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Monitor (warship)
Encyclopedia
Warship
A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way from merchant ships. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuvrable than merchant ships...
which was neither fast nor strongly armoured but carried disproportionately large guns. They were used by some navies from the 1860s until the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and saw their final use by the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
The monitors of the 19th century were turreted ironclad warship
Ironclad warship
An ironclad was a steam-propelled warship in the early part of the second half of the 19th century, protected by iron or steel armor plates. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shells. The first ironclad battleship, La Gloire,...
s inspired by the original USS Monitor
USS Monitor
USS Monitor was the first ironclad warship commissioned by the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She is most famous for her participation in the Battle of Hampton Roads on March 9, 1862, the first-ever battle fought between two ironclads...
; as well as coastal ships which closely followed her design. The term "monitor" also encompassed more flexible breastwork monitor
Breastwork monitor
A breastwork monitor was one of a number of ships designed by Sir Edward Reed, the Chief Constructor of the Royal Navy between 1863 and 1870....
s, and was sometimes used as a generic term for any turreted ship.
The term "monitor" also represents the strongest of riverine warcraft, known as river monitor
River monitor
River monitors were heavily armored, and normally mounted the largest guns of all riverine warships. The name originated from the US Navy's Brown Water Navy's USS Monitor, which made her first appearance in the American Civil War, and being distinguished by a single revolving turret.On 18 December...
s. In the early 20th century, the term "monitor" was revived for shallow-draft armoured shore bombardment vessels, particularly those of the British 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...
: the Lord Clive class monitor
Lord Clive class monitor
The Lord Clive class, sometimes referred to as the General Wolfe class, of monitors were ships designed for shore bombardment and were constructed for the Royal Navy during the First World War.-Design:...
s carried guns firing heavier shells than any other warship ever has, seeing action (albeit briefly) against German targets during World War I
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...
. The Lord Clive vessels were scrapped in the 1920s.
Nineteenth century
American Civil War
In LatinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, a monitor is someone who admonishes—that is, reminds another of his duties—which is how USS Monitor
USS Monitor
USS Monitor was the first ironclad warship commissioned by the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She is most famous for her participation in the Battle of Hampton Roads on March 9, 1862, the first-ever battle fought between two ironclads...
was given its name. She was designed by John Ericsson
John Ericsson
John Ericsson was a Swedish-American inventor and mechanical engineer, as was his brother Nils Ericson. He was born at Långbanshyttan in Värmland, Sweden, but primarily came to be active in England and the United States...
for emergency service in the Federal navy during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and was designed to serve in shallow water and to present as small a target as possible, the water around her acting as protection.
The Battle of Hampton Roads
Battle of Hampton Roads
The Battle of Hampton Roads, often referred to as either the Battle of the Monitor and Merrimack or the Battle of Ironclads, was the most noted and arguably most important naval battle of the American Civil War from the standpoint of the development of navies...
, between the Monitor and CSS Virginia
CSS Virginia
CSS Virginia was the first steam-powered ironclad warship of the Confederate States Navy, built during the first year of the American Civil War; she was constructed as a casemate ironclad using the raised and cut down original lower hull and steam engines of the scuttled . Virginia was one of the...
, was the first engagement between ironclad vessels. There were several such battles over the course of the American Civil War and the dozens of monitors built for the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
reflected a ship-to-ship combat role in their designs. However, fortification bombardment
Bombardment
A bombardment is an attack by artillery fire directed against fortifications, troops or towns and buildings.Prior to World War I the term term was only applied to the bombardment of defenceless or undefended objects, houses, public buildings, it was only loosely employed to describe artillery...
was another crucial role that the early monitors played, and one that these early designs were much less capable in performing.
Three months after the Battle of Hampton Roads, John Ericsson took his design to his native Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, and in 1865 the first Swedish monitor was built at Motala Warf in Norrköping
Norrköping
Norrköping is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County. The city has a population of 87,247 inhabitants in 2010, out of a municipal total of 130,050, making it Sweden's tenth largest city and eighth largest...
, taking the engineer's name. She was followed by 14 more monitors. One of them, Kanonbåten Sölve, served until 1922 and is today preserved at the marine museum in Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
.
