Editing SS Richard Montgomery

{{Short description|Sunken US WWII ship in the Thames, London, England}}
{{For|similarly-named ships|USS Montgomery{{!}}USS ''Montgomery''}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = Wreck of the SS Richard Montgomery, off Sheerness - geograph.org.uk - 4195096.jpg
| Ship caption = Visible masts of the wreck of ''Richard Montgomery''
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header = 
| Ship country = United States
| Ship flag = {{USN flag|1944}}
| Ship name = ''Richard Montgomery''
| Ship namesake = [[Richard Montgomery]]
| Ship owner = [[War Shipping Administration]] (WSA)
| Ship operator = [[Agwilines Inc.]]
| Ship ordered = As type (EC2-S-C1) hull, [[Maritime Commission|MC]] hull 1199
| Ship builder = [[St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company]], [[Jacksonville, Florida|Jacksonville]], Florida{{sfn|St. John's River SBC|2010}}
| Ship original cost = $2,239,026{{sfn|MARCOM}}
| Ship yard number = 7
| Ship way number = 1
| Ship laid down = 15 March 1943
| Ship launched = 15 June 1943
| Ship completed = 29 July 1943
| Ship sponsor = Mrs. Rockwell
| Ship identification = *[[Maritime call sign|Call sign]]: KOAA
* {{ICS|Kilo}}{{ICS|Oscar}}{{ICS|Alpha}}{{ICS|Alpha}}{{sfn|MARCOM}}
| Ship fate = Grounded on 20 August 1944 then broke in half and sank on 25 August
| Ship notes = 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header = 
| Header caption = {{sfn|Davies|2004|p=23}}
| Ship class = {{Liberty ship class}}
| Ship type = 
| Ship tonnage = {{Liberty ship tonnage}}
| Ship displacement = {{Liberty ship displacement}}
| Ship length = {{Liberty ship length}}
| Ship beam = {{Liberty ship beam}}
| Ship draft = {{Liberty ship draft}}
| Ship capacity = {{Liberty ship cargo capacity}}
| Ship hold depth = 
| Ship power = {{Liberty ship power}}
| Ship propulsion = {{Liberty ship propulsion|15}}
| Ship complement = {{Liberty ship complement}}
| Ship armament = {{Liberty ship armament}}
| Ship speed = {{Liberty ship speed}}
| Ship notes = 
}}
|}

'''SS ''Richard Montgomery''''' is a wrecked American [[Liberty ship]] that was built during [[World War II]]. She was named after [[Richard Montgomery]], an Irish officer who fought in the [[American Revolutionary War]].{{sfn|MARAD}}

She was wrecked on the [[Nore]] sandbank in the [[Thames Estuary]], near [[Sheerness]], [[Kent]], England, in August 1944, while carrying a cargo of munitions. About {{convert|1400|tonnes|ST}} of [[explosive]]s remain on board presenting a hazard whose likelihood of explosion is variously asserted to be low to moderate.<ref name=surveyreports/>{{rp|2000 survey, p21–22}}<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-18264067|title=SS Richard Montgomery wreck 'bomb risk' to estuary airport |publisher=BBC News |date=30 May 2012 |access-date=31 August 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120819223112/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-18264067 |archive-date=19 August 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Sawyer&Mitchell>{{cite book |last1=Sawyer |first1=L. A. |last2=Mitchell |first2=W. H. |year=1985 |title=The Liberty Ships: The History of the "Emergency" Type Cargo Ships Constructed in the United States During the Second World War |edition=Second |place=London |publisher=Lloyd's of London Press Ltd. |pages=159–160 |isbn=1-85044-049-2}}</ref>

==Construction==
''Richard Montgomery'' was [[laid down]] on 15 March 1943 under a [[Maritime Commission]] (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 1199, by the [[St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company]], [[Jacksonville, Florida|Jacksonville]], Florida. She was sponsored by Mrs. Rockwell, the wife of the director of MARCOM, Production Division, and was launched on 15 June 1943. She was the seventh of the 82 liberty ships built by the yard.{{sfn|St. John's River SBC|2010}}{{sfn|MARCOM}}

==Service history==
She was allocated to [[Agwilines Inc.]] on 29 July 1943. In August 1944, on what turned out to be her final voyage, the ship left [[Hog Island, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Hog Island]], [[Philadelphia]], where she had been loaded with 6,127 tons of [[munition]]s.{{Citation needed|date=June 2012|reason=UK MCA says approx. 7000 "tons", long, short, or metric not stated}}

She travelled from the [[Delaware River]] to the [[Thames Estuary]], then anchored while awaiting the formation of a [[convoy]] to travel to [[Cherbourg]], [[France]], which had come under [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] control on 27 July 1944, during the [[Operation Overlord|Battle of Normandy]].

