Aetos (, "Eagle") served in the Royal Hellenic Navy from 1912–1945. The ship, along with her three sister ships of Wild Beast class destroyers Ierax, Panthir and Leon, was ordered from England. They were purchased in 1912, ready for delivery, each for the sum of £148,000, from the English shipyards Camell Laird in Birkenhead, when the Balkan Wars seemed likely. These ships had originally been ordered by Argentina; Aetos was originally named San Luis. The four ships were sailing with a non-Greek crew to Algiers, to meet the requisitioned personnel transport ship Ionia which contained the Greek crews for the ships. When Aetos entered the Mediterranean she went adrift due to a serious engine breakdown. By pure coincidence one of the other destroyers passed nearby and towed Aetos to Algiers.