barely been told. Most recently, longtime news correspondent John Carr wrote RHNS Averof: Thunder in the Aegean, published in 2014 by Pen & Sword, UK, translated into Greek by Psichogios publishers in 2015. Both books received good reviews on Amazon and other sites.

RHNS Averof
Averof Documentary

The Documentary

Now Mr Carr has proposed that the story of the Averof be made into a 30- 45 minute documentary, in English, to be aimed at a global audience.

He also would write the shooting script and act as presenter for some of the exterior shoots, such as those on board the ship.

The story of the Averof

The story of the Averof is basically a story of Greek seamanship, as it was the superior tactics of Admiral Koundouriotis that won the famed Battle of Cape Helles in December 1912, which decisively liberated the Eastern Aegean islands and won the First Balkan War for Greece. The message for our time is obvious: only through a solid tradition of seamanship can today’s Hellenic Navy maintain Greek sovereignty in the Aegean area.

Built at Livorno in 1910, the 10,000-ton RHNS Averof was the flagship—and largest warship—of the Royal Hellenic Navy until 1951. More than a century after its construction, she is still afloat, one of just three armored cruisers still in existence in the world.

In the 1920s the ship was refitted in France. When the Germans overran Greece in World War Two, Averof escaped to Alexandria, dodging attacks by the Luftwaffe. In 1941, she escorted a convoy to India, being the first Greek vessel in Indian waters since the time of Alexander the Great.

In 1945, Averof was laid up on the island of Poros and neglected until 1984 when the Greek Admiralty decided to resurrect the ship. The documentary would reveal little-known details of the Averof’s history through two Balkan and two World wars, and how it was rescued from woeful neglect to be restored to a marvellous example of pre-World War One cruiser design.

Old Averof Ship Averof Detail

Script

A draft script is available upon request