HMS M28 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. She was sunk during the Battle of Imbros in 1918.

Design

Intended as a shore bombardment vessel, M28s 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 M28 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....

 on 1 March 1915. She was then launched on 28 June 1915, and completed in August, 1915.

Career

During most of her service in the First World War M28 was attached to the Aegean Squadron and tasked with coastal bombardment of Turkish positions. On 21 October 1915 she bombarded the Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

n port of Dedeagatch. On 20 January 1918, she had been stationed at Kusu Bay on the island of Imbros

Imbros

Imbros or Imroz, officially referred to as Gökçeada since July 29, 1970 , is an island in the Aegean Sea and the largest island of Turkey, part of Çanakkale Province. It is located at the entrance of Saros Bay and is also the westernmost point of Turkey...

 along with , HMS Lizard

HMS Lizard (1911)

HMS Lizard was an Acheron-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy. She is named for the Lizard peninsula in the county of Cornwall in England. and was the twelfth ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name.-Pennant numbers:-Construction:...

, and HMS Tigress when she was attacked by two Turkish vessels. The former and managed to trap M28 and Raglan in the bay and engage them in what became known as the Battle of Imbros. As a result of the battle M28 was sunk and suffered 11 of her crew killed while the rest were rescued by Allied vessels.