SS Fort Battle River was a Canadian-owned Fort ship that saw service as a cargo ship during World War II. It was torpedoed by U-410 on 6 March 1943 and sank on 9 March.
Description
Fort Battle River was a North Sands-type cargo ship with a tonnage of 7,133 GRT. It was given the hull number 105.[1][2] It was equipped with a triple expansion engine that 505 nominal horsepower for a speed of 11 knots.[3] The crew was entirely British, and ranged in size from 48 in September 1942[4] to 45 in March 1943.[3]
History
The ship was completed by North Vancouver Ship Repair on 29 July 1942.[2] On 6 March 1943, the ship departed Glasgow, Scotland, for Bone, Algeria, as part of the merchant convoy KMS-10. Later that day, the German submarine U-410 attacked the convoy while it was off the coast of Portugal, striking Fort Battle River and Fort Paskoyac with torpedoes. The damage to Paskoyac was minimized by a torpedo protection net, but Battle River was crippled. The ship's full complement of 45 crew, 10 gunners, and 9 passengers were rescued by HMCS Shediac and SS Empire Flamingo and taken to Gibraltar. Three days later, on 9 March, the ship fully sank.[1][5][6][7]
