HMS M21

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HMS M21 WWI IWM SP 2030.jpg
History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameHMS M21
BuilderSir Raylton Dixon & Co.
Laid down1 March 1915
Launched27 May 1915
FateSunk 20 October 1918 off Dover
General characteristics
Class and type M15 class monitor
Displacement540 tons
Length177 ft 3 in (54.03 m)
Beam31 ft (9.4 m)
Draught6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Propulsion
  • 2 shaft
  • Triple Expansion steam engines
  • 600 ihp
Speed11 knots
Complement69
Armament

HMS M21 was a First World War Royal Navy M15-class monitor. After service in the Mediterranean and the Dover Patrol, she struck a mine off Ostend in January 1918 and sank off Dover.

Contents

Design

Intended as a shore bombardment vessel, M21's primary armament was a single 9.2 inch Mk VI gun removed from the Edgar-class cruiser HMS Theseus. [1] In addition to her 9.2 inch gun, she also possessed one 12 pounder and one six pound anti-aircraft gun. Due to the shortage of Bolinder diesel engines that equipped her sisters, she was fitted with 2 shaft triple expansion steam engines that allowed a top speed of eleven knots. The monitor's crew consisted of sixty nine officers and men.

Construction

HMS M21 ordered in March, 1915, as part of the War Emergency Programme of ship construction. She was laid down at the Sir Raylton Dixon & Co. Ltd shipyard at Govan in March 1915, launched on 27 May 1915, and completed in July 1915.

World War I

M21 served initially in the Mediterranean from September 1915. On her return from the Mediterranean in September 1917, M21 had her main 9.2 in gun removed, as it was required for artillery use on the Western Front, and a BL 7.5-inch (190.5 mm) Mk III 50-caliber gun was fitted in lieu.

M21 then served with the Dover Patrol from October 1917.

Loss

M21 struck a mine off Ostend on 20 October 1918. She was taken in tow to Dover, but sank off West Pier.

Citations

  1. ↑ Randal Gray, ed. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906-1921. Conway Maritime Press. p. 48. ISBN   0-85177-245-5.

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HMS M25 was a First World War Royal Navy M15-class monitor. She was also served in the British intervention in Russia in 1919, and was scuttled in the Dvina River on 16 September 1919.

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HMS M20 was a First World War Royal Navy M15-class monitor.

HMS M19 was a First World War Royal Navy M15-class monitor.

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HMS M24 was a First World War Royal Navy M15-class monitor. After service in the Dover Patrol, she was also served in the British intervention in Russia in 1919. She was sold in mercantile service in 1920.

HMS <i>M17</i>

HMS M17 was a First World War Royal Navy M15-class monitor.

HMS M16 was a First World War Royal Navy M15-class monitor.

References

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