HMS M29

HMS M29 was a Royal Navy M29 class monitor of the First World War.

History
United Kingdom
Name: HMS M29
Builder: Harland & Wolff, Belfast
Yard number: 485
Laid down: March 1915
Launched: 22 May 1915
Completed: 20 June 1915
Fate: Sold 1946 and broken up at Dover
General characteristics
Class and type: M29 class monitor
Displacement: 580 tons deep load
Length: 177 ft 3 in (54.03 m)
Beam: 31 ft (9.4 m)
Draught: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Propulsion: Triple expansion. Twin screws. Yarrow oil fuel 45 tons boilers. 400 hp (300 kW)
Speed: 10 knots (19 km/h)
Complement: 72
Armament:
Armour: 6 in on gun shield

The availability of ten 6 inch Mk XII guns from the Queen Elizabeth-class battleships in 1915 prompted the Admiralty to order five scaled down versions of the M15 class monitors, which had been designed to utilise 9.2 inch guns. HMS M29 and her sisters were ordered from Harland & Wolff, Belfast in March 1915. Launched on 22 May 1915, she was completed in June 1915.

Upon completion, HMS M29 was sent to the Mediterranean, and took part in the Battle of Jaffa and remained there until December, 1918. She served from May to September 1919 in support of British and White Russian forces in the White Sea, before returning to England.

In September 1923, HMS M29 was taken in hand for conversion to a minelayer. Equipped to carry 52 mines, she was renamed HMS Medusa in December 1925.

In May 1941, she was converted to a repair ship and became the depot ship for the 10th Submarine Flotilla, being renamed HMS Talbot. Again renamed HMS Medway II in February 1944, she became the depot ship for the 1st Submarine Flotilla. She was finally sold in December 1946 for breaking up at Dover.

References

  • Young, John. A Dictionary of Ships of the Royal Navy of the Second World War. Patrick Stephens Ltd, Cambridge, 1975. ISBN 0-85059-332-8
  • Lenton, H.T. & Colledge, J. J. Warships of World War II, Ian Allan, London, 1973. ISBN 0-7110-0403-X
  • Dittmar, F. J. & Colledge, J. J., "British Warships 1914-1919", (Ian Allan, London, 1972), ISBN 0-7110-0380-7
  • Gray, Randal (ed), "Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906–1921", (Conway Maritime Press, London, 1985), ISBN 0-85177-245-5
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