SS Fort La Montee

History


Name:	SS Fort La Montee
Operator:	J. & C. Harrison Ltd., London for the Ministry of War Transport
Builder:	North Vancouver Ship Repairs Ltd., North Vancouver
Completed:	October, 1942
Fate:	Caught fire and exploded on 4 August 1943
General characteristics
Class & type:	Steam merchant ship
Tonnage:	7,132 tons
Length:	438 ft 6 in
Beam:	57 ft

The SS Fort La Montee was a North Sands class cargo ship, built during the Second World War and seeing use as an ammunition transport for the Allies in the Mediterranean.

Construction

The Fort La Montee was built in the yards of the North Vancouver Ship Repairs Ltd., North Vancouver for the British Government under a bare boat charter. She was completed in October, 1942 and quickly pressed into service. She was assigned to be crewed and operated by J. & C. Harrison Ltd., London on behalf of the Ministry of War Transport. She was designated as an ammunition transport and dispatched into the Mediterranean. The allies had carried out a successful invasion of Sicily and needed constant resupplying.

Destruction

Fort La Montee was in harbour at Algiers, preparing to sail for the invasion beaches on 4 August 1943. Before she could depart, a fire broke out aboard ship. Attempts were made to fight the blaze, whilst the harbour authorities, fearful of the risk of an explosion and damage to the other ships anchored there, ordered her to be towed out into deeper waters. Tugs were able to attach lines and bring her out into the bay. The British A-class destroyer HMS Arrow had been in the harbour at the time and came alongside to help with the firefighting.^[1] Efforts to control the fire were eventually unsuccessful, and it spread to the forward compartments and into the holds where the ammunition was stored. The entire forepart of the burning freighter then blew up, sending flaming debris raining down over a large distance. The Arrow was caught in the blast and she too caught fire, sustaining heavy damage and considerable casualties. She was subsequently declared a constructive total loss and never returned to service.^[2] The devastated Fort La Montee continued to burn. The aft section had to be sunk by gunfire from a Royal Navy submarine to prevent it blowing up. The remains of the forward section remained ablaze and burned for several days.

A similar disaster occurred in 1944, when the Fort Stikine, another hastily built and converted ammunition ship managed for the Ministry of War Transport by the Port Line, caught fire and exploded at Bombay, destroying several vessels in the harbour.^[3]

References

Ship statistics and history

Fort ships

Canadian type	Fort Rosalie Fort Sandusky Fort Simcoe Fort Wayne

North Sands type	Fort A La Corne Fort Abitibi Fort Acton Fort Aklavik Fort Albany Fort Alexandria Fort Anne Fort Ash Fort Assiniboine Fort Athabaska Fort Augustus Fort Babine Fort Battle River Fort Beauharnois Fort Beausejour Fort Bedford Fort Bell Fort Bellingham Fort Bourbon Fort Brandon Fort Brule Fort Brunswick Fort Buckingham Fort Buffalo Fort Cadotte Fort Camosun Fort Capot River Fort Caribou Fort Carillon Fort Carlton Fort Cataraqui Fort Cedar Lake Fort Cevier Fort Chambly Fort Charmisay Fort Chesterfield Fort Chilcontin Fort Chimo Fort Chipewyan Fort Churcill Fort Concord Fort Confidence Fort Connolly Fort Coulonge Fort Covington Fort Crown Point Fort Cumberland Fort Dauphin Fort Dease Lake Fort Douglas Fort Drew Fort Ellice Fort Enterprise Fort Erie Fort Esperance Fort Fairford Fort Fidler Fort Finlay Fort Fitzgerald Fort Fork Fort Franklin Fort Fraser Fort Frederick Fort Frobisher Fort Frontenac Fort Gasperean Fort George Fort Gibraltar Fort Glenlyon Fort Glenora Fort Gloucester Fort Good Hope Fort Grahame Fort Grant Fort Grouard Fort Halkett Fort Henley Fort Howe Fort Hudson's Hope Fort Jasper Fort Jemseg Fort Kootenay Fort Lac La Rouge Fort La Cloche Fort Lajoie Fort La Maune Fort La Montee Fort Langley Fort La Prairie Fort La Reine Fort La Tour Fort La Traite Fort Lawrence Fort Lennox Fort Liard Fort Livingstone Fort Longueuil Fort Louisbourg Fort Mattagami Fort Maurepas Fort McLeod Fort McLoughlin Fort McMurray Fort McPherson Fort Medutic Fort Michipicoten Fort Mingan Fort Missanabie Fort Moose Fort Mumford Fort Musquarro Fort Nakasley Fort Nashwaak Fort Nipigon Fort Norfolk Fort Norman Fort Nottingham Fort Paskoyac Fort Pelly Fort Pembina Fort Pic Fort Pine Fort Pitt Fort Poplar Fort Qu'Apelle Fort Rae Fort Rampart Fort Reliance Fort Remy Fort Richelieu Fort Romaine Fort Rouille Fort Rupert Fort St Francois Fort St James Fort St Joseph Fort St Paul Fort St Regis Fort Stager Fort St Antoine Fort St Croix Fort Steele Fort Stikine (explosion) Fort St Nicholas Fort Sturgeon Fort Tadoussac Fort Thompson Fort Ticonderoga Fort Tremblant Fort Turtle Fort Vercheres Fort Vermillion Fort Ville Marie Fort Walsh Fort Wedderbourne Fort Wellington Fort Wrigley Fort Yale

Victory type	Fort Alabama Fort Aspin Fort Astoria Fort Beaver Lake Fort Biloxi Fort Boise Fort Brisebois Fort Clatsop Fort Columbia Fort Colville Fort Constantine Fort Conti Fort Crevecoeur Fort Daer Fort Dearborn Fort Dunvegan Fort Edmonton Fort Grand Rapids Fort Green Lake Fort Hall Fort Harrison Fort Highfield Fort Island Fort Kaskasia Fort Kilmar Fort Kullyspell Fort La Baye Fort La Have Fort Machault Fort Mackinac Fort Maisonneuve Fort Marin Fort Massac Fort McDonnell Fort Miami Fort Orleans Fort Panmure Fort Perrot Fort Providence Fort Prudhomme Fort Saskidac Fort Saleesh Fort Senneville Fort Simpson Fort Slave Fort Souris Fort St Ignace Fort Toulouse Fort Venango Fort Wallace Fort Wrangell Fort Yukon

See also:- Empire ship, Liberty ship, Park ship, Ocean ship, Victory ship.

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