Wreck of Montgomery

Richard Montgomery the man, in case you didn't know, was an Irish soldier, born in Dublin in 1738. He settled in the USA and was eventually elected to Congress. He fought against the British in Canada, helping in the capture of Montreal, but then lost his life during the assault upon Quebec on 31st December 1775.

The United States Ship ‘Richard Montgomery’, named after him (as so many Liberty Ships of the Second World War were named after notable American men and women) and written up from time to time in British national and local newspapers as ‘The Doomsday Ship’, continues to be a thorn in the side of the British as she lies wrecked, and half full of bombs, in the Estuary barely two miles off Sheerness.

The USS ‘Richard Montgomery’ or ‘the wreck’, as it is known locally, seventh of 82 dry cargo Liberty ships to be built at Jacksonville, Florida, by the St. John's River Shipbuilding Company, was launched in July 1943. She would have had about 52 crew members and some 30 gunners.

'Her last voyage'

On, what was to be her last voyage the ‘Richard Montgomery’ took on bombs and munitions at Hog Island, Philadelphia, on the Delaware River, including loose general purpose and semi-armour piercing bombs, and cases of cluster fragmentation and smoke white phosphorous bombs, and sailed for the Thames Estuary to await a convoy for Cherbourg. On arrival at Southend, she came under the authority of the Thames Naval Control at HMS 'Leigh' (the name for Southend Pier). The King’s Harbourmaster, who controlled all shipping movements and anchorages in the Estuary, directed her to a berth off the northern edge of the Sheerness Middle Sand in about 33 feet of water at low tide, where she lay at anchor.

Clearly the berth was most unsuitable for a vessel of her size, trimmed as she was to a draught of 31 feet, nearly 3 feet more than usual for a Liberty ship, for if the wind fell northerly, at low water she could not avoid touching the shoal, even with the minimum possible scope of an anchor cable.

On Sunday 20th August 1944 lookouts on other ships in the vicinity saw the ‘Richard Montgomery’ swinging toward the shoal in the pre-dawn light and blew their sirens in warning, but the Master lay asleep in his cabin, and the Chief Officer didn't rouse him. The ‘Richard Montgomery’ went aground, stranded on top of the Sheerness Middle Sand at the height of the spring tide, so that she was beneaped until the next good spring tide due about 5th September 1944 could refloat her, provided she remained intact and, in the meantime, a substantial proportion of her cargo could be removed.

'Having run aground'

As the tide ebbed the strain on her hull caused some of the welded plates to crack and buckle with an explosive snap as loud as a gunshot. This was heard and remarked upon by the crew of the Motor Vessel ‘British Queen’ who were fishing a mile away. They then saw the crew of the ‘Richard Montgomery’, apprehensive of noise, and very aware of the dangerous nature of their cargo, abandon ship in its life boats and rafts. The crew and the master, Captain Wilkie, were taken to Southend and provided with quarters while the necessary emergency salvage operation was prepared.

The job of arranging the unloading was given to Master Stevedore T.P. Adams of Watson and Gill, Shipbrokers. of Rochester, who was called out at 3.00 a.m. on Tuesday 22nd August 1944 to inspect the condition of the ship and its cargo, and check the stowage plan which was given to him by the ship's Chief Officer when he came on board. The vessel did not appear to be damaged or taking water, and the cargo hatches had not been broached or interfered with in any way.

At 10.00 a.m. on Wednesday 23rd August 1944, using the ship’s own handling gear, the winches being powered by steam line from the vessel alongside, stevedores from Rochester commenced the operation.

Then at 3 p.m. the next day, her hull cracked open transversely at the forward end of No. 3 hold which flooded through to No. 1 and No. 2 holds. In spite of this a non-stop six-hour Board of Enquiry was held aboard, in the ship’s saloon, about a week after the stranding even as the unloading of her explosive cargo proceeded a pace. The Board, under the presidency of a Lt. Commander of the U.S. Navy, found that the Master had hazarded his ship, and he and the Chief Officer were suspended for 12 months.

'Breaking her back'

Evidence had been given by the King's Harbourmaster of the berth he had allocated, and the Pilot confirmed the ship had been anchored in this position. The disposition of the sleeping Master and the Chief Officer were reported. Upon being asked why he didn't rouse the Master when the sirens of the other ships sounded, the Chief Officer replied, “I don't know.”

The Board did ‘not’ hear the evidence that the Assistant King's Harbourmaster had questioned the suitability of the Harbourmaster's choice of anchorage, or that Assistant had requested that the order to use that location be given to him 'in writing'. Nor did the Board hear that the two had been overheard in a heated argument by an officer superior to them both, or that this superior had chided the Assistant for questioning the decision made by an officer of greater experience when he suggested that the 'Richard Montgomery' be interchanged with another vessel of 24ft. draught, designated for the same convoy, that was at another anchorage. The Assistant was posted to another section two days later and did not attend the enquiry.

Remember this Board sat under emergency conditions in a foreign country in war time.

