HMS M22
# HMS M22

HMS M22 was a First World War Royal Navy M15-class monitor. Later converted to a minelayer and renamed HMS Medea , she was wrecked whilst being towed for breaking up on 2 January 1939.

## Design

Intended as a shore bombardment vessel, M22's primary armament was a single 9.2 inch Mk VI gun removed from the Edgar-class cruiser HMS Gibraltar. In addition to her 9.2 inch gun she also possessed one 12 pounder and one six pound anti-aircraft gun. Due to the shortage of Bolinder diesel engines that equipped her sisters, she was fitted with 2 shaft triple expansion steam engines that allowed a top speed of eleven knots. The monitor's crew consisted of sixty nine officers and men.

## Construction

HMS M22 ordered in March, 1915, as part of the War Emergency Programme of ship construction. She was laid down at the Sir Raylton Dixon & Co. Ltd shipyard at Govan in March 1915, launched on 10 June 1915, and completed in August 1915.

## World War 1

M22 served within the Mediterranean from September 1915 to December 1918.

## Interwar service

After service in the Black Sea from June to September 1919, M22 was towed home and converted to a minelayer in 1920. Renamed HMS Medea on 1 December 1925, she became a training ship in January 1937.

## Citations

* ↑ Randal Gray, ed. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Conway Maritime Press. p. 48. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
