HMS M15

HMS M15 was a First World War Royal Navy M15-class monitor. She was sunk off Gaza by UC-38 on 11 November 1917.

M15 at Mudros, 1916
History
United Kingdom
Name: HMS M15
Builder: William Gray, Hartlepool.
Laid down: 1 March 1915
Launched: 28 April 1915
Fate: Sunk by UC-38 on 11 November 1917.
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
  • 800 hp
Speed: 11 knots (20 km/h)
Complement: 69
Armament:

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 Drake-class cruiser and Cressy-class cruiser.[1] In addition to her 9.2-inch gun, she also possessed one 12-pounder 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 of ship construction. She was laid down at the William Gray shipyard at Hartlepool in March 1915, launched on 28 April 1915, and completed in June 1915.

First World War

M15 was towed to Malta 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.

After bombarding Gaza as part of the Third Battle of Gaza, on 11 November 1917, M15 and the destroyer HMS Staunch were torpedoed by UC-38. 26 men lost their lives in the sinking of M15.

Hamas Recovery of Ammunition

In 2020, Hamas 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.[2]

Citations
  1. Randal Gray (ed). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906–1921. Conway Maritime Press. p. 48. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  2. Staff, Toi (15 September 2020). "Hamas said to retrieve ammunition from British WWI warship sunk off Gaza coast". The Times of Israel.

References

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