Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:47:23-1:47:54

Why the Royal Navy did not retain modern monitors

Monitors could have been useful in Korea and the Falklands, but their narrow bombardment role lost funding to flexible carriers.

Aircraft CarriersMonitorsNaval Gunfire SupportRoyal Navy
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Question

Why did Britain not keep building and updating monitors after World War II?

Short answer

They were useful but too specialized to win funding when carriers could cover much of the requirement and many other roles.

Notes

Updated Roberts-class monitors could have delivered valuable heavy gunfire in several postwar conflicts, including Korea and the Falklands. Their shallow draft and large guns suit sustained shore bombardment. The procurement problem is extreme specialization. A carrier can provide much of the desired effect while also performing many other missions.