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River monitors were the strongest class of riverine warships. The name originally came from the USS Monitor (they appeared first during the American Civil War and at that time were distinguished by having revolving turrets), the last American river monitors were used during the Vietnam War by brown water flotillas.
River monitors were used on inland waterways -- rivers and lakes. Usually they had a shallow draft which was necessary for them to be able to operate, but their displacement, size and draft varied depending on where they were used. Most river monitors were lightly armoured though this varied and some carried more armour. They carried a mix of gun sizes from 3 inch (75 mm) to 6 inch (152 mm) and machine guns. This type of vessel also overlaps with the river gunboat.
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Asia
On Asian rivers, large river monitors were first used on the Amur by the USSR and Japan. They were up to 1,000 tons displacement, armed with 130 mm guns. During the Vietnam War, the United States used smaller river gunboats called monitors on the Mekong River.
Europe
On the Danube, river monitors were employed during World War I by Austro-Hungary, then by Hungary, Romania and Yugoslavia (approximately 500 tons displacement). Smaller monitors (70-100 ton displacement) were used by Poland in 1939 and by the Soviet Union in 1941 on the Pripyat River.
United States
River monitors were used during the American Civil War, playing an important role in the
See also
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