MONITOR: NAVAL, a shallow draught warship mount ing one or two very large guns and specially designed for bombarding. Credit for the idea of a vessel of this type may perhaps be given to Captain Cowper Coles who, in 1855, during the Crimean War, mounted a 32 pounder on a raft. Incidentally he also evolved the system of training a gun on a turntable with a winch instead of levering the carriage round with hand-spikes or pulling it right and left with tackles, thereby originating what eventually developed into the modern form of gun mounting. The most famous ship of this class of her day and the one which gave the name "Monitor" to the type was that built to Ericsson's design in 1861. (See below "MONITOR" AND "MERRI MAC," BATTLE OF.) Monitors in embryo form were to be found in the British fleet in the bomb ketches introduced in the 17th century, afterwards increased in size to bomb vessels known as "bombs." These craft were used in the frequent coastal operations of those days and formed a definite feature amongst the various types which com posed the navy. At a later date we find the principle of the design embodied in the old coast defence ships of the "Cyclops" class. These were built as the result of an entirely unsound policy whereby naval units were dotted along the coast with the idea that they produced some measure of local protection, whereas, of course, the money would have been far better devoted to increasing the seagoing fleet. But the conception of a "coast attack" ship as distinct from a sort of mobile defensive fort was an entirely sound one and naval history has repeatedly shown the necessity for such a type. The World War was no exception in this respect. The operations on the Belgian Coast, in the Dardanelles, in the Suez Canal and in various inland waterways all called for small warships of the monitor type, and the British navy was not found to be at all well equipped in this respect. In fact, at the outbreak of hostilities the only craft resembling monitors were the old flat-iron gun-boats like the "Excellent" and the "Bustard," which were at once pressed into service on the Belgian Coast (q.v.). There were, however, three shallow draught gun-boats building in this country for the Brazilian Government and these were immediately purchased and com missioned as the "Humber," "Mersey" and "Severn" for similar service. Before the end of the year, however, under the auspices
of Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher a number of monitors, large and small, were laid down. They were probably intended by him to be used for his great landing project in the Baltic, but before that could be given serious consideration urgent claims arose for their services in the other war areas already mentioned.
On the Belgian Coast, old sloops, and, from time to time, an old battleship, were, at first, used for coastal bombarding and proved their unsuitability. In the Dardanelles, where old battle ships had been mostly employed for this purpose, the toll of their destruction was heavy, and gave striking proof of the of the navy for this form of amphibious warfare and of how the lessons of the past had been forgotten in centring thought and effort exclusively on building up the main fleet.
The new monitors, which were built in record time, saw much active service and proved their success as a type both by the effectiveness of their gun fire and by their remarkable immunity from casualties. The larger class, carrying a pair of 12, 14 or 15 inch guns each, were, probably, more often in action than any other vessels carrying turret guns. They were all fitted with bulges to protect them against torpedo attack. One ship, H.M.S. "Terror," was hit by no less than three torpedoes which exploded in quick succession in the fore part, but she succeeded in getting to Portsmouth from the Belgian Coast and was repaired and back on her station in a few weeks. H.M.S. "Erebus," a sister ship, was hit amidships by an explosive boat carrying a very large charge. She steamed to Portsmouth at 1 2 knots and was back on the Belgian Coast in a fortnight. One large monitor, H.M.S. "Rag lan," was caught unawares by the German battle cruiser "Goeben" off Imbros and sunk by gun fire, while a second, H.M.S. "Glatton," was lost through catching fire and having to be torpedoed to avoid her magazines exploding in Dover Harbour. But these were the only casualties out of a fleet of sixteen of this type, of which three have been retained in the post-war fleet (1928). The moni tor, as a type, was represented in the United States navy until after the World War, but with the exception of one ship, the "Cheyenne," used (1928) as a training ship, the vessels of this class have been scrapped. (E. A.)