SS Richard Montgomery

For similarly-named ships, see USS Montgomery.

Visible masts of the wreck of Richard Montgomery
History
United States
NameRichard Montgomery
NamesakeRichard Montgomery
OwnerWar Shipping Administration (WSA)
OperatorAgwilines Inc.
OrderedAs type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 1199
BuilderSt. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida[1]
Cost$2,239,026[2]
Yard number7
Way number1
Laid down15 March 1943
Launched15 June 1943
Sponsored byMrs. Rockwell
Completed29 July 1943
Identification
FateGrounded on 20 August 1944 then broke in half and sank on 25 August
General characteristics [3]
Class and type
Tonnage
Displacement
Length
  • 441 feet 6 inches (135 m) oa
  • 416 feet (127 m) pp
  • 427 feet (130 m) lwl
Beam57 feet (17 m)
Draft27 ft 9.25 in (8.4646 m)
Installed power
  • 2 × Oil fired 450 °F (232 °C) boilers, operating at 220 psi (1,500 kPa)
  • 2,500 hp (1,900 kW)
Propulsion
Speed11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph)
Capacity
  • 562,608 cubic feet (15,931 m3) (grain)
  • 499,573 cubic feet (14,146 m3) (bale)
Complement
Armament

SS Richard Montgomery is a wrecked American Liberty ship that was built during World War II. She was named after Richard Montgomery, an Irish officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War.[4]

She was wrecked on the Nore sandbank in the Thames Estuary, near Sheerness, Kent, England, in August 1944, while carrying a cargo of munitions. About 1,400 tonnes (1,500 short tons) of explosives remain on board presenting a hazard whose likelihood of explosion is variously asserted to be low to moderate.[5]: 2000 survey, p21–22 [6][7]

  1. ^ St. John's River SBC 2010.
  2. ^ a b MARCOM.
  3. ^ Davies 2004, p. 23.
  4. ^ MARAD.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference surveyreports was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "SS Richard Montgomery wreck 'bomb risk' to estuary airport". BBC News. 30 May 2012. Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  7. ^ Sawyer, L. A.; Mitchell, W. H. (1985). The Liberty Ships: The History of the "Emergency" Type Cargo Ships Constructed in the United States During the Second World War (Second ed.). London: Lloyd's of London Press Ltd. pp. 159–160. ISBN 1-85044-049-2.