HMS Marshal Ney (1915)

HMS Marshal Ney was a Royal Navy Marshal Ney-class monitor constructed in the opening years of the First World War. Laid down as M13, she was named for the French general of the Napoleonic Wars Marshal Michel Ney. After service in World War I she became a depot ship and then a stokers' training ship. Between 1922 and 1947 she was renamed three times, becoming successively Vivid, Drake and Alaunia II. She was broken up in 1957.

Design
Designed for inshore operations along the sandbank strewn Belgian coastline, Marshal Ney was equipped with two massive 15 in naval guns. Originally, these guns were to have been stripped from one of the battlecruisers HMS Renown (1916) and HMS Repulse (1916) after they were redesigned. However, the guns were not ready, and guns intended for the battleship HMS Ramillies (07) were used instead.

The diesel engines used by the ships were a constant source of technical difficulty, restricting their use. Marshal Ney in particular was—in the words of Jane's Fighting Ships—"practically a failure", on account of her MAN diesel engines being so unreliable.

Service
In 1916, her 15-inch barbette was stripped off and given to HMS Erebus (I02), which was launched in the same year. Marshal Ney was then rearmed with a single 9.2 in gun and four 6 in guns for service as a guardship for The Downs. She engaged German destroyers during a raid on Ramsgate in April 1917.

During 1919, Marshal Ney was used as a base ship at Queenborough, before being disarmed and becoming a depot ship at Fort Blockhouse from 1920. Renamed Vivid in June 1922, she then served as a stoker training ship until 1957. She was again renamed Drake in January 1934, and Alaunia II in 1947.

Fate
She arrived at Ward's shipyard at Milford Haven on 6 October 1957 for breaking up.