Ericsson and others experimented greatly during the years of the American Civil War. Vessels constructed included: a triple turreted monitor, a class of paddlewheel propelled monitors, a class of semi-submersible monitors, and a class of monitors armed with spar torpedo
Spar torpedo
A spar torpedo is a weapon consisting of a bomb placed at the end of a long pole, or spar, and attached to a boat. The weapon is used by running the end of the spar into the enemy ship. Spar torpedoes were often equipped with a barbed spear at the end, so it would stick to wooden hulls...
es.
1866 to 1878
In the 1860s and 1870s several nations' navies built monitors that were used for coastal defense and took the name monitor as a type of ship. Those that were directly modelled on the Monitor were low-freeboard, mastless, steam-powered vessels with one or two rotating, armoured turrets. The low freeboard meant that these ships were unsuitable for ocean-going duties and were always at risk of water entering the ship and causing flooding and possible loss, but it reduced the amount of armour required for protection, and in heavy weather the sea would wash over the deck rather than heeling the ship over.Attempts were made to design monitors with sail rigs, to overcome the reliance on the steam engine
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
, which, besides its technical problems, was still met with antipathy in some navies.
The provision of masts interfered with the turrets' ability to operate in a 360 degree arc of fire and the weight of mast and sail aloft made the ships less stable. One ship, HMS Captain
HMS Captain (1869)
HMS Captain was an unsuccessful warship built for the Royal Navy due to public pressure. She was a masted turret ship, designed and built by a private contractor against the wishes of the Controller's department...
, which combined turret and sails with a low freeboard was lost in heavy weather.
War of the Pacific
Huáscar (ship)
Huáscar is a 19th century small armoured turret ship of a type similar to a monitor. She was built in Britain for Peru and played a significant role in the battle of Pacocha and the War of the Pacific against Chile before being captured and commissioned with the Chilean Navy. Today she is one of...
, designed by Captain Cowper P. Coles, the advocate and developer of turret ships for the Royal Navy. Huáscar was one of many monitor designs to be equipped with a ram. She was built and launched in 1865 for the Peruvian Navy at Birkenhead, England and attained fame serving at the Battle of Pacocha
Battle of Pacocha
The naval Incident of Pacocha took place on 6 May 1877 when Nicolás de Piérola was leading a revolution to overthrow then Peruvian President Mariano Ignacio Prado. Piérola used the Peruvian monitor Huáscar as a raiding ship. She practiced sabotage primarily against the government forces of Peru...
during the Peruvian Civil War of 1877. BAP Huascar, under the command of Rear Admiral Miguel Grau
Miguel Grau Seminario
Miguel María Grau Seminario was a renowned Peruvian naval officer and hero of the Naval Battle of Angamos during the War of the Pacific . He was known as the el Caballero de los Mares for his chivalry and is esteemed by both Peruvians and Chileans...
, fought with distinction during the War of the Pacific
War of the Pacific
The War of the Pacific took place in western South America from 1879 through 1883. Chile fought against Bolivia and Peru. Despite cooperation among the three nations in the war against Spain, disputes soon arose over the mineral-rich Peruvian provinces of Tarapaca, Tacna, and Arica, and the...
.
Huascar successfully raided enemy sea lanes for several months and delayed an invasion of Chilean Army to Peruvian territory until captured by the Chilean Navy
Chilean Navy
-Independence Wars of Chile and Peru :The Chilean Navy dates back to 1817. A year before, following the Battle of Chacabuco, General Bernardo O'Higgins prophetically declared "this victory and another hundred shall be of no significance if we do not gain control of the sea".This led to the...
at the Battle of Angamos in 1879. Once in Chilean hands, Huascar fought a small battle with the Peruvian monitor Manco Capac
USS Oneota (1864)
USS Oneota, a coastal monitor built at Cincinnati, Ohio, by Alexander Swift & Co., and by the Niles Works, was launched 21 May 1864.Completed shortly after the end of the American Civil War, on 10 June 1865, Oneota was laid up until sold to her builder, Alexander Swift and Co., 13 April 1868, and...
,during the bombardment of Arica ,where it took damage, after the land battle was lost the crew scuttled BAP Manco Capac to prevent capture.
Over the years, both Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
have come to venerate the ship and the officers from both sides that died on her deck, either commanding her or boarding her, as national heroes. Huáscar is currently commissioned in the Chilean Navy, has been restored to a near-original condition and, as a museum ship
Museum ship
A museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes...
