SS Fort Battle River

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. It was given the hull number 105. It was equipped with a triple expansion engine that 505 nominal horsepower for a speed of 11 knots. The crew was entirely British, and ranged in size from 48 in September 1942 to 45 in March 1943.

The ship was completed by North Vancouver Ship Repair on 29 July 1942. 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.