Fort ship

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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.

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)

Description

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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

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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

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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

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

Enemy action

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Accident

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Ships in class

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  • Fort St James
  • Fort Churchill
  • Fort Qu'Appelle
  • Fort George
  • Fort Good Hope
  • Fort Ellice
  • Fort Fraser
  • Fort McLoughlin
  • Fort La Reine
  • Fort Pine
  • Fort Pembina
  • Fort Kootenay
  • Fort Lac La Rouge
  • Fort Pitt
  • Fort Rae
  • Fort Reliance
  • Fort Thompson
  • Fort Wedderburne
  • Fort Fork
  • Fort Poplar
  • Fort Hackett
  • Fort Yale
  • Fort Anne
  • Fort Jemseg
  • Fort Livingstone
  • Fort Lawerence
  • Fort Gaspereau
  • Fort Charnisay
  • Fort Aklavik
  • Fort Cadotte
  • Fort Nashwaak
  • Fort Bedford
  • Fort Chesterfield
  • Fort Dease Lake
  • Fort McMurray
  • Fort Vermillion
  • Fort Howe
  • Fort Lajoie
  • Fort Meductic
  • Fort Buckingham
  • Fort Connolly
  • Fort Caribou
  • Fort Cumberland
  • Fort Assiniboine
  • Fort Ash
  • Fort Athabaska
  • Fort Dauphin
  • Fort Norway
  • Fort Bell
  • Fort Brandon
  • Fort Columbia
  • Fort Yukon
  • Fort Bellingham
  • Fort Massac
  • Fort St. Nicholas
  • Fort Prudhomme
  • Fort Sakisdac
  • Fort Venango
  • Fort Machault
  • Fort Orleans
  • Fort Mackinac
  • Fort St. Croix
  • Fort Biloxi
  • Fort Toulouse
  • Fort Dearborn
  • Fort Simcoe
  • Fort Wallace
  • Fort La Have
  • Fort Island
  • Fort Brisebois
  • Fort Dunvegan
  • Fort Constantine
  • Fort Kilmar
  • Fort Providence
  • Fort Mcdonnell
  • Fort Alabama
  • Fort Edmonton
  • Fort Wrangell
  • Fort Ville Marie
  • Fort Nipigon
  • Fort Louisburg
  • Fort Abitibi
  • Fort Senneville
  • Fort Tadoussac
  • Fort La Maune
  • Fort Chambly
  • Fort La Prairie
  • Fort Cataraqui
  • Fort Concord
  • Fort St. Francois
  • Fort Mingan
  • Fort Carillon
  • Fort Albany
  • Fort Brunswick
  • Fort Frontenac
  • Fort St Paul
  • Fort St Regis
  • Fort La Tour
  • Fort Michipicoten
  • Fort Missanabie
  • Fort Frontenac
  • Fort Lennox
  • Fort Richelieu
  • Fort St Joseph
  • Fort Beausejour
  • Fort Pic
  • Fort Musquarro
  • Fort La Cloche
  • Fort Mattagami
  • Fort Nottingham
  • Fort Alexandria
  • Fort Augustus
  • Fort Babine
  • Fort Bourbon
  • Fort Battle River
  • Fort-a-la-Corne
  • Fort Rouge
  • Fort Simpson
  • Fort Gibraltar
  • Fort Paskoyac
  • Fort La Montee
  • Fort Steele
  • Fort Frederick
  • Fort Cedar Lake
  • Fort Drew
  • Fort Fairford
  • Fort Frobisher
  • Fort Grahame
  • Fort Jasper
  • Fort Buffalo
  • Fort Grouard
  • Fort Mcpherson
  • Fort Fidler
  • Fort Capot River
  • Fort Carlton
  • Fort Esperance
  • Fort Hall
  • Fort Clatsop
  • Fort Colville
  • Fort Panmure
  • Fort Marin
  • Fort Saleesh
  • Fort St. Antoine
  • Fort Sandusky
  • Fort Charlotte
  • Fort Highfield
  • Fort Green Lake
  • Fort Daer
  • Fort Harrison
  • Fort Stikine
  • Fort Rupert
  • Fort Mumford
  • Fort Acton
  • Fort Turtle
  • Fort Aspin
  • Fort Perrot
  • Fort Conti
  • Fort Aspin
  • Fort Beaver Lake
  • Fort Simcoe
  • Fort Remy
  • Fort Longueuil
  • Fort Maissonneuve
  • Fort Vercheres
  • Fort Erie
  • Fort Coulonge
  • Fort Wellington
  • Fort Norfolk
  • Fort Rouille
  • Fort Crevier
  • Fort Covington
  • Fort Moose
  • Fort Romaine
  • Fort Esperance
  • Fort Henley
  • Fort La Prairie
  • Fort Ticonderoga
  • Fort Crown Point
  • Fort Beauharnois
  • Fort Niagara
  • Fort Rosalie
  • Fort Sandusky
  • Fort Wayne
  • Fort Camosun
  • Fort Douglas
  • Fort Liard
  • Fort Hudson's Hope
  • Fort Tremblant
  • Fort Walsh
  • Fort Wrigley
  • Fort Sturgeon
  • Fort St Ignace
  • Fort Berens
  • Fort Langley
  • Fort Chilcotin
  • Fort Confidence
  • Fort Chipewyan
  • Fort Carlton
  • Fort Maurepas
  • Fort Norman
  • Fort Slave
  • Fort Souris
  • Fort Brule
  • Fort Franklin
  • Fort La Traite
  • Fort Finlay
  • Fort Rampart
  • Fort Stager
  • Fort Fitzgerald
  • Fort Nakasley
  • Fort Enterprise
  • Fort Glenlyon
  • Fort Glenora
  • Fort Gloucester
  • Fort Grant
  • Fort Greene Lake
  • Fort Astoria
  • Fort Sentinel
  • Fort Kullyspell
  • Fort Crevecoeur
  • Fort Kaskaskia
  • Fort Boise
  • Fort La Baye
  • Fort St. Ignace
  • Fort Miami
  • Fort Mackinac
  • Fort Miami
  • Fort Grand Rapids
  • Fort Duquesne
  • Fort McLeod
  • Fort Pelly
  • Fort Chimo (completed as tanker)

See also

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Further reading

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  • Syd C. Heal, A Great Fleet of Ships: the Canadian forts & parks, Vanwell Publishing, 1999 ISBN 1-55125-023-3

References

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  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. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x "FORT SHIPS A - J". Mariners. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac "FORT SHIPS K - S". Mariners. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  6. ^ a b c "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.