, is open to visitors at its berth in Talcahuano
Talcahuano
Talcahuano is a port city and commune in the Biobío Region of Chile. It is part of the Greater Concepción conurbation. Talcahuano is located in the south of the Central Zone of Chile.-Geography:...
.
1884–1897
In an effort to produce a more seaworthy vessel that was more capable in ship-to-shore combat, a variation called the breastwork monitor started to become more common in the later nineteenth century. These ships had raised turrets and a heavier superstructure on a platform above the hull.These were still not particularly successful as seagoing ships, because of the short sailing range due from the low efficiency and poor reliability of the steam engines they used. The first of these ships was the HMVS Cerberus
HMVS Cerberus
HMVS Cerberus is a breastwork monitor that served in the Victoria Naval Forces, the Commonwealth Naval Forces , and the Royal Australian Navy between 1871 and 1924....
, built between 1868 and 1870. She was sunk as a breakwater near Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and is still visible there, as her upper works project from the water.
Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
in 1898. Notable United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
monitors which fought in the war were the USS Amphitrite
USS Amphitrite (BM-2)
The second USS Amphitrite—the lead ship in her class of iron-hulled, twin-screw monitors—was laid down in 1874 at Wilmington, Delaware, by the Harlan and Hollingsworth yard; launched on 7 June 1883; sponsored by Miss Nellie Benson, the daughter of a Harlan and Hollingsworth official; and...
, USS Puritan
USS Puritan (BM-1)
The second USS Puritan was a Puritan class monitor in the United States Navy, constructed in 1882. She was the only ship in her class.-Construction:...
, USS Monterey
USS Monterey (BM-6)
The second USS Monterey was a Monterey-class monitor. Laid down by Union Iron Works, San Francisco, California, 20 December 1889; launched 28 April 1891; sponsored by Miss Kate C...
and USS Terror
USS Terror (BM-4)
USS Terror — the totally rebuilt version of the earlier monitor , which had shared the Terror's name — was an iron-hulled, twin-screw, double-turreted monitor of the , laid down in 1874 at Philadelphia by William Cramp and Sons. Her construction progressed over the next three years until suspended...
. These four monitors fought at battles or campaigns such as the Bombardment of San Juan
Bombardment of San Juan
The Bombardment of San Juan, or the First Battle of San Juan, on 12 May 1898 was an engagement of the Spanish-American War, between United States Navy warships and the Spanish fortifications of San Juan, Puerto Rico.-Background:...
, Battle of Fajardo and the Philippines Campaign
Philippines campaign
Philippines campaign may refer to various military campaigns that have been fought in the Philippine Islands, including:-Spanish colonial period :...
. Other monitors participated in the conflict also.
World War I
During World War IWorld 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...
, the 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...
developed several classes of ships which were designed to give close support to troops ashore. Termed "monitors", they owed little to the monitors of the 19th century, though they shared the characteristics of poor seaworthiness, shallow draft and heavy armament in turrets.
The first class, the Humber class
Humber class monitor
The Humber class monitors were three large gunboats under construction for the Brazilian Navy in Britain in 1913. Designed for service on the Amazon River, the ships were of shallow draft and heavy armament and were ideally suited to inshore, riverine and coastal work but flawed for service at sea,...
, had been laid down as large river gunboats for the Brazilian navy. Later monitor classes were equally makeshift; they were often designed around whichever spare guns were available from ships scrapped or never built, with the hulls quickly designed and built in "cheap and cheerful" fashion. They were broad beamed for stability (beam was about 1/3 of the overall length) which together with a lack of emphasis on speed made them extremely slow, and they were not suitable for naval combat
Combat
Combat, or fighting, is a purposeful violent conflict meant to establish dominance over the opposition, or to terminate the opposition forever, or drive the opposition away from a location where it is not wanted or needed....
or any sort of work on the high seas. Monitors of the Royal Navy played a part in consolidating the left wing of the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
during the Race to the Sea
Race to the Sea
The Race to the Sea is a name given to the period early in the First World War when the two sides were still engaged in mobile warfare on the Western Front. With the German advance stalled at the First Battle of the Marne, the opponents continually attempted to outflank each other through...
in 1914.
