View source for HMS M29

{{Short description|M29-class monitor}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
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{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = Lot 9609-17 (21519589365).jpg
| Ship caption = 
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{{Infobox ship career
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| Ship country = United Kingdom
| Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
| Ship name = HMS ''M29''
| Ship namesake = 
| Ship ordered = 
| Ship builder = [[Harland and Wolff|Harland & Wolff]], [[Belfast]]
| Ship yard number = 485
| Ship laid down = March 1915
| Ship launched = 22 May 1915
| Ship completed = 20 June 1915
| Ship acquired = 
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| Ship fate = Sold 1946 for breaking at [[Dover]]; resold and rebuilt as merchantman. Scrapped 1974.
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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| Header caption = 
| Ship class = {{sclass|M29|monitor|0}} [[monitor (warship)|monitor]]
| Ship displacement = 580 tons deep load
| Ship length = {{convert|177|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship beam = {{convert|31|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship draught = {{convert|5|ft|11|in|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship draft = 
| Ship propulsion = Triple expansion. Twin screws. [[Yarrow boiler]]s, 45 tons oil fuel. {{cvt|400|hp|lk=in}}
| Ship speed = {{convert|10|kn|lk=in}}
| Ship range = 
| Ship complement = 72
| Ship sensors = 
| Ship EW = 
| Ship armament = *2 × [[BL 6 inch Mk XII naval gun|BL {{convert|6|in|mm|adj=on|sigfig=4}} Mk XII guns]]
*1 × [[QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss|6-pounder]] AA
| Ship armour = 6 in on gun shield
| Ship armor = 
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'''HMS ''M29''''' was a [[Royal Navy]] {{sclass|M29|monitor|0}} [[monitor (warship)|monitor]] of the [[First World War]]. The ship was constructed by [[Harland and Wolff|Harland & Wolff]], in [[Belfast]] and [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 22 May 1915, she was completed in June 1915. During [[World War I]], the monitor served in the [[Mediterranean Sea]] at the [[Battle of Jaffa (1917)|Battle of Jaffa]] in 1917 and took part in operations in support of British and [[White movement|White Russian]] forces in the [[White Sea]] during the [[Russian Civil War]] in 1919. The ship was then converted to a [[minelayer]] and renamed '''HMS ''Medusa''''' in 1925. In 1941 ''Medusa'' was converted to a [[repair ship|repair]] and [[depot ship]] and was renamed '''HMS ''Talbot''''', then renamed '''HMS ''Medway II''''' in 1944. In 1946, the vessel was sold for [[Ship breaking|scrap]].

However, the ship was given a reprieve and acquired by a Greek shipowner who rebuilt the vessel as a [[cargo ship]] in 1950–1951. The ship, renamed '''''Gerogeorgakis''''' was used for [[smuggling]] and was seized off [[Cavallo Island]] in 1971. The ship was then sold at auction and broken up for scrap in 1974.

==Construction and career==
The availability of ten 6-inch Mk XII guns from the {{sclass|Queen Elizabeth|battleship}}s in 1915 prompted the [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]] to order five scaled down versions of the {{sclass|M15|monitor|1}}s, which had been designed to utilise 9.2-inch guns.  HMS ''M29'' and her sisters were ordered from [[Harland and Wolff|Harland & Wolff]], [[Belfast]] in March 1915.  Launched on 22 May 1915, she was completed in June 1915.

Upon completion, ''M29'' was sent to the Mediterranean, and took part in the [[Battle of Jaffa (1917)|Battle of Jaffa]] and remained there until December 1918.  She served from May to September 1919 in support of British and [[White movement|White Russian]] forces in the [[White Sea]], before returning to England.

In September 1923, ''M29'' was taken in hand for conversion to a [[minelayer]].  Equipped to carry 52 mines, she was renamed HMS ''Medusa'' in December 1925.

In May 1941, she was converted to a repair ship and became the [[depot ship]] for the [[10th Submarine Flotilla]], being renamed HMS ''Talbot''. Again renamed HMS ''Medway II'' in February 1944, she became the depot ship for the 1st Submarine Flotilla.  She was finally sold in December 1946 for breaking up at [[Dover]].

Resold circa 1950 to Spyros Theodoratos, Greece and registered on January 21, 1951, at Lavrion (Nr. 7) as ''Gerogeogakis''. Rebuilt at Perama as cargo motorship. Sold in 1956 to Elpida & Panagiotis Leivadas. On 16 November 1971 ''Gerogeogakis'' was intercepted off Cavallo Island, Corse, with a cargo of 12 tons of smuggled cigarettes. Seized and auctioned in 1974 for breaking up at Vado Ligure.

== References ==
* Young, John. A Dictionary of Ships of the Royal Navy of the Second World War. Patrick Stephens Ltd, Cambridge, 1975. {{ISBN|0-85059-332-8}}
* Lenton, H.T. & Colledge, J. J. Warships of World War II, Ian Allan, London, 1973. {{ISBN|0-7110-0403-X}}
* Dittmar, F. J. & Colledge, J. J., "British Warships 1914-1919", (Ian Allan, London, 1972), {{ISBN|0-7110-0380-7}}
* Gray, Randal (ed), "Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921", (Conway Maritime Press, London, 1985), {{ISBN|0-85177-245-5}}
* Bilalis, Aris, Monitors in the Aegean (Greek), Periplous Nautikis Istoria, Issue No. 113, Oct-Dec.2020, Maritime Museum of Greece.

{{M29 class monitor}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:M29}}
[[Category:M29-class monitors]]
[[Category:Ships built in Belfast]]
[[Category:1915 ships]]
[[Category:World War I monitors of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Royal Navy ship names]]
[[Category:Ships built by Harland and Wolff]]