HM M.27 in
North Russia in 1919 (collection of
Yeoman of Signals George Smith, click
to enlarge) |
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to
Contents List
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M-CLASS
COASTAL MONITORS
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A
series
of fourteen ships was ordered in
1915 for use in supporting
operations ashore
and were smaller versions of the
larger Monitors. These ships
displaced only
540 tons compared with the larger
EREBUS Class of 7,000 tons ordered a
few
weeks later in 1915. Their armament
was smaller compared with the 15”
guns
fitted in the EREBUS Class and those
built during WW2. As their draught
was
less they
could operate in shallow waters near
the
coast which proved especially
suitable for their deployments
during and after
WW1. Some of this Class were
converted for use a Coastal
Minelayers after
1921.
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General
Particulars
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Displacement
Tonnage
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540
(M15
to M28), 535 (M29 to M33)
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Dimensions
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170
Feet
Length x 31 feet Beam x 6 ¾ feet
Draught.
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Machinery
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Reciprocating
Engines
400HP
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Speed
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10
Knots
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Armament
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1
x 9.2”
and 1 x 3” (M15 to M22 and M28)
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1
x 7.5”
and 2 x 3” (M23 to M25)
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1
x 7.5”,
1 x 3” and 1 12 pdr.
(M26)
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1
x 4.7”,
2 x 3” (M27)
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2
x 6”
and 1 x 6 pdr
(M29 to M33)
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Complement
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52.
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Builders
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Grey
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M15
to
M18
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Raylton Dixon
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M19
to
M28.
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Harland
&
Wolff,
Belfast
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M29
to
M31
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Workman
Clark
Ltd., Belfast
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M32
and
M33 (Sub-contracted to Harland and
Wolff.)
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Disposal
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M15
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Sunk
by
UC38 off Gaza, 11th
November 1917
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M16
to
M20
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Sold
for mercantile
use in January 1920
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M21 |
Mined and sank off Dover 20th October
1918 |
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M22
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Served
as
a Coastal Minelayer after 1925 as
HMS MEDEA. Lost on
passage to shipbreaker
near Padstow
on
22nd January 1939.
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M23
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Renamed
CLAVERHOUSE
in 1922 and sold for breaking-up in
1959.
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M24
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Sold
for mercantile
use in 1920 and later sunk in as a Blockship
in
West Indies in 1936.
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M25
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Blown-up
on
16th September 1919 in Dvina
River to avoid capture
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M26
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Sold
for mercantile
use in January 1920
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M27
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As
M25
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M28
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Sunk
by
German Cruiser GOEBEN off Imbros
on 20th January 1918.
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M29
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Sold
for
breaking-up on 9th September 1946
after service as a Coastal
Minelayer renamed MEDUSA in 1925 and
as a Depot Ship renamed TALBOT
between
1940 and 1943 and then MEDWAY II in
1944.
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M30
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Sunk
by
shore batteries in
Gulf of Smyrna on 13th May
1916.
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M31
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Sold
for
breaking-up in 1947 after service as
a Coastal Minelayer, renamed.
MELPOMENE
in 1925 and then MENELAUS when used
training ship at Devonport during
WW2.
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M32
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Sold
for mercantile
use in January 1920.
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M33
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Placed
on
Disposal List in 1939 after
conversion for use as a Coastal
Minelayer and
renamed MINERVA in 1925. Hulked in
1940 and retained in use as a
workshop
identified as C23. She is still in
existence.
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*
-
extant in World War 2
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M.29*
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H
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M . M O
N I T O R M.2 9
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B a t
t
l e H o n o u r s
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DARDANELLES
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M-Class
Coastal
Monitor ordered on 15th March 1915
from Harland and Wolff at Belfast
and laid
down on 23rd March 1915 as Yard No.
485. The ship was
launched on 22nd May 1915 and build
was completed on 20th June 1915. She was deployed in the
Mediterranean
on completion of trials and
remained there for support of
military shore operations until the
armistice
in 1918 when she returned to UK and
remained in commission.
