HMS M33

M33 is an M29-class monitor and was built by Harland and Wolff, Belfast as part of the rapid ship construction campaign following the outbreak of the First World War.

Ordered in March 1915, she was launched in May and commissioned in June.

This is an impressive shipbuilding feat, especially considering that numerous other ships of her type were being built in the same period.

Armed with a pair of 6-inch (152 mm) guns and having a shallow draught, M33 was designed for coastal bombardment.

She was commanded by Lieutenant Commander Preston-Thomas.

Her first active operation was the support of the British landings at Suvla during the Battle of Gallipoli in August 1915.

She remained stationed at Gallipoli until the evacuation in January 1916.

For the remainder of the war she served in the Mediterranean and was involved in the seizure of the Greek fleet at Salamis Bay on 1 September 1916.

M33 next saw service, with five other monitors (M23, M25, M27, M31 and Humber), which were sent to Murmansk in 1919 to relieve the North Russian Expeditionary Force.

In June, M33 moved to Archangel and her shallow draught enabled her to travel up the Dvina River to cover the withdrawal of British and White Russian forces.

At one time the river level was so low the ship's guns had to be removed and transported by cart.

M25 and M27 were not so fortunate and had to be scuttled on 16 September 1919 after running aground.

M33 safely returned to Chatham in October.

In 1925 M33 became a mine-laying training ship and was renamed HMS Minerva on 3 February 1925.

She went through a number of roles for the remainder of her career including fuelling hulk and boom defence workshop.

Her name was changed again in 1939, this time to Hulk C23.

In 1946 she became a floating office at the Royal Clarence Victualling Yard at Gosport.

Put up for sale in 1984, she eventually passed to Hampshire County Council and was then handed over to the National Museum of the Royal Navy in 2014.

A programme of conservation was undertaken to enable her to be opened to the public.

HMS M33 is located within Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and opened to visitors on 7 August 2015 following a service of dedication.

She is now located at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, close to HMS Victory.

M33 is one of only three surviving British warships that served during the First World War.

The others being HMS Caroline and HMS President, although a number of auxiliary vessels and small craft have also survived.

She is the only surviving ship from the Gallipoli Campaign.

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