An additional Erebus-class monitor could have given the Royal Navy more flexibility to cover distant bases or support amphibious operations. Unlike battleships, carriers, or nuclear submarines, monitors concentrated their cost in a powerful armament rather than balanced fleet capabilities. The modern analogy is an arsenal ship: a minimally crewed, lightly built platform carrying large numbers of older but still useful cruise missiles. A hypothetical ship with 250 reconditioned Tomahawks from an earlier generation illustrates how mass can retain value after a missile is no longer the newest model. Such a ship could remain alongside when not needed because its crew would practise weapons employment rather than complex fleet manoeuvres, adding mass without the support burden of another capital unit.
Notable Point · 35:55-39:00
Why cheap heavy-gun monitors remained useful
The class illustrates how a relatively cheap specialist ship can add massed firepower without the expense and crew burden of a capital unit.