To these were added monitors built during the course of the war. Their armament was typically a turret taken from a de-commissioned pre-dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought battleship is the general term for all of the types of sea-going battleships built between the mid-1890s and 1905. Pre-dreadnoughts replaced the ironclad warships of the 1870s and 1880s...
battleship. These monitors were built from the start with protection against torpedo attack — waterline bulges were incorporated into the Abercrombie class
Abercrombie class monitor
The Abercrombie class of monitors served in the Royal Navy during the First World War.-History:The four ships in this class came about when the contracted supplier of the main armament for the Greek battleship being built in Germany was unable to supply due to the British blockade...
of 1915. As the war settled to its longer course, these heavier monitors formed patrols along with destroyers on either side of the Straits of Dover to exclude enemy surface vessels from the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
and keep the enemy in port. The monitors could also operate into the river mouths. The General Wolfe
HMS General Wolfe
HMS General Wolfe, also known as Wolfe, was a Lord Clive class monitor which was built in 1915 for shore-bombardment duties in the First World War. Her class of eight ships was armed by four obsolete Majestic class pre-dreadnoughts which had their 12-inch guns and mounts removed, modified and...
, one of the Lord Clive class monitor
Lord Clive class monitor
The Lord Clive class, sometimes referred to as the General Wolfe class, of monitors were ships designed for shore bombardment and were constructed for the Royal Navy during the First World War.-Design:...
s, which had a single 18 inches (457 mm) gun added in 1918, was able to shell a bridge 20 miles (32.2 km) away near Ostend
Ostend
Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
. Other RN monitors served in the Mediterranean.
The dimensions of the several classes of monitor varied greatly. Those of the Abercrombie class were 320 ft (116 m) by 90 ft (27.4 m) in the beam and drew 9 ft (3 m) compared to the M29 class monitor
M29 class monitor
The M29-class comprised five monitors of the Royal Navy, all built and launched during 1915.The ships of this class were ordered in March, 1915, as part of the Emergency War Programme of ship construction...
s of 1915 that were only 170 ft (52 m) long. and the Erebus class
Erebus class monitor
The Erebus class of monitors of the Royal Navy consisted of two ships: HMS Erebus and HMS Terror.* HMS Erebus was built by Harland and Wolff, Govan. She was laid down 12 October 1915, launched on 19 June 1916 and commissioned in September 1916...
of 1916 were 405 ft (123.5 m) long. The largest monitors carried the heaviest guns.
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United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
had largely stopped using monitors. Only a few still existed, of which only seven were still in service, all of which had been relegated to being submarine tender
Submarine tender
A submarine tender is a type of ship that supplies and supports submarines.Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally do not have the ability to carry large amounts of food, fuel, torpedoes, and other supplies, nor to carry a full array of maintenance equipment and...
s. This would be the last war in which United States monitor-type vessels would see commissioned service.
World War II
The smaller Royal Navy monitors were mostly scrapped following World War I, though ErebusHMS Erebus (I02)
HMS Erebus was a World War I monitor launched on 19 June 1916 and served in both world wars. She and her sister HMS Terror are known as the Erebus class...
and Terror
HMS Terror (I03)
HMS Terror was an Erebus-class monitor built for the Royal Navy in 1915-16 at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Govan, Scotland.The Erebus-class monitors were of displacement, long, with a maximum speed of produced by reciprocating engines with two shafts, and a crew of 223. The ship's main...
survived to fight in World War II. When the requirement for shore support returned, two large new Roberts class monitor
Roberts class monitor
The Roberts class of monitors of the Royal Navy consisted of two heavily-gunned vessels built during the Second World War. They were the Roberts, completed in 1941, and Abercrombie, completed in 1943....
s, Roberts and Abercrombie, were constructed and fitted with 15 inches (381 mm) guns from older battleships.
North African campaign
During the Second World War, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia .The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had...
and Italian
Italian Campaign (World War II)
The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war in Europe. Joint Allied Forces Headquarters AFHQ was operationally responsible for all Allied land forces in the Mediterranean theatre, and it planned and commanded the...
campaigns. They were part of the offshore bombardment for the Invasion of Normandy in 1944.
