Fort ship

Last updated

SS Fort Stikine.png
Fort Stikine
Class overview
Builders
Operators
Subclasses
  • Canadian type
  • North Sands type
  • Victory type
Cost $1,856,500
Built1941-44
In service1941-85 [1]
Building198
Completed198
Lost
  • 28 (enemy action)
  • 25 (accident)
Scrapped145
General characteristics
TypeCargo ship
Tonnage7,130  GRT
Length424 feet 6 inches (129.39 m)
Beam57 feet 0 inches (17.37 m)

The Fort ships were a class of 198 cargo ships built in Canada during World War II for use by the United Kingdom. They all had names prefixed with "Fort" when built. The ships were in service between 1942 and 1985, with two still listed on shipping registers until 1992. A total of 53 were lost during the war due to accidents or enemy action. One of these, Fort Stikine, was destroyed in 1944 by the detonation of 1,400 tons of explosive on board her. This event, known as the Bombay Explosion, killed over 800 people and sank thirteen ships. Fort ships were ships transferred to the British Government and the Park ships were those employed by the Canadian Government, both had the similar design.

Contents

Description

The Fort ships were 424 feet 6 inches (129.39 m) long with a beam of 57 feet 0 inches (17.37 m). They were assessed at 7,130  GRT. The ships were of three types, the "North Sands" type, which were of riveted construction, and the "Canadian" and "Victory" types, which were of welded construction. They were built by eighteen different Canadian shipyards. Their triple expansion steam engines were built by seven different manufacturers. [2]

History

The ships were built between 1941 and 1945 by ten different builders. The first to be built was Fort St. James, which was laid down on 23 April 1941 and launched on 15 October. The eight ships built by Burrard Dry Dock cost $1,856,500 each. [3] During World War II, 28 were lost to enemy action, and four were lost due to accidents. Many of the surviving 166 ships passed to the United States Maritime Commission. The last recorded scrapping was in 1985, [4] [5] [6] and two ships, the former Fort St. James and Fort St. Paul, were listed on Lloyd's Register until 1992. [5]

Crew

Park ships were armed. There were merchant seamen gunners. Also many British and Canadian merchantmen carried volunteer naval gunners called Defensively equipped merchant ship or DEMS gunners. The American ships carried Naval Armed Guard gunners. Merchant seamen crewed the merchant ships of the British Merchant Navy which kept the United Kingdom supplied with raw materials, arms, ammunition, fuel, food and all of the necessities of a nation at war throughout World War II literally enabling the country to defend itself. In doing this they sustained a considerably greater casualty rate than almost every branch of the armed services and suffered great hardship. Seamen were aged from fourteen through to their late seventies. [7] The lost are remembered in the Royal Canadian Naval Ships Memorial Monument in Spencer Smith Park in Burlington, Ontario. [8]

Losses

Twenty-eight ships were lost due to enemy action and a further 25 due to accidents. [9]

Enemy action

Accident

Ships in class

See also

Further reading

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. Last confirmed scrapping, two ships may have been in service until the 1990s
  2. "'FORT', 'OCEAN' & 'PARK' TYPE SHIPS". Mariners. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  3. "The Forts". Angela DeRoy-Jones. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 "FORT SHIPS A - J". Mariners. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 "FORT SHIPS K - S". Mariners. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  6. 1 2 3 "FORT SHIPS T - Y". Mariners. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  7. Commonwealth War Graves Commission records
  8. Royal Canadian Naval Ships Memorial Monument
  9. shipbuildinghistory.com Fort and Park Canada ships
  10. "Fort Concord". Uboat. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  11. Rohwer, Jürgen; Gerhard Hümmelchen. "Seekrieg 1943, Oktober". Württembergische Landesbibliothek Stuttgart (in German). Retrieved 11 July 2015.