HMS Roberts (1915)

HMS "Roberts" was an "Abercrombie"-class monitor of the Royal Navy that served in the First World War.

On November 3 1914, Charles M. Schwab of Bethlehem Steel offered Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, the use of four 14in/45cal BL MK II twin gun turrets, originally destined for the Greek ship "Salamis". These turrets could not be delivered to the German builders, due to the British Naval blockade. The Royal Navy immediately designed a class of monitors, designed for shore bombardment, to use the turrets.

"HMS Roberts" was laid down at the Swan Hunter, Ltd shipyard at Wallsend on December 17 1914. The ship was named "Stonewall Jackson" in honour of the US General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson, however as the United States was still neutral, the ship was hurriedly renamed HMS "M4" on May 31 1915. She was then named HMS "Earl Roberts" on June 19 1915 and again renamed HMS "Roberts" on June 22 1915

"HMS Roberts" sailed for the Dardanelles in June 1915. She remained in the Eastern Mediterranean, until returning to England in February 1916. She served as a guard ship at Yarmouth until the end of the War. She decommissioned in May 1919, and was sold for breaking up in May 1921, however she was retained by the Admiralty for trials. In the 1930s, she was used for testing underwater protection for new construction warships. She was finally sold in September 1936 to the Ward shipyard at Preston for breaking up.

In command

*Captain H.N. Garnett, (May, 1915–?)
*Commander W.A. Thompson, (?)
*Commander Kenneth Dewar, (August, 1916–1917)
*Commander B.M. Eyres-Monsell, (September, 1918–?)
*Lieutenant-Commander E.J.J. Southby, (January, 1919–May, 1919)

References

* Dittmar, F. J. & Colledge, J. J., "British Warships 1914-1919", (Ian Allen, London, 1972), ISBN 0-7110-0380-7
* Gray, Randal (ed), "Conway's All The Worlds Fighting Ships, 1906-1921", (Conway Maritime Press, London, 1985), ISBN 0-85177-245-5