HMS ''M32'' was an ''M29''-class

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 ...

of the

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 ...

. The availability of ten 6 inch Mk XII guns from the ''Queen Elizabeth''-class

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

s in 1915 prompted the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

to order five scaled down versions of the ''M15''-class monitors, which had been designed to use 9.2 inch guns. HMS ''M32'' and her sisters were ordered from

Harland & Wolff Harland & Wolff is a British shipbuilding company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It specialises in ship repair, shipbuilding and offshore construction. Harland & Wolff is famous for having built the majority of the ocean liners for the Wh ...

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

in March 1915. However, HMS ''M32'' and her sister HMS ''M33'' were sub-contracted to the nearby Workman Clark Limited shipyard. Launched on 22 May 1915, she was completed in June 1915. Upon completion, HMS ''M32'' was sent to the Mediterranean. She later took part in the Battle of Jaffa and remained there until March, 1919. She served from May to September 1919 in support of British and White Russian forces in the

White Sea The White Sea (russian: Белое море, ''Béloye móre''; Karelian and fi, Vienanmeri, lit. Dvina Sea; yrk, Сэрако ямʼ, ''Serako yam'') is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is su ...

, before returning to England. HMS ''M32'' was sold on 29 January 1920 for use as an oil tanker, and named ''Ampat''.

References

* Dittmar, F. J. & Colledge, J. J., "British Warships 1914-1919", (Ian Allan, London, 1972), * Gray, Randal (ed), "Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906–1921", (Conway Maritime Press, London, 1985), {{DEFAULTSORT:M32 M29-class monitors Ships built in Belfast 1915 ships World War I monitors of the United Kingdom Royal Navy ship names Ships built by Harland and Wolff