HMS M15

HMS M15 was a First World War Royal Navy M15-class monitor. She was sunk off Gaza by UC-38 on 11 November 1917.

M15 at Mudros, 1916
History
United Kingdom
NameM15
BuilderWilliam Gray, Hartlepool.
Laid down1 March 1915
Launched28 April 1915
FateSunk on 11 November 1917.
General characteristics
Class and typeM15-class monitor
Displacement540 tons
Length177 ft 3 in (54.03 m)
Beam31 ft (9.4 m)
Draught6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Propulsion
  • 2 shaft
  • Triple expansion steam engines
  • 800 hp (600 kW)
Speed11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph)
Complement69
Armament

Design

Intended as a shore bombardment vessel, M15's primary armament was a single 9.2-inch Mk X gun which had been held as a spare for the Drake and Cressy-class cruisers.[1] In addition to her 9.2-inch gun, she also possessed one 12-pounder and one six-pound anti-aircraft gun. She was equipped with triple expansion steam engines rated to 800 horsepower (600 kW) that allowed a top speed of 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph). The monitor's crew consisted of sixty-nine officers and ratings.

Construction

M15 was ordered in March 1915, as part of the War Emergency Programme of ship construction. She was laid down at the William Gray shipyard at Hartlepool in March 1915 and launched on 28 April 1915. The vessel was completed in June 1915.

First World War

M15 was towed to Malta in July 1915, where she received her main armament. She then proceeded to Mudros, and later was involved in the defence of the Suez Canal.

After bombarding Gaza as part of the Third Battle of Gaza, on 11 November 1917, M15 and the destroyer HMS Staunch were torpedoed by the submarine UC-38. 26 men lost their lives in the sinking of M15, one kilometre (0.62 mi) from shore, in 90 metres (300 ft) of water.[2]

Hamas recovery of ammunition

In 2020, Hamas divers recovered ammunition, including large-calibre naval shells, from the wreck of M15 with the intent of using explosives from the shells to make warheads and gunpowder propellant to make rocket fuel. After more than a century at the bottom of the sea, however, the material was found to be unusable.[3]

Citations
  1. Randal Gray, ed. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Conway Maritime Press. p. 48. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
  2. Madjid Zerrouky (10 October 2023). "Comment le Hamas a développé son arsenal militaire à Gaza" [Hamas's relentless efforts to build up its military arsenal in Gaza]. Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 13 October 2023. 33 mètres de profondeur inspecter l'épave du HMS M15, un navire de guerre britannique coulé par un sous-marin allemand en 1917 à un kilomètre de la côte [a depth of 33 meters to inspect the wreck of the HMS M15, a British warship sunk by a German submarine in 1917, one kilometer from the coast]
  3. Staff, Toi (15 September 2020). "Hamas said to retrieve ammunition from British WWI warship sunk off Gaza coast". The Times of Israel.

References

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