HMS M21

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History

United Kingdom
Name	HMS M21
Builder	Sir Raylton Dixon & Co.
Laid down	1 March 1915
Launched	27 May 1915
Fate	Sunk 20 October 1918 off Dover
General characteristics
Class and type	M15 class monitor
Displacement	540 tons
Length	177 ft 3 in (54.03 m)
Beam	31 ft (9.4 m)
Draught	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Propulsion	2 shaft Triple Expansion steam engines 600 ihp
Speed	11 knots
Complement	69
Armament	As built 1 × BL 9.2 inch Mk VI gun 1 × 12-pdr (76 mm) QF Mk 1 gun 1 × 6-pdr (57 mm) QF MK 1 AA gun 1918 1 × BL 7.5-inch (190.5 mm) Mk III 50-caliber gun 1 × QF 3-inch (76.20 mm) AA gun 1 × 12-pdr (76 mm) QF Mk 1 gun

HMS M21 was a First World War Royal Navy M15-class monitor. After service in the Mediterranean and the Dover Patrol, she struck a mine off Ostend in January 1918 and sank off Dover.

Design

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Intended as a shore bombardment vessel, M21's primary armament was a single 9.2 inch Mk VI gun removed from the Edgar-class cruiser HMS Theseus.^[1] In addition to her 9.2 inch gun, she also possessed one 12 pounder and one six pound anti-aircraft gun. Due to the shortage of Bolinder diesel engines that equipped her sisters, she was fitted with 2 shaft triple expansion steam engines that allowed a top speed of eleven knots. The monitor's crew consisted of sixty nine officers and men.

Construction

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HMS M21 ordered in March, 1915, as part of the War Emergency Programme of ship construction. She was laid down at the Sir Raylton Dixon & Co. Ltd shipyard at Govan in March 1915, launched on 27 May 1915, and completed in July 1915.

World War I

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M21 served initially in the Mediterranean from September 1915. On her return from the Mediterranean in September 1917, M21 had her main 9.2 in gun removed, as it was required for artillery use on the Western Front, and a BL 7.5-inch (190.5 mm) Mk III 50-caliber gun was fitted in lieu.

M21 then served with the Dover Patrol from October 1917.

Loss

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M21 struck a mine off Ostend on 20 October 1918. She was taken in tow to Dover, but sank off West Pier.

Citations

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^ Randal Gray, ed. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906-1921. Conway Maritime Press. p. 48. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.

References

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Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
Dittmar, F. J. & Colledge, J. J., "British Warships 1914-1919", (Ian Allan, London, 1972), ISBN 0-7110-0380-7

v t e Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in October 1918
Shipwrecks	2 Oct: Keltier 3 Oct: Burutu, SMS G41 4 Oct: HMS L10, SM UB-68, Oceania 5 Oct: USS Mary Alice, SM UB-10, SM UB-40, SM UB-59, SM UC-4 6 Oct: HMS C12, HMS Otranto 7 Oct: USS West Gate 10 Oct: Leinster, Senator Schröder 15 Oct: HMS J6 16 Oct: Dumaru, SM UB-90 19 Oct: HMS Plumpton, SM UB-123 20 Oct: HMS M21 21 Oct: USS Cero, SM UB-89 23 Oct: HMS D1 25 Oct: Princess Sophia 27 Oct: SM U-78 28 Oct: USS Tarantula, SM U-47, SM U-65, SM UB-48, SM UB-116, SM UC-25, SM UC-53, SM UC-54 30 Oct: HMCS Galiano, SM U-73, SM UC-34 31 Oct: SM UB-129 Unknown date: SMS Brugge, HMS G7, SM U-34
Other incidents	2 Oct: Aquitania, USS Shaw 3 Oct: USS George G. Henry 5 Oct: USS O-13 6 Oct: HMS Kashmir 7 Oct: USS American 12 Oct: USAT Amphion 15 Oct: HMS Cymric 18 Oct: Voltaire 20 Oct: USS Berwyn 21 Oct: SMS Frankfurt
1917 1918 1919 September 1918 November 1918

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Categories:

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M15-class monitors
M15 M16 M17 M18 M19 M20 M21 M22 M23 M24 M25 M26 M27 M28
Preceded by: Gorgon class Followed by: M29 class
List of monitors of the Royal Navy