1946–1964
The Royal Navy still had HMS AbercrombieHMS Abercrombie (F109)
HMS Abercrombie was a Royal Navy Roberts class monitor of the Second World War. She was the second monitor to be named after General Sir Ralph Abercrombie....
(completed 1943) and Roberts
HMS Roberts (F40)
HMS Roberts was a Royal Navy Roberts class monitor of the Second World War. She was the second monitor to be named after Field Marshal Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts....
(1941) in reserve in 1953. They were typical monitors, trunk-decked vessels, some 373 feet (114 m) long overall, 90 feet (27 m) in the beam and with an 11 feet (3 m) mean draught carrying two 15 inches (381 mm) guns.
The Brazilian Navy
Brazilian Navy
The Brazilian Navy is a branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces responsible for conducting naval operations. It is the largest navy in Latin America...
presently operates the last true "monitor" as part of their inland waterway force, the Parnaíba (U17)
Vietnam War
The Vietnam WarVietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
was the U.S. Navy's second riverine war; the first having taken place a century earlier in 1861, during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. On 18 December 1965, the U.S. Navy, for the second time in a hundred years, authorized the re-activation of a Brown Water Navy, this time in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN
RVN
RVN can stand for:* South Vietnam* CBN , which had this callsign* Ruud van Nistelrooy, a Dutch footballer* Rovaniemi Airport, in Finland...
). After studies were conducted, plans were drawn up by the U.S. Naval Advisory Group (NAFP) in February 1966, and by the summer of 1966 Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara authorized the U.S. Navy a Mobile Riverine Force
Mobile Riverine Force
In the Vietnam War, the Mobile Riverine Force , initially designated Mekong Delta Mobile Afloat Force, and later euphemistically the Riverines, were a joint US Army and US Navy force that comprised a substantial part of the Brown Water Navy...
(MRF).
Although U.S. Navy Patrol Craft Fasts (Swift Boats), PBR
Patrol Boat, River
Patrol Boat, River , or PBR, is the United States Navy designation for a small rigid-hulled patrol boat used in the Vietnam War from March 1966 until the end of 1971...
s (Patrol Boat River), and assorted gunboats had been operating COIN (counter-insurgency operations) in country prior to 1966; the allies were not gaining success in the Mekong Delta regions of the Republic of Vietnam. But the communists were. A stronger naval force was needed, one that was heavily armored, and heavily gunned.
The U.S. Navy's MRF, initially consisted of River Assault Flotilla One, under Program 4 in 1967, and consisted of four River Assault Divisions: RAD-91 which contained 3 Monitors; RAD-92 which contained 2 Monitors; RAD-111 had 3 Monitors; and RAD-112 operated 2 Monitors. These river battleships as known by the men, operated in conjunction with the CCB (Command Control Boat-also a Monitor), ATCs (Armored Transport Carriers), and the ASPBs (Assault Support Patrol Boats) which were also assigned to each RAD.
Vietnam Monitors were originally converted from World War II 56-foot-long all steel Landing Craft Mechanized
Landing Craft Mechanized
The Landing Craft Mechanized or Landing Craft Mechanical was a landing craft designed for carrying vehicles. They came to prominence during the Second World War when they were used to land troops or tanks during Allied amphibious assaults....
(LCMs) Mark 6s. They were constructed under two phases; Programs 4 & 5. Under Program 4, 10 Monitors were armed with one 40mm cannon and then fielded. Program 5 Monitors would correct any deficiencies from the previous vessels, and were fielded as the Monitor (H) 105mm (Howitzer) and the Monitor (F) (Flamethrower). The Program 4 Monitors mounted their single barrel 40mm cannon in a Mk 52 turret; while the Program 5 Monitors mounted their 105mm cannon in a T172 turret, and the six Flamethrowers were mounted in M8 cupula turrets (one on each side of the vessel's 40mm turret). Because the U.S. Marine Corps was also using the M49 105mm howitzer, there was a shortage, and only 8 Monitor (H)
versions could be procured for the Brown Water Navy.
