HMS M23 was a First World War

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 M15-class

M15 class monitor

The M15-class comprised fourteen monitors of the Royal Navy, all built and launched during 1915.- Design :The ships of this class were ordered in March, 1915, as part of the Emergency War Programme of ship construction...

 monitor. After service in the Mediterranean and the Dover Patrol

Dover Patrol

The Dover Patrol was a Royal Navy command of the First World War, notable for its involvement in the Zeebrugge Raid on 22 April 1918. The Dover Patrol formed a discrete unit of the Royal Navy based at Dover and Dunkirk for the duration of the First World War...

, she was also served in the British intervention in Russia in 1919. Converted to the RNVR drillship Claverhouse in 1922, she served in that capacity at Dundee until 1958.

Design

Intended as a shore bombardment vessel, M23s primary armament was a single 9.2 inch Mk VI gun

BL 9.2 inch gun Mk I - VII

The BL 9.2 inch guns Mk I - Mk VII were a family of early British heavy breechloading naval and coast defence guns in service from 1881 to the end of World War I...

 removed from the HMS Grafton

HMS Grafton (1892)

HMS Grafton was a first class cruiser of the Edgar class. She was launched on 30 January 1892. She served in the First World War in the Gallipoli Campaign, along with her sisters Endymion, Edgar and Theseus...

 . In addition to her 9.2 inch gun, she also possessed one 12 pounder

QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun

The QF 12 pounder 12 cwt gun was a common calibre naval gun introduced in 1894 and used until the middle of the 20th century. It was produced by Armstrong Whitworth, Elswick and used on Royal Navy warships, and exported to allied countries...

 and one six pound anti-aircraft gun

QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss

The QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss was a light 57 mm naval gun and coast defence gun of the late 19th century used by many countries, and was adapted for use in the early British tanks in World War I.- Canada History :...

. She was equipped with a four shaft Bolinder four cylinder semi-diesel engine with 640 horse power that allowed a top speed of eleven knots. The monitor's crew consisted of sixty nine officers and men.

Construction

HMS M23 ordered in March, 1915, as part of the Emergency War Programme of ship construction. She was laid down at the Sir Raylton Dixon & Co.

Sir Raylton Dixon

Sir Raylton Dixon , was a shipbuilder at Middlesbrough on the River Tees. He was one of the seven children of Jeremiah Dixon and Mary Frank of Cockfield, County Durham who were married on 21 July 1833 in St. Cuthberts, Darlington...

 Ltd shipyard at Govan

Govan

Govan is a district and former burgh now part of southwest City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Kelvin and the district of Partick....

 in March 1915, launched on 17 June 1915, and completed in July 1915.

World War 1

M23 served initially in the Mediterranean from October 1915. On her return from the Mediterranean in May 1917, M23 had her main 9.2in gun removed, as it was required for artillery use on the Western Front

Western Front

Western Front was a term used during the First and Second World Wars to describe the contested armed frontier between lands controlled by Germany to the east and the Allies to the west...

, and a BL 7.5 inches (190.5 mm) Mk III 50-caliber gun

BL 7.5 inch Mk II - V naval gun

The BL 7.5 inch guns Mk II - Mk V were a variety of 50 calibres naval guns used by Britain in World War I. They all had similar performance and fired the same shells.-Mark II:...

 was fitted in lieu.

M23 then served with the Dover Patrol

Dover Patrol

The Dover Patrol was a Royal Navy command of the First World War, notable for its involvement in the Zeebrugge Raid on 22 April 1918. The Dover Patrol formed a discrete unit of the Royal Navy based at Dover and Dunkirk for the duration of the First World War...

 from June 1917 to June 1918.

Russia

M23 next saw service in support of the North Russian Expeditionary Force. Prior to departure, she had her two QF 2-pounder Mark II

QF 2 pounder naval gun

The 2-pounder gun, officially designated the QF 2-pounder and universally known as the pom-pom, was a 1.575 inch British autocannon, used famously as an anti-aircraft gun by the Royal Navy. The name came from the sound that the original models make when firing...

 and her 12pdr (76mm) QF Mk 1 gun

QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun

The QF 12 pounder 12 cwt gun was a common calibre naval gun introduced in 1894 and used until the middle of the 20th century. It was produced by Armstrong Whitworth, Elswick and used on Royal Navy warships, and exported to allied countries...

 replaced by AA guns.

RNVR Claverhouse

M23 returned to Sheerness

Sheerness

Sheerness is a town located beside the mouth of the River Medway on the northwest corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 12,000 it is the largest town on the island....

 in November 1919. In August, 1922, she moved to Dundee

Dundee

Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...

, where she became a Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) drillship, and was renamed Claverhouse December 16, 1922. She served in this capacity until sold in 1959. She arrived at Charlestown, Fife

Charlestown

-Australia:*Charlestown, New South Wales** Electoral district of Charlestown, an electoral district in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly including the area-United Kingdom:*Charlestown, Black Isle, in the Highland council area*Charlestown, Cornwall...

on 21 April 1959 for breaking up.