HMS ''M15'' was a

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, West Vir ...

. She was sunk off Gaza by on 11 November 1917.

Design

Intended as a shore bombardment vessel, ''M15''s primary armament was a single 9.2 inch Mk X gun which had been held as a spare for the and . In addition to her 9.2-inch gun, she also possessed one

12-pounder 12-pounder gun or 12-pdr, usually denotes a gun which fired a projectile of approximately 12 pounds. Guns of this type include: *12-pounder long gun, the naval muzzle-loader of the Age of Sail *Canon de 12 de Vallière, French cannon of 1732 *Cano ...

and one six pound anti-aircraft gun. She was equipped with Triple Expansion steam engines rated to 800 horse power that allowed a top speed of eleven knots. The monitor's crew consisted of sixty nine officers and men.

Construction

HMS ''M15'' was ordered in March, 1915, as part of the

War Emergency Programme War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

of ship construction. She was laid down at the William Gray shipyard at

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...

in March 1915, launched on 28 April 1915, and completed in June 1915.

First World War

''M15'' was towed to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

in July, 1915, where she received her main armament. She then proceeded to Mudros, and later was involved in the defence of the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

. After bombarding Gaza as part of the Third Battle of Gaza, on 11 November 1917, ''M15'' and the destroyer were torpedoed by . 26 men lost their lives in the sinking of ''M15''.

Hamas Recovery of Ammunition

In 2020,

Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...

divers recovered ammunition, including large-caliber naval shells, from the wreck of the ''M15'' with the intent of using explosives from the shells to make warheads and gunpowder propellant to make rocket fuel. After more than a century at the bottom of the sea, however, the material was found to be unusable.

Citations

References

* * Dittmar, F. J. & Colledge, J. J., "British Warships 1914-1919", (Ian Allan, London, 1972), {{DEFAULTSORT:M15 M15-class monitors 1915 ships World War I monitors of the United Kingdom Royal Navy ship names Ships sunk by German submarines in World War I Maritime incidents in 1917 World War I shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea