Why the Second World War needed fewer monitors

First World War coastal fire support could demand nearly daily work for years, while Second World War amphibious operations were more episodic. The Dardanelles required support over months, and the Allied Naval Support Force off the Western Front kept monitors engaged for years. Second World War landings still needed heavy naval gunfire, but the ships could move from one finite operation to the next instead of maintaining a permanent coastal artillery commitment. That change in operational tempo helps explain why the Royal Navy did not require a First World War-sized monitor force in 1939-45.