Британские мониторы Первой мировой войны: конструкция и характеристики

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2 screws
|Ship speed=
|Ship range=
|Ship complement=226
|Ship armament=*2 × guns (1x2)
8 × guns (8x1)
2 × 12 pounder anti aircraft guns
2 × anti aircraft guns
2 × 2 pounder anti aircraft guns
4 × machine guns
|Ship armour=*Bulkheads:
Barbettes:
Turrets:
Magazines:
Conning tower:
Main deck:
Torpedo protection bulges Termed monitors, they owed little to the monitors of the 19th century, though they shared the characteristics of poor seaworthiness, shallow draught and heavy armament in turrets. The size of the various monitor classes of the Royal Navy and their armaments varied greatly. The was the United Kingdom's first attempt at a monitor carrying guns. Following construction of the first two of the Marshall Ney class, another four were ordered in May 1915, with the Harland and Wolff shipyard at Govan receiving a contract to construct two hulls, which were given yard numbers 492 and 493. However, all four were cancelled in June when it was realised that there were insufficient gun turrets to complete both the battleship, , and the monitors before 1917. By August 1915, , the first of her class, had revealed a very poor performance in her sea trials. The monitor's engines would not start reliably and were prone to stalling, making it impossible for the ship to achieve even the minimum standard for the trial of four hours of continuous sailing at full power. The vessel was also difficult to steer. Disappointed by the failure, the Admiralty began the design of a replacement class on 6 September, which incorporated lessons learned from all of the previous classes of monitor commissioned during the war. Some of the main modifications were an increase in the power supply to guarantee a speed of and a change to the angles and lines of the hull to improve steering. Another significant change was to raise the top of the anti torpedo bulge above the waterline and reduce its width; both changes would improve the stability and maneuverability of the ship at sea. The bulge was fitted along each side of the ship and was intended to absorb the impact of any explosions. To maintain protection while reducing the bulge's width, its inner compartment was made water tight and filled with 70 steel tubes, rather than leaving the inner compartment open to the sea as in previous designs.

The new design, which would later be named the Erebus class, was for a vessel 405 feet (123 m) long, 88 feet (27 m) wide with a draught of 11 feet (3 m). It would have loaded displacement, with a maximum operational speed of produced by triple expansion steam engines with two shafts, and a crew of 204. Power would be provided by four Babcock & Wilcox water tube boilers, which would generate a combined The monitors would have an operational range of at a speed of 12knots. With the main 15 in guns being originally intended for use on a battleship, the armour for the turret was substantially thicker than elsewhere in the design; with on the front, on the other sides and on the roof. The conning tower was protected by of armour on the sides and on the roof. Each anti torpedo bulge was 13 feet (4 m) wide with an outer air filled compartment 9 feet (3 m) wide and an inner compartment 4 feet (1 m) wide containing the steel tubes. The ship's main armament consisted of two BL 15in Mk I naval guns in a single forward turret. Erebus's turret was originally a spare for the battlecruiser , which was prepared in case the new BL 18in Mk I naval guns intended for the larger vessel were ineffective. Learning from the earlier experience with Ney, the turrets were adjusted to increase elevation to 30 degrees, which would add greater firing range.

During the First World War, Erebus bombarded German naval forces based at the Belgian ports of Ostend and Zeebrugge. On 28 October 1917, she was damaged by a remote controlled German FL boat, and suffered the loss of 15.24 m of anti torpedo bulge.

In 1919, Erebus took part in the British Invasion of Russia providing gunfire support in the White Sea and in the Baltic Sea. In 1921, she took part in gunnery trials against the surrendered German battleship She then served as a gunnery training ship between the two world wars. After a refit completed in August 1939, she was earmarked as guardship at Cape Town, but due to the outbreak of World War II this did not occur.

In the early war years, Erebus served with the Eastern Fleet and the Mediterranean Fleet, where she was used to run supplies to besieged Tobruk and bombard enemy concentrations. She was present at Trincomalee during the Japanese attack on the harbour there, receiving a near miss hit from Japanese aircraft, suffering casualties. In 1943, she was damaged while bombarding Sicily during the Allied invasion of Sicily. Erebus was used for coastal bombardment during the Normandy Landings on 6 June 1944, firing at the batteries at Barfleur and La Pernelle. She suffered one 15 inch gun destroyed due to a premature explosion of a high explosive round in the bore. On 10 August 1944, she was used against the defenders of the harbour at Le Havre. She was damaged by the battery at Clos des Ronces and was out of action for some time. In November 1944, she supported Operation Infatuate, the amphibious assault on Walcheren, Netherlands. She was scrapped in July 1946. It is believed that one of Erebus 15 inch guns was used to equip , the Royal Navy's last battleship.