The two Molpadia class monitors were armed with the twin 16" turrets that had been manufactured but not mounted on the Smyrna (last ship of the Penthesilea class) as that ship was converted to an aircraft carrier. It was originally thought to make the Molpadia a one ship class armed with all four 16" turrets in a battleship similar to the Phillipis Class that was already under construction. In the end it was decided it would be cheaper to construct two double ended monitors for shore bombardment. The Amazonian Navy had noted the Royal Navies use of Monitors along the coast of Europe and in the Dardanelles. The Navy had not constructed any of the type as they did not have the spare turrets available and the thought that even if constructed the war could be over before they made it to where the action was (some of the RN monitors were so slow they needed tugs to pull them against the tidal currents in the English Channel).
The two Molpadia class completed in late 1937and early 1938. They were well received and proved very steady gun platforms. Having two main gun directors allowed for each turret to be targeted separately when in shore bombardment mode (if required). The secondary 4" BD mounting had three directors to control them. The tertiary 2 pounder and 20mm were local control. The original drawings showed a catapult and aircraft mounted on the quarter deck, but this was not fitted as it was felt other ships would be available with aircraft to supply spotting data to the ship.
Both ships were lost during the war, one in the Pacific in 1942, the other in the Mediterranean in 1943. The Molpadia was sunk at the Battle of Savo Island after receiving multiple gunfire and torpedo hits during a night action in support of the troops on Guadalcanal. The Melanippe was at the Salerno landings in 1943 when it was hit by two Fritz-X guided bombs that pierced the ships deck armour, one wrecking the machinery rooms, the other detonating the forward 16" magazine. The resulting explosion damaged three other nearby ships as well as sinking the Melanippe.