Following operational service in the
White Sea in support of military
operations
by White Russian troops she paid off
and was later selected for use as a
Coastal Minelayer. On completion of
the conversion she was placed in
Reserve
in
Malta and renamed MEDUSA on 1st
December 1925.
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H
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M .
C O A S T A L M
IN
E L A Y E R M E D U S
A ( F 0 6 )
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B a t
t
l e H o n o u r s
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BUENOS
AIRES 1807
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H e r
a l d i
c D a t a
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Badge:
On a Field Black, Medusa’s head
proper with snakes Gold.
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(Note:
The youngest of the Gorgons . A
beautiful maiden transformed by
Athena into a
monster so hideous that all who
looked upon her were turned to
Stone. Later
she was killed by Perseus.
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M o t
t
o
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Be
warned
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This
name
was first used in 1785 for a 4th
Rate built at Plymouth, and lastly
borne by a WW1
destroyer (Ex-Greek LEVSOS)
purchased by the Admiralty in August
1914 during
build. This MEDUSA was sunk in tow
after colliding with HM Destroyer
LAVEROCK
during an operation off
Schleswig on
25th
March 1916. This coastal Minelayer
was the
8th ship to carry the name and
brought forward from Reserve for use
as a
Depot Ship for the 10th Submarine
Flotilla in Malta in 1941. She was
then renamed
TALBOT and given Pennant No F 06 as
her visual signalling identity when
the
system was revised in May 1940.
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H
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M .
D E P O T S H I
P T A L B O T (
F 0 6)
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B a t
t
l e H o n o u r s
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ARMADA
1588 NAVARINO 1827
SYRIA 1840
DARDANELLES 1915-16 *
(*
Award to M29 to be confirmed)
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Seventh
ship
to bear this name, first used in
1585 for a ship which later took
part
in the action against the Spanish
Armada. It had last been used for a
Cruiser
built in 1895 and sold in 1920.
Deployed in the Mediterranean this
ship supported the 10th
Submarine Flotilla in Malta and was
damaged in an air raid in
March 1942. After repair she was
transferred to Beirut for support of
the 1st Submarine
Flotilla and to provide
accommodation. She was again
renamed. as
MEDWAY II in 1944.whilst deployed at
Beirut and retained her visual
signalling identity..
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H
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M .
D E P O T S H I
P
M E D W A Y II (F 0 6 )
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B a t
t
l e H o n o u r s
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AIX
1758 - QUEBEC 1759 - GRENADA 1779 -
MARTINIQUE 1780 - USHANT 1781 -
DARDANELLES * (*Award to
M29 to be confirmed.)
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H e r
a l d i
c D a t a
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Badge:
On a Field Silver, A lion
Black upon a Field Red
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M o t
t
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In Medio
Tutissimus:
“Midway (Medway) you will be
safest."
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She
was
the 11th ship to bear this name,
introduced for a 4th Rate built at
Sheerness
in 1693 and last used for a
Submarine Depot Ship built at Barrow
in 1928 and
sunk by U373 off
Alexandria on 30th June
1942.
This name was selected to continue
its use for support of submarines in
the Mediterranean and given to this
ex-Coastal
Minelayer on 1st June after
completion of repair. Deployed
initially at Beirut and later in
Malta she was replaced by HM
Minesweeper BAGSHOT in April 1945
and reverted to her previous
identity of MEDUSA. On return to
UK she paid off after VJ Day
and was
placed on the Disposal List. On 9th
April 1946 she was sold to BISCO for
demolition.
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M.31*
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H
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M .
M O N I T O R
M.3 1
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B a t
t
l e H o n o u r s
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BELGIAN
COAST 1915-18* - ZEEBRUGGE 1918*
(*
Awarded after WW1 as MELPOMENE)
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M-Class
Coastal
Monitor ordered on 15th March 1915
from Harland and Wolff at Belfast
and laid
down in March 1915 as Yard No. 487.