As fielded, the 24 Monitors of the U.S. Navy in Vietnam averaged about 10 tons of armor, were about 60' long, had two screws, were powered by two 64NH9 diesel engines, 8.5 knots (maximum speed), 17½' wide, 3½' draft, and were normally manned by 11 crewmen. When South Vietnam fell
Fall of Saigon
The Fall of Saigon was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front on April 30, 1975...
on 30 April 1975, all Monitors fell into the enemy's hands; leaving only one survivor, a training Monitor, that never left the US. "Training" Monitor #C-18 is on display, along with one PCF (Swift Boat), and one PBR (Patrol Boat River) at the U.S. Naval Amphibious Base in Coronado, California
Coronado, California
Coronado, also known as Coronado Island, is an affluent resort city located in San Diego County, California, 5.2 miles from downtown San Diego. Its population was 24,697 at the 2010 census, up from 24,100 at the 2000 census. U.S. News and World Report lists Coronado as one of the most expensive...
.
River monitors
The monitor, by proving the efficacy of turrets over fixed guns, played a part in development of the dreadnought battleshipBattleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
from the ironclad. As a shallow draft vessel it also led to the river gunboat
River gunboat
A river gunboat is a type of gunboat adapted for river operations. River gunboats required shallow draft for river navigation. They would be armed with relatively small caliber cannons, or a mix of cannons and machine guns. If they carried more than one cannon, one might be a howitzer, for shore...
s which were used by imperial powers to police their colonial possessions
Colony
In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....
; indeed the largest and most heavily armed river gunboats became known as river monitor
River monitor
River monitors were heavily armored, and normally mounted the largest guns of all riverine warships. The name originated from the US Navy's Brown Water Navy's USS Monitor, which made her first appearance in the American Civil War, and being distinguished by a single revolving turret.On 18 December...
s. They were used by several navies, including the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Submarine gunboats
USS Monitor had had very little freeboard so as to bring the mass of the gun turret down, thereby increasing stability and making the boat a smaller and therefore harder target for gunfire. At the end of the American Civil War, the U.S. Navy CascoUSS Casco (1864)
The first USS Casco was the first of a class of twenty 1,175-ton light-draft monitors built by Atlantic Works, Boston, MA for the Union Navy during the American Civil War.-Launch and refitting:...
-class monitors had large ballast tank
Ballast tank
A ballast tank is a compartment within a boat, ship or other floating structure that holds water.-History:The basic concept behind the ballast tank can be seen in many forms of aquatic life, such as the blowfish or argonaut octopus, and the concept has been invented and reinvented many times by...
s that allowed the vessels to partially submerge during battle. This idea was carried further with the concept of the Royal Navy's R class of submarine gunboats.
The British M class submarine
British M class submarine
The British Royal Navy M-class submarines were a small class of diesel electric submarine built during World War I. The unique feature of the class was a 12-inch gun mounted in a turret forward of the conning tower.-Background:...
s were initially designed for shore bombardment, but their purpose was changed to attacking enemy merchant vessels as their 12 inches (305 mm) gun would be more effective at long range than a torpedo against a moving target. Only one, HMS M1
HMS M1
HMS M1 was a submarine of the British Royal Navy, one of four vessels of her class ordered towards the end of the First World War. She sank with the loss of her entire crew in 1925....
, entered service before the end of World War 1; she was lost in the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
after the war in 1925 after being accidentally rammed while submerged: her gun came free of its mount and she was completely flooded.
Derivative uses of the name
To overcome the stability problems arising from the heavy turret mounted high in monitors, their hulls were designed to reduce other top weight. After Ericsson's ships, monitors developed the trunk deck design as the upper deck had to be heavily armoured against plunging shells. Because of the weight high in the hull, its breadth was minimized, giving rise to a vessel broad-beamed at the waterline, but with a narrow upper deck.By analogy, nineteenth century railway coaches which were of the same shape to accommodate ventilators and lamps above the heads of standing passengers in the centre while to the sides, passengers were seated, were called monitors or monitor cars in the U.S.; the raised part of the roof was known as a turret. In ship design of around 1900, a turret deck was a more austere version of the trunk deck.
Surviving vessels
United Kingdom HMS M33HMS M33HMS M33 is an M29-class monitor of the Royal Navy built in 1915. She saw active service in the Mediterranean during World War I and in Russia during the Allied Intervention in 1919...
is an M29-class monitor of the Royal Navy built in 1915; she is preserved at Portsmouth Historic DockyardHMNB PortsmouthHer Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the British Royal Navy...
in the United Kingdom.
