SSFort Athabaska

History
United Kingdom
Name	SSFort Athabaska
Owner	Ministry of War Transport
Operator	J. & C. Harrison, London
Builder	Burrard Dry Dock Co. Ltd.,North Vancouver
Completed	15 May 1943
Fate	Sunk, 2 December 1943
General characteristics
Class and type	North Sands-typeFort ship
Tonnage	7,130GRT
Length	441 ft 6 in (134.57 m)
Beam	57 ft 2 in (17.42 m)
Draught	26 ft 11.5 in (8.217 m)
Propulsion	3 cyl triple expansion steam 2500 ihp One shaft.
Speed	11knots(13 mph; 20 km/h)
Range	11,400nmi(21,100 km) at 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h)
Complement	115
Armament	During the Second World War: 1 × 4-inch (100 mm) gun 8 × 20mm AA guns

SSFort Athabaskawas a Canadian-ownedFort ship,sunk while under British naval use in 1943. With the heavy demand for British cargo ships it was given to British naval forces. She was a North Sands type Fort ship built byBurrard Dry DockofNorth Vancouver,and completed 15 May 1943.

History

On 2 December 1943 multiple squadrons of Germanbombersconducted a destructiveair assault on Bari Harbourin Italy. Twenty-eightAlliedships were sunk in the raid with contents ofmustard gasin one of their hulls. The moment the gas spread, the harbour became a poisonous inferno. One of the ships sunk in the raid wasFort Athabaska.The contents of the ship whilst it was stationed at Bari is unknown, but some records suggest medical/oil/ammunition supplies. The fate of the ship was sealed when multiple bombs penetrated the decks of the ship, leaving holes in the hull that could not be repaired. The order to abandon ship was given and the ship quickly submerged. Fort and Park ship were the Canadian equivalent of theAmericanLiberty ships.All three shared a similar design byJ.L. Thompson and SonsofSunderland,England. Fort ships had atriple expansion steam engineand a single screwpropeller.