The ship was launched on 24th June
1915 and build was completed on 9th July
1915. On
completion of trials she was
deployed in the Mediterranean but
had returned to UK by 1918 when she
took part in the
attack on ZEEBRUGGE. Deployment in
support of White Russian military
operations in North Russia during 1919 is to be confirmed. On release from
operations in North
Russia the ship was paid off and later selected for conversion
to enable her use as a Coastal
Minelayer after which on 1st
December 1925 she was renamed MELPOMENE after the completion of
conversion.
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(Note:
Deployment in the Mediterranean is
to be confirmed. No Battle
Honour for DARDANELLES is recorded
in the official
records available.)
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H
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M .
C O A S T A L M
I N E L A Y E R M E
L P O M E NE ( F 0 4 )
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B a t
t
l e H o n o u r s
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See M
31.
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Seventh
ship
to carry the name which had been
introduced in 1794 for 5th Rate
captured at Calvi
and last used by a destroyer
(Ex-Greek SAMOS), purchased from
Greece during build in August 1914
and
sold in 1921. This monitor was
deployed at Plymouth and used by the
Torpedo School for training of
personnel in minelaying
equipment and procedures. By 1939
she had been
nominated for disposal but this was
not implemented because of the
imminence
of war with
Germany. However her lack of
AA armament
did not allow use in minelay
operations and there is no
record of such deployment in 1939 or
1940. She may have been deployed for
ant-invasion patrol duties in 1940.
Pennant Number F04 was allocated in
May
1940 when identities for Auxiliary
Vessels were redesignated.
She remained at Devonport for
training duties throughout WW2 and
was renamed
MENELAUS in 1941. A 21” torpedo tube
was fitted on the Foc’sle
to be used for training of
personnel. Paid-off after VJ Day she
was placed on
the Disposal List and sold to Cashmore’s
in 1947
for demolition at Llanelli where she
arrived in tow during January 1948
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M.33*
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H
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M .
M O N I T O R M
I N E R V A M
. 3 3
( F 0 0
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B a t
t
l e H o n o u r s
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QUIBERON
1759 -
ST
VINCENT 1797 -
EGYPT
1801 - SUEZ CANAL 1915 - DARDANELLES
1915 - ATLANTIC
1940 *
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(*
This is possibly an error and
may refer a Free French submarine)
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H e r
a l d i
c D a t a
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Badge:
On a Field per fesse
wavy Blue and White, an owl White.
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(Note:
The owl is one of the symbols of the
Roman goddess of wisdom, identified
with
the Greek Athena.)
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M-Class
Coastal
Monitor ordered on 15th March 1915
from Harland and Wolff at Belfast
and build sub-contracted to
Messrs Workman Clark Ltd of Belfast.
She was laid down later that
month as Yard No 489WS. Launched on
22nd May 1915 with sister M32. The
10th RN ship
to carry the name, introduced in
1759 for a 5th Rate, it was last
borne by a
cruiser built in 1895, sold in 1920.
Build was completed on 26th June
1915. This ship was deployed in the
Mediterranean
on completion of trials and
remained there for support of
military shore operations during
which she
gained two Battle Honours. After the
armistice in November 1918 she
returned
to
UK and remained in commission.
Following operational service in the
White Sea in support of military
operations
by White Russian troops she paid off
and was later selected for use as a
Coastal Minelayer. On completion she
was placed in Reserve in Portsmouth
and was renamed MINERVA on 1st
December 1925 after completion. No record of operational or training
use can be traced and a record shows
the ships as being considered for
disposal in 1939. This was not
implemented and she was retained in
use for
training of personnel
in minelaying
procedures and allocated the Pennant
No F00 in May 1940. Later she was
discarded for RN use and deployed by
Portsmouth Dockyard as a harbour
tanker.
Hulked in 1944 and identified as C23
this vessel was used as workshop
facility for Boom Defence Vessels at
Portsmouth
and no longer treated as warship.
She is still in existence and being
preserved.
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P o s
t W a r N o t e
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This
name
was reintroduced for the Reserve
Fleet Sub-division at Sheerness
between 1946
and 1953. In 1964 is
was given to a LEANDER
Class
Frigate launched at Barrow by
Vickers-Armstrong.
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