On 3 November 1914, Charles M. Schwab of Bethlehem Steel offered Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, the use of four 14 in (356 mm)/45cal BL MK II twin gun turrets, originally destined for the Greek battleship Salamis.

The No 2 & 3 berths were beneath the Arrol Gantry, a large truss girder construction supporting modern electric cranes above the building slip.

The monitors were extremely broad over their torpedo bulges, and needed a building berth of this size, but were so short that both could fit into one.

[1] Both monitors were built to a high level of completion before launching, with nearly all machinery in place except for the turret.

Abercrombie sailed for the Dardanelles on 24 June 1915, and provided fire support during the Battle of Gallipoli.