HMS Monarch (1911)

Monarch at anchor, before 1915
History
United Kingdom
Name:	Monarch
Namesake:	A French ship, Monarque, captured in 1747
Builder:	Armstrong Whitworth, Elswick
Laid down:	1 April 1910
Launched:	30 March 1911
Commissioned:	February 1912
Decommissioned:	5 May 1922
Out of service:	October 1923
Fate:	Sunk as a target, 21 January 1925
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type:	Orion-class dreadnought battleship
Displacement:	21,922 long tons (22,274 t) (normal)
Length:	581 ft (177.1 m) (o/a)
Beam:	88 ft 6 in (27.0 m)
Draught:	31 ft 3 in (9.5 m)
Installed power:	27,000 shp (20,000 kW) 18 × Yarrow boilers
Propulsion:	4 × shafts; 2 × steam turbine sets
Speed:	21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph)
Range:	6,730 nmi (12,460 km; 7,740 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement:	738–750 (1914)
Armament:	5 × twin 13.5-inch (343 mm) guns 16 × single 4-inch (102 mm) guns 3 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour:	Belt: 8–12 in (203–305 mm) Deck: 1–4 inches (25–102 mm) Turrets: 11 in (280 mm) Barbettes: 10 in (254 mm)

HMS Monarch was the second of four Orion-class dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Navy in the early 1910s. She spent the bulk of her career assigned to the Home and Grand Fleets. Aside from participating in the failed attempt to intercept the German ships that had bombarded Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby in late 1914, the Battle of Jutland in May 1916 and the inconclusive Action of 19 August, her service during World War I generally consisted of routine patrols and training in the North Sea.

After the Grand Fleet was dissolved in early 1919, Monarch was transferred to back to the Home Fleet for a few months before she was assigned to the Reserve Fleet. The ship was listed for disposal in mid-1922, but was hulked for use as a stationary training ship. In late 1923 Monarch was converted into a target ship and was sunk in early 1925.

The Orion-class ships were designed in response to the beginning of the Anglo-German naval arms race and were much larger than their predecessors of the Colossus-class battleship to accommodate larger, more powerful guns and heavier armour. In recognition of these improvements, the class was sometimes called "super-dreadnoughts". The ships had an overall length of 581 feet (177.1 m), a beam of 88 feet 6 inches (27.0 m) and a deep draught of 31 feet 3 inches (9.5 m). They displaced 21,922 long tons (22,274 t) at normal load and 25,596 long tons (26,007 t) at deep load as built; by 1918 Monarch's deep displacement had increased to 28,556 long tons (29,014 t). Her crew numbered 738 officers and ratings upon completion and 750 as of 1914.