HMS M25

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History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameHMS M25
Builder Sir Raylton Dixon & Co.
Laid down1 March 1915
Launched24 July 1915
FateScuttled in the Dvina River 16 September 1919
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
  • 4-shaft
  • Bolinder 4-cylinder semi-diesel
  • 640 hp
Speed11 knots
Complement69
Armament

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.

Contents

Design

Intended as a shore bombardment vessel, M25's primary armament was a single 9.2 inch Mk VI gun removed from the Edgar-class cruiser HMS Endymion. [1] In addition to her 9.2-inch gun she also possessed one 12 pounder and one six-pounder anti-aircraft gun. She was equipped with a four-shaft Bolinder four-cylinder semi-diesel engine with 640 horsepower that allowed a top speed of eleven knots. The monitor's crew consisted of sixty-nine officers and men.

Construction

HMS M25 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 in March 1915, launched on 24 July 1915, and completed in September 1915.

World War 1

M25 served with the Dover Patrol from September 1915 to June 1918. In early 1916, M25 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 mm) MK III gun from HMS Swiftsure was fitted in lieu.

Russia

M25 next saw service, along with five other monitors (M23, M27, M31, M33 and HMS Humber), which were sent to Murmansk in May 1919 to relieve the North Russian Expeditionary Force.

In June 1919, M25 moved to Archangel and her shallow draught enabled her to travel up the Dvina River to cover the withdrawal of British and White Russian forces. M25 and her sister ship M27 were unable to be recovered when the river level fell and were scuttled on 16 September 1919 after running aground.

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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<i>M15</i>-class monitor

The M15 class comprised fourteen monitors of the Royal Navy, all built and launched during 1915.

HMS M28 was a First World War Royal Navy M15-class monitor. She was sunk during the Battle of Imbros in 1918.

HMS M27 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.

HMS M26 was a First World War Royal Navy M15-class monitor.

HMS <i>M21</i>

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.

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

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

HMS M22 was a First World War Royal Navy M15-class monitor. Later converted to a minelayer and renamed HMS Medea, she was wrecked whilst being towed for breaking up on 2 January 1939.

HMS M23 was a First World War Royal Navy M15-class monitor. After service in the Mediterranean and the Dover Patrol, she was also served in the British intervention in Russia in 1919. Converted to the RNVR drillship Claverhouse in 1922, she served in that capacity at "Leith" until 1958.

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 M18 was a M15-class monitor built for the Royal Navy during the First World War.

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.

HMS <i>M15</i>

HMS M15 was a First World War Royal Navy M15-class monitor. She was sunk off Gaza by UC-38 on 11 November 1917.

References