Monitors of the United Kingdom

Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 30. Chapters: Cyclops class monitor, Javary class monitors, Monitors of the Royal Navy, Victorian era monitors of the United Kingdom, World War II monitors of the United Kingdom, World War I monitors of the United Kingdom, HMVS Cerberus, HMS Lord Clive, HMS General Wolfe, Huáscar, HMS Gorgon, HMS Cyclops, HMS Hydra, HMS Magdala, HMS Terror, HMS Erebus, HMS M33, HMS Marshal Soult, HMS M27, HMS Glatton, HMS Raglan, HMS M23, HMS Roberts, HMS M25, HMS Abercrombie, HMS M24, HMS Marshal Ney, HMS M28, HMS Severn, HMS General Craufurd, HMS M21, HMS M22, HMS Havelock, HMS M26, HMS M31, HMS Abyssinia, HMS Humber, HMS M19, HMS M15, HMS M20, HMS M18, HMS Mersey, HMS M29, HMS M16, HMS M17, HMS Sir Thomas Picton, HMS Earl of Peterborough, HMS Prince Eugene, HMS Prince Rupert, HMS Hecate, HMS Sir John Moore, HMS M32, HMS M30, List of monitors of the Royal Navy. Excerpt: HMVS Cerberus (Her Majesty's Victorian Ship) is a breastwork monitor that served in the Victoria Naval Forces, the Commonwealth Naval Forces (CNF), and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) between 1871 and 1924. Built for the colony of Victoria, Cerberus was completed in 1870, and arrived in Port Phillip in 1871, where she spent the rest of her career. The monitor was absorbed into the CNF following Federation in 1901, and was renamed HMAS Cerberus when the navy became the RAN in 1911. By World War I, Cerberus weapons and boilers were inoperable; the ship was retasked as a guardship and munitions store, while carrying the personnel of the fledgling Royal Australian Naval College on her paybooks. In 1921, the ship was renamed HMAS Platypus II, and tasked as a submarine tender for the RAN's six J class submarines. In 1924, the monitor was sold for scrap, and was sunk as a breakwater off Half Moon Bay. The wreck became a popular site for scuba diving and picnics over the years, but there was a structural collapse in 1993. There have been several campaigns to preserve the ship (one of which is ongoing), as she is one of the last monitors, the only surviving ship of the Australian colonial navies, and the only surviving ship in the world with Coles turrets. Named for Cerberus, the three-headed guard dog of Hades from Greek mythology, Cerberus was the first of the 'breastwork monitors', which differed from previous ironclad warships by the fitting of a central superstructure containing rotating turrets. The ship was designed by Edward James Reed, Chief Constructor to the Royal Navy. Cerberus had one sister ship, HMS Magdala, and an additional five ships of similar design (HMS Abyssinia and the four Cyclops class monitors) were constructed for coastal defence around the British Empire. These seven vessels were unofficially referred to as the 'Monster class'. The monitor was 225 feet (68.6 m) long, 45 feet 1 inch (13.7 m) wide, and with a draught of 15 feet 6 inches (4.7 m). Cer