HMS M.33

The HMS M.33 is a fascinating minor attraction in Portsmouth Harbour. The «M.33» moniker goes back to its production in WWI — where smaller ships weren’t deemed worthy of getting a name (like Enterprise, Victory, Endeavour, Supreme Bleeding Product of Royal Incest of York, and the like) — instead, those «inferior vessels» were just referred to by a character and a number. The M.33 was one of six such ships — made to fight in the ill-​fated Gallipoli campaign — and the *only* ship that has survived. In fact, it is one of just British three warships from WWI that did.
It is part of the tremendous «Portsmouth Historic Dockyard» experience (It also includes the HMS Victory, HMS Warrior 1860, and the HMS Alliance, plus several museums) which offers at least a couple of days worth of exciting sight-​seeing for adults as much as more the smaller fry.
First things first: If you want to do all of the Portsmouth Harbour attractions in one day (better make it the full day, i.e. 10 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. in the summer and to 5 p.m. in the winter), make sure to book the «all attractions» ticket *ONLINE*, which will save you money: E.g. the single adult ticket costs UKP 32.00 on the door, but just 25.60 online. The HMS M.33 as an individual attraction alone costs UKP 10.00. The latter is not great value!
While the HMS M.33 is by far the smallest of the four vessels in the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard experience, it is by no means without interest. War isn’t just about being slaughtered on glorious, prestigious flagships — it’s about being slaughtered aboard small, «insignificant» vessels, too! — A visit (only small groups of about 20 people or so each are allowed on the ship at the same time, and there’s a brief introduction by one of the guides before you’re being left to your own devices exploring the ship) shouldn’t take more than 30, 40 minutes.
The HMS M.33, which after Gallipoli was further employed in the Russian Civil War of 1917 and beyond, has been painstakingly restored to a condition that not only includes its (modest) selection of cannons, but even the daily chaos in the kitchen and such minor, everyday details have been carefully re-​created. Which adds to the fun.
All the decks are accessible, and there are guides around on each who you can ask questions about the ship and its history.
The HMS M.33 is just a stone’s throw from the harbour’s premier attraction, Lord Nelson’s HMS Victory. So when you’re basking in the memory of a significant, triumphant slice of naval history — why not spend half an hour on a centuries later, significant, non-​triumphant (for the British anyway) slice of naval history as well?! Recommended.