M29-class monitor explained

The M29 class comprised five monitors of the Royal Navy, all built and launched during 1915.

The ships of this class were ordered in March, 1915, as part of the Emergency War Programme of ship construction. The contract for construction was granted to Harland & Wolff, Belfast, who sub-contracted the construction of M32 and M33 to Workman, Clark and Company.

The main armament of the ships, two 6-inch Mk XII guns, came from guns originally intended for the five s which became surplus when their aft casemate mountings turned out to be unworkable and were dispensed with.

Ships of the class

• HMS M29 – launched on 22 May 1915 and later renamed Medusa and Talbot, she was sold in 1946.
• HMS M30 – launched on 23 June 1915, and sunk on 14 May 1916.
• HMS M31 – launched on 24 June 1915, and broken up for scrap in 1948.
• HMS M32 – launched on 22 May 1915, and sold in January 1920.
• HMS M33 – launched on 22 May 1915, is one of a number of World War I-era warships in existence today and is located in dry-dock near HMS Victory at Portsmouth Naval Base. It has been restored and is open to public.^[1]

References

Bibliography

• Book:  Vol. 1 • Vol. 2
• Book: Buxton . Ian . Big Gun Monitors: Design, Construction and Operations 1914–1945 . Barnsley, UK . Seaforth Publishing . 2008 . 1978 . 2nd Revised . 978-1-84415-719-8 .
  • Book: Crossley . Jim . Monitors of the Royal Navy; How the Fleet Brought the Great Guns to Bear . Barnsley, UK . Pen & Sword . 2013 . 978-1-78383-004-6 .
• Dittmar, F. J. & Colledge, J. J., "British Warships 1914-1919", (Ian Allan, London, 1972),
• Book: Dunn . Steve R . Securing the Narrow Sea: The Dover Patrol 1914–1918 . Barnsley, UK . Seaforth Publishing . 2017 . 978-1-84832-251-6 .
• Book: Friedman, Norman. Naval Weapons of World War One: Guns, Torpedoes, Mines and ASW Weapons of All Nations; An Illustrated Directory. Seaforth Publishing. Barnsley. 2011. 978-1-84832-100-7 . Norman Friedman.
• Gray, Randal (ed), "Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921", (Conway Maritime Press, London, 1985),
• Book: 1969 . First published 1919 . Parkes . Oscar . Prendergast . Maurice . Jane's Fighting Ships 1919 . Fighting Ships . New York . Arco Publishing Co . 978-0-71534-716-4 . 1902851 . 23 December 2019 .

Notes and References

1. Web site: HMS M.33.