The ‘Richard Montgomery’, which had gone aground across the ridge of the shoal with her bows very nearly due north, finally broke her back on Friday 8th September 1944, leaving her irrevocably stranded. Salvage continued until Monday 25th September 1944 when the after holds No’s 4 and 5 had been cleared, while the remaining contents of the forward holds have remained completely submerged until this day. It being wartime the USS ‘Richard Montgomery’ was then abandoned and ignored as one of many wrecks in the Thames Estuary.

'Outcome facts'

Of the original cargo of 6,127 tons, approximately half (i.e. 3,173 tons) remains, 80% of which is general purpose and semi-armour piercing bombs with a combined weight of 2,770 tons. The 250 pounders among these were stowed across the forward end of No. 1 Tween Deck hold and the after end of No. 2 Tween Deck hold. All other G.P. and S.A.P. bombs were stowed with their axes lying fore and aft across the width of the lower holds, and layered in stacks, interspersed with dunnage boards to ensure secure packing, to a depth of fifteen feet above the floors of the holds, except for a stack of G.P. 500 pounders across the after end of No. 1 Tween Deck hold.

The position of the contents of the after-port No. 3 hold is not thought to be precisely known. As the cargo was being removed from the holds nos. 4 and 5, the buoyancy of the stern section was increased until by 20th September 1944 it was hinging on the bow section at deck level and tilting with the tidal movement such that the whole of the skeg and propeller showed at high water. After finally flooding, the stern section separated and moved approximately 50 feet southwards and pivoted some 12 degrees clockwise about the after mast before sinking and settling firmly on the bottom. It is thought that this section of the hull tilted up to 15 degrees to the horizontal, and that all or some of the contents could have piled onto the seabed and lay under the ridge of sand which passed between the two sections.

Also, the main break between the principal sections passes between the severed parts of No.3 hold and carries a powerful rip of current at half tide. There is therefore a strong possibility that some of the bombs in No.3 hold were exposed on both sides of the break.

Note too that the interaction of the wreck's two sections and the tidal stream created enormously varying velocities and a rip of eddies in either direction as the tide changed, inducing a scouring effect which quite rapidly modified the seabed topography over a considerable area, and affecting the velocity and direction of tidal stream for some 1,500 feet downstream and for 800 feet on either side. Banks of silt and sand were known to have built up against the hull in places, whilst elsewhere it was exposed almost down to the turn of the bilge.

A further transverse break in the bow section between the forward mast and the forward end of No. 2 hatch occurred in the early 1960's, taking the wreck into three sections. This was confirmed by a survey carried out for the Department of Trade by the Medway Ports Authority in September 1971.

It is thought likely that about 40% of the nominal weight of the bombs is TNT based high explosive. This explosive filling was cast into the thick steel cases of the bombs leaving holes for arming assemblies and tail fins that were sealed with waterproof screw-in plugs during manufacture because certain types of TNT based explosive such as amatol contain additives which render them liable to deterioration from moisture from the atmosphere. It is possible, therefore, that the bombs have remained watertight, and their contents are dry and effective.

It seems incredible that such a high concentration of high explosive hazard should be left in this situation. Equally disturbing events have been recorded - that a seventy-one foot motor cargo vessel was seen to pass over the wreck between the masts, fishermen finding bombs in their gear when fishing in the vicinity followed the practice of 'dumping' these munitions back close to the wreck, several bombs were visible lying under water against the scuppers of the forward section on the starboard side (Mr. Adams states definitely that they were not there in 1944), in 1956 much of the copper ‘degaussing’ cable was stripped from the ship, a 'threat' to blow up the ship was made by students as part of a rag day 'jape' to gather funds for a charity.

'In conclusion'

Explosives are manufactured to specifications that define sensitivity and stability, qualities that vary with age and usually mean they are destroyed after a certain 'safe' lifetime. Should it be assumed that these explosive fillings are not as safe as they were on manufacture, and the risk of explosion is not decreasing as time passes? Is this a threat to the nearby centres of population? Will it go on undiminished as long as the bombs remain? Will the detonation of one of these bombs set off the remainder? Well, we are told that it is best left undisturbed.

Although expert opinion has varied over the years, such an explosion has been described as potentially ‘the most catastrophic non-nuclear explosion in history’. Equally incredible is that the area around the wreck was declared a prohibited area under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 on sufferance of a penalty of £400!

'Current Day'

The SS Richard Montgomery is still a topic of discussion today due to the on-going deterioration and the potential risk of explosion. To ensure the safety to the public and to reduce the risk remedial safety works is presently being undertaken.

You can read more about this work from a BBC news report by clicking here

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-68787845

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Brian Sinclair has since died but, he was a founder member of the Sheerness Society established in 1990 being a group which campaigned to preserve parts of the Island’s history and heritage. Unfortunately, in having trouble in recruiting new members, particularly young people, the society was wound up in 2014.

THE WRECK OF THE RICHARD MONTGOMERY OFF SHEERNESS

article prepared for the Sheerness Society by Brian Sinclair