HMS M25

HMS M25 was a First World War Royal Navy M15-class monitor. She was also served in the British intervention in Russia in 1919, and was scuttled in the Dvina River on 16 September, 1919.

Design

Intended as a shore bombardment vessel, M25's primary armament was a single 9.2 inch Mk VI gun removed from the Edgar-class cruiser HMS Endymion. 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 a four-shaft Bolinder four-cylinder semi-diesel engine with 640 horsepower that allowed a top speed of eleven knots. The monitor's crew consisted of sixty-nine officers and men.

Construction

HMS M25 ordered in March, 1915, as part of the War Emergency Programme of ship construction. She was laid down at the Sir Raylton Dixon & Co. Ltd shipyard in March 1915, launched on 24 July 1915, and completed in September 1915.

World War 1

M25 served with the Dover Patrol from September 1915 to June 1918. In early 1916, M25 had her main 9.2in gun removed, as it was required for artillery use on the Western Front, and a BL 7.5-inch (190 mm) MK III gun from HMS Swiftsure was fitted in lieu.