HMS M.33

Not everyone realises that the Gallipoli campaign was every bit the meat grinder that The Somme was. The story of HMS M.33 gives great insight into that.The senseless slaughter of many thousands of soldiers and civilians on both sides.

Having visited this dockyard in August and September 2017, it brought back many memories for me having sailed out from there in 1963 on H.M.S. Venus to the Azores. I was then a Cook in the Royal Navy serving at H.M.S Ganges in Suffolk. It was a cold winter day then and I was over the side of the ship scrubbing it clean before we sailed. Arriving at the entrance it was a bit disconcerting to see the queues of people waiting to get in. The queue took 40 minutes to allow where I was to arrive at the ticket gate. A bag search told me I was to leave my Monopod with them for safe keeping at the ticket office. This also applies to Tripods for camera equipment so remember this.Another ship I went to visit was HMS M.33 which is the only sole remaining British veteran of the bloody Dardanelles Campaign of 1915-1916, and also the Russian Civil War which followed. The ship is one of just three British warships from World War I still in existence. HMS M.33 was built in 1915 on the orders of the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill. She was a floating gun platform designed to bombard coastal positions from the sea. Her first active operation was the support of the British landings at Suvla during the Battle of Gallipoli in August 1915. She remained stationed at Gallipoli until the evacuation in January 1916. She served in the Mediterranean for the remainder of the War and was involved in the seizure of the Greek fleet at Salamis Bay in 1916.In the dockyard you will find many other attractions and museums along with various shops catering for items of interest connected to this historic site.

Used Ultimate ticket to visit. Great value ticket. Visited M33 later in the day, so was quite busy, following a stream of others round the ship. Knowledgeable volunteer / staff add to the experience.

Less widely known than some exhibits around the Dockyard, but still a worthy ship to explore. It was both fascinating and sobering to explore and learn about M.33's role in history and the action she saw. Staff were really knowledgable and helpful.

Lovely little ship. Was very hot inside (we are in a heatwave). We managed to get round it in half hour. Nice little areas inside.

Terrific experience. Great little ship.Full of history. A real survivor.

Brilliant and unique experience. This is one of very few WW1 era ships still around and out of those that do exist, this is one of the weirdly specific ones that no analogue has ever been built for since. Definitely worth the visit if you're a warship nerd!

This is one of the ships you can look around as part of the combined ticket. It isn't as famous of the others, but let's you see a slight more modern ship.

It's amazing to think that this very ship fought in WW1 at the Battle of GALLIPOLI and is in remarkable condition considering the life it's had, plus how the men served and lived on board is quite something in itself, definitely one to add to the list.