Australia HMVS CerberusHMVS CerberusHMVS Cerberus is a breastwork monitor that served in the Victoria Naval Forces, the Commonwealth Naval Forces , and the Royal Australian Navy between 1871 and 1924....
, launched in 1870, was scuttled as a breakwater off the Australian coast at in 1926. Work for her salvage and restoration is proceeding.
Brazil The ParnaíbaBrazilian monitor Parnaíba (U17)Parnaíba is a river monitor of the Brazilian Navy.She was built by the Navy in Rio de Janeiro and commissioned on 9 March 1938. She participated in the Second World War and is currently the oldest ship in commission in the Brazilian Navy, as well as the oldest naval vessel in the world still in...
is a river monitorRiver monitorRiver monitors were heavily armored, and normally mounted the largest guns of all riverine warships. The name originated from the US Navy's Brown Water Navy's USS Monitor, which made her first appearance in the American Civil War, and being distinguished by a single revolving turret.On 18 December...
currently in service with the Brazilian navy.
Sweden HMS Sölve Is a Swedish monitor built 1875 and designed by John EricssonJohn EricssonJohn Ericsson was a Swedish-American inventor and mechanical engineer, as was his brother Nils Ericson. He was born at Långbanshyttan in Värmland, Sweden, but primarily came to be active in England and the United States...
the "father" of all Monitors. Currently in a Maritime Museum in GothenburgGothenburgGothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
Chile HuáscarHuáscar (ship)Huáscar is a 19th century small armoured turret ship of a type similar to a monitor. She was built in Britain for Peru and played a significant role in the battle of Pacocha and the War of the Pacific against Chile before being captured and commissioned with the Chilean Navy. Today she is one of...
has been restored to near-original condition and is open to visitors at its berth in TalcahuanoTalcahuanoTalcahuano is a port city and commune in the Biobío Region of Chile. It is part of the Greater Concepción conurbation. Talcahuano is located in the south of the Central Zone of Chile.-Geography:...
as a museum shipMuseum shipA museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes...
.
See also
- List of monitors of the Royal Navy
- Abercrombie class monitorAbercrombie class monitorThe Abercrombie class of monitors served in the Royal Navy during the First World War.-History:The four ships in this class came about when the contracted supplier of the main armament for the Greek battleship being built in Germany was unable to supply due to the British blockade...
. HMS Abercrombie mentioned above was of the later, Roberts class. - Erebus classErebus class monitorThe Erebus class of monitors of the Royal Navy consisted of two ships: HMS Erebus and HMS Terror.* HMS Erebus was built by Harland and Wolff, Govan. She was laid down 12 October 1915, launched on 19 June 1916 and commissioned in September 1916...
- Lord Clive classLord Clive class monitorThe Lord Clive class, sometimes referred to as the General Wolfe class, of monitors were ships designed for shore bombardment and were constructed for the Royal Navy during the First World War.-Design:...
- Marshal Ney classMarshal Ney class monitorThe two Marshal Ney class monitors were built for the Royal Navy during the First World War-Design and development:The need for monitors for shelling enemy positions from the English Channel had become apparent only at the start of the war and they were designed with some haste...
- M29 classM29 class monitorThe M29-class comprised five monitors of the Royal Navy, all built and launched during 1915.The ships of this class were ordered in March, 1915, as part of the Emergency War Programme of ship construction...
An example of this class is HMS M33. - Roberts classRoberts class monitorThe Roberts class of monitors of the Royal Navy consisted of two heavily-gunned vessels built during the Second World War. They were the Roberts, completed in 1941, and Abercrombie, completed in 1943....
- Abercrombie class monitor
- The Dover Patrol
- Coastal defence shipCoastal defence shipCoastal defence ships were warships built for the purpose of coastal defence, mostly during the period from 1860 to 1920. They were small, often cruiser-sized warships that sacrificed speed and range for armour and armament...
- List of monitors of the United States Navy
The "Laya Monitor" from the Hungarian Navy is docked in the Danube river in Budapest for tourists to go through. It was built in 1878 after the U.S. Monitor. It has a double gun in the turret house. Machine guns on both sides of the ship provide added power. It fought the Russians in the first anti-communist battle in the early 20th century. It was in the World War one battle of Romania.