View source for SS Fort La Montee

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2017}}
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|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag=[[File:Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg|60px]]
|Ship name=SS ''Fort La Montee''
|Ship operator=J. & C. Harrison Ltd., [[London]] for the [[Ministry of War Transport]]
|Ship ordered= 
|Ship builder=[[North Van Ship Repair]], [[North Vancouver (city)|North Vancouver]]
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|Ship completed=October, 1942
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|Ship fate=Caught fire and exploded on 4 August 1943 
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|Ship tonnage=*{{GRT|7220|disp=long}}
*{{NRT|3911}}
*{{DWT|7720|metric|disp=long}}
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|Ship length= {{Convert|439|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}} 
|Ship beam= {{Convert|57|ft|2|in|m|abbr=on}} 
|Ship draught= {{Convert|27|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=*1 × 3-cylinder triple expansion steam engine, {{Convert|2500|ihp|0|abbr=on}}
*1 shaft
|Ship speed= {{Convert|11|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range= {{Convert|11400|nmi|km|abbr=on}} at {{Convert|10|kn|abbr=on}}
|Ship complement=115
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|Ship armament=*''World War II'' :
*1 × {{Convert|4|in|mm|abbr=on}} gun
*8 × 20 mm AA guns 
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'''SS ''Fort La Montee''''' was a {{sclass2|North Sands|cargo ship}}, built during the [[Second World War]] and seeing use as an ammunition transport for the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] in the [[Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II|Mediterranean Theatre]].

==Construction==
''Fort La Montee'' was built in the yards of the North Vancouver Ship Repairs Ltd., [[North Vancouver (city)|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 Sea.  The Allies had carried out a successful [[Allied invasion of Sicily|invasion of Sicily]] and needed constant resupplying.

Fort and Park ship were the Canadian equivalent of the [[United States|American]] [[Liberty ship]]s. All three shared a similar design by [[J.L. Thompson and Sons]] of [[Sunderland, Tyne and Wear|Sunderland]], England. Fort ships had a [[triple expansion steam engine]] and a single screw [[propellor|propeller]].

==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. [[Tugboat]]s were able to attach lines and bring her out into the bay. The British {{sclass2|A|destroyer|1||1929}} {{HMS|Arrow|H42|6}} had been in the harbour at the time and came alongside to help with the firefighting.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.hmscavalier.org.uk/H42/ |title=Arrow at HMS Cavalier.org |access-date=26 March 2008 |archive-date=11 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211083922/http://www.hmscavalier.org.uk/H42/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>  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. ''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.<ref>[http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-10DD-13A-Arrow.htm HMS Arrow's wartime career]</ref> The devastated ''Fort La Montee'' continued to burn. The aft section had to be sunk by gunfire from submarine [[HMS Saracen (P247)|HMS ''Saracen'']] 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 ''[[Bombay Explosion (1944)|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.<ref>[http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/portline.htm Ships of the Port Line, including Fort Stikine] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126043230/http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/portline.htm |date=26 January 2012 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* [http://fortships.tripod.com/fleetlist_g_l.htm Ship statistics and history]

{{Fort ships}}
{{August 1943 shipwrecks}}
{{coord missing|Mediterranean}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fort La Montee}}
[[Category:Steamships]]
[[Category:World War II merchant ships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1942 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in August 1943]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea]]
[[Category:Non-combat naval accidents]]
[[Category:Ship fires]]
[[Category:Ships built in North Vancouver]]