A Unique Survivor

A Unique Survivor. . , In the dry dock below is HMS M.33, a coastal bombardment ‘monitor’. Although she seems small and insignificant, she is a unique survivor, one of only three Royal Navy warships from the First World War, and the only ship left from the huge Allied fleet which supported the landings at Gallipoli in 1915. , , Monitors are gunboats designed to provide heavy gunfire to support soldiers ashore. The have distinct features, including: , , A small hull and flat bottom, allowing them to operate in shallow water close to shore. , , Low ‘freeboard’ (distance from deck to water) and broad ‘beam’ (width) to make them stable gun platforms. , , Oversize guns. The 580-ton M.33 carries 6-inch (152mm) guns, normally found on much bigger ships like 4,000 ton cruisers. , , HMS M.33 was built in Belfast in 1915 in just under seven weeks! , , From late 1914 to early 1915, the Royal Navy built more than 30 monitors, ranging from the smallest like M.33, to the General Wolfe, which carried two 12-inch (304mm) guns in a turret and a huge 18-inch (457mm) gun. , , ( photo captions ) , Above: M.33 off Gallipoli, 1915. Close to shore, her 6-inch (152mm) guns could drop effective fire at a steep angle onto Turkish positions. , , Right: Monitors under construction, Belfast, 1915. , , Above: The enormous monitor General Wolfe, showing her 18-inch (457mm) gun.