HMS Terror (I03)

HMS Terror was an Erebus-class monitor built for the Royal Navy in 1915-1916 at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Govan, Scotland.

The Erebus-class monitors were of 7,200 long tons (7,300 t) displacement, 405 ft (123 m) long, with a maximum speed of 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) produced by reciprocating engines with two shafts, and a crew of 223. The ship's main armament consisted of two 15 in (381 mm) guns in a single forward turret. This turret had been built as a spare for Furious.

The original secondary armament of two 6 in (152 mm) mounts was soon replaced by eight 4 in (102 mm) guns in single mounts and two 3 in (76 mm) anti-aircraft guns, also in single mounts. Between the wars, the 4 inch low angle guns were replaced by anti-aircraft mounts and the 3 inch guns by eight 0.50 in (12.7 mm) anti-aircraft Vickers machine guns in two quadruple mounts.

The class mostly served in the Naval Gunfire Support role.

Service history

First World War

Terror joined the Dover Patrol in August 1916 and operated against German forces on the coast of occupied Belgium. On 19 October 1917, she was torpedoed by German motor torpedo boats off Dunkirk. There were no casualties and the ship was beached before being towed back to Portsmouth. The damage took three months to repair. In April 1918, Terror was in the Long Range Bombardment force for the Zeebrugge raid with her sister ship Erebus and destroyers Termanent, Truculent, and Manley. On 27 September, Terror, along with her sister ship Erebus, provided gunnery support for the Fourth Battle of Ypres. In the early 1920s, she was used for gunnery trials against several old warships including SMS Baden and HMS Superb.

HMS Terror

Nine ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Terror:

HMS Terror was a 4-gun bomb vessel launched in 1696, and captured and burnt by the French in 1704.

HMS Terror was a 14-gun bomb vessel launched in 1741 and sold in 1754.

HMS Terror was an 8-gun bomb vessel launched in 1759 and sold in 1774.

HMS Terror was an 8-gun bomb vessel launched in 1779 and sold in 1812.

HMS Terror was a 4-gun gunboat, formerly a Dutch hoy. She was purchased in 1794 and sold in 1804.

HMS Terror was a 10-gun bomb vessel launched in 1813 and converted to a discovery vessel in 1836. She was involved in the bombardment of Fort McHenry in the War of 1812. She and her sister ship HMS Erebus took part in James Clark Ross's expedition to Antarctica from 1839 to 1843. The two ships were converted to screw propulsion in 1844, and took part in John Franklin's expedition to the Arctic in 1845, where they became trapped in ice near King William Island and were abandoned in 1848.

HMS Terror was a 16-gun iron screw floating battery launched in 1856. She became the base ship at Bermuda in 1857 and was sold in 1902.

HMS Terror (1813)

HMS Terror was a bomb vessel designed by Sir Henry Peake and constructed by the Royal Navy by Robert Davy, Topsham, Devon. The ship, variously listed as being of either 326 or 340 tons, carried two mortars, one 13 in (330 mm) and one 10 in (250 mm).

War service

HMS Terror saw service in the War of 1812 against the United States. Under the command of John Sheridan, she took part in the bombardment of Stonington, Connecticut, on 9–12 August 1814 and of Fort McHenry in the Battle of Baltimore on 13–14 September 1814; the latter attack inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem that eventually became known as "The Star-Spangled Banner". In January 1815, still under Sheridan's command, Terror was involved in the Battle of Fort Peter and the attack on St. Marys, Georgia.

After the end of the War, Terror was laid up until 1828, when she was recommissioned for service in the Mediterranean under the command of David Hope. On 18 February 1828, she ran aground on a lee shore near Lisbon, Portugal as a result of a hurricane; eventually refloated, she was withdrawn from service after repairs.