M22 served in the Mediterranean and Black Sea before conversion into the minelayer HMS Medea and later a training ship. Its disposal in 1938 raises the question of whether the hull could still have served in net-handling or another auxiliary role as a new war approached. M23 and M24 later served with the North Russian Expeditionary Force. M25 was sent up the Dvina during the evacuation of British and White Russian forces. When falling river levels made recovery impossible, M25 and M27 were scuttled to prevent their capture by Bolshevik forces. M26 offers a contrasting afterlife: it remained with the Dover Patrol, exchanged its heavy gun for a 7.5-inch weapon, and became the tanker Doewa after sale in 1920.
Chapter · 27:36-36:19
Rearmament, conversions, and Northern Russia
M22-M26 show how the class was repeatedly rearmed, converted, and sent from the Mediterranean and Dover Patrol to the Black Sea and Northern Russian intervention.