Little more than huge gun mountings fitted on simple, self-propelled rafts, the Royal Navy's big gun monitors were designed and built rapidly to fulfill an urgent need for heavy shore bombardment during World War I. They were largely forgotten when this short-lived requirement was over until Buxton produced the first edition of this book in 1978. Now completely revised, expanded, and redesigned to a larger format, the book provides a top-notch technical and operational history, supported by more than 200 illustrations of the ship. A final class, built in World War II, along with new material on the heavier monitors, is included in this revised and expanded edition of a classic work.