Big Gun Monitors

Book excerpt: “Extremely well researched . . . a total account of the design, building, service, refits, and fates of the big gun monitors built for WW1 and WW2.” —Malcolm Wright, author of British and Commonwealth Warship Camouflage of WWII In the history of naval warfare probably no type of ship has provided more firepower per ton than the monitor—indeed they were little more than a huge gun mounting fitted on a simple, self-propelled raft. Designed and built rapidly to fulfil an urgent need for heavy shore-bombardment during World War I, they were top secret in conception, and largely forgotten when the short-lived requirement was over. Nevertheless, they were important ships, which played a significant role in many Great War campaigns and drove many of the advances in long-range gunnery later applied to the battle fleet. Indeed, their value was rediscovered during the Second World War when a final class was built. Monitors were largely ignored by naval historians until Ian Buxton produced the first edition of this book in 1978. Although published privately, this became an established classic and copies of the first edition are now almost unobtainable, so this new edition will be welcomed by many. It has been completely revised, extended and redesigned to a generous large format which allows material deleted from the original edition for lack of space to be restored. “This book looks in detail at the technical and economic aspects of the 42 monitors built, and is, without a doubt, the definitive work on the subject.” —Ships Monthly “Ian Buxton’s work has set the standard in celebrating these big gun ships . . . It makes an invaluable contribution to the study of naval and land operations.” —Warships International