When ''Richard Montgomery'' arrived off [[Southend-on-Sea|Southend]], she came under the authority of the Thames naval control at {{HMS|Leigh}} located at the end of [[Southend Pier]]. The [[harbourmaster]], responsible for all shipping movements in the [[estuary]], ordered the ship to a berth off the north edge of [[Sheerness]] middle sands, an area designated as the Great Nore Anchorage.<ref>{{cite map
 |publisher=Admiralty Hydrographic Office, London
 |title=River Thames Sea Reach
 |edition=4 February 1972
 }}</ref>

On 20 August 1944 she dragged anchor and ran aground on a sandbank around {{cvt|250|m|sp=us}} from the [[River Medway|Medway]] Approach Channel,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dft.gov.uk/mca/mcga07-home/emergencyresponse/mcga-receiverofwreck/mcga-ssrichardmontgomery.htm |title=Maritime and Coastguard Agency |access-date=8 September 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110907073655/http://www.dft.gov.uk/mca/mcga07-home/emergencyresponse/mcga-receiverofwreck/mcga-ssrichardmontgomery.htm |archive-date=7 September 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> in a depth of {{cvt|24|ft}} of water. The general dry cargo liberty ship had an average draft of {{cvt|28|ft}}, but ''Richard Montgomery'' was trimmed to a draft of {{cvt|31|ft}}. As the tide went down, the ship broke her back on sand banks near the [[Isle of Sheppey]] about {{cvt|1.5|mi}} from Sheerness and {{cvt|5|mi}} from [[Southend]].<ref name=Sawyer&Mitchell/>

A [[Rochester, Kent|Rochester]]-based [[stevedore]] company was given the job of removing the cargo, which began on 23 August 1944, using the ship's own cargo handling equipment. By the next day, the ship's hull had cracked open, causing several cargo holds at the bow end to flood. The salvage operation continued until 25 September, when the ship was finally abandoned before all the cargo had been recovered. Subsequently, the vessel broke into two separate parts, roughly amidships.

During the inquiry into the shipwreck, it was revealed that several ships moored nearby had noticed ''Richard Montgomery'' drifting towards the sandbank. They had attempted to signal an alert by sounding their sirens, but without avail because the  ship's chief officer neither reacted nor awoke Captain Wilkie, a failure which he was unable to explain. A board of inquiry concluded that the anchorage the harbour master assigned had placed the ship in jeopardy, and returned the captain of ''Richard Montgomery'' to full duty within a week.<ref name=SouthendTL>{{cite web |url= http://www.southendtimeline.com/thetickingtimebomb.htm |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130501013829/http://www.southendtimeline.com/thetickingtimebomb.htm |url-status= usurped |archive-date= 1 May 2013 |title=The Ticking Timebomb |website=Southend Timeline |date=2011–2016 |first=Nicholas |last=Skinner |access-date= 17 May 2017}}</ref>

==Status and risk==
[[File:Thames Estuary airports proposed locations SS Richard Montgomery.png|thumb|400px|Map of the Thames Estuary indicating the wreck of ''Richard Montgomery'', and locations of proposed airports: 1. Cliffe; 2. Grain (Thames Hub); 3. Foulness; 4. Off the Isle of Sheppey; 5. Shivering Sands ("Boris Island").]]
[[Image:Wreck of the Richard Montgomery (to left of buoy) - geograph.org.uk - 19013.jpg|thumb|upright|Warning buoy marking the wreck of SS ''Richard Montgomery'' (masts visible to left)]]

According to a 2008 survey, the wreck is at a depth of {{cvt|15|m}}, on average, and leaning to starboard. At all states of the tide, her three masts are visible above the water.<ref name=surveyreports>{{Cite web |title=The SS Richard Montgomery: Information and survey reports |author= |website=UK Government |date=8 June 2020 |url= https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-ss-richard-montgomery-information-and-survey-reports}} Links to background information and surveys. Updated when necessary.</ref>{{rp|2008 survey}}

Because of the presence of the large quantity of [[unexploded ordnance]], the ship is monitored by the [[Maritime and Coastguard Agency]] and is clearly marked on the relevant Admiralty charts. In 1973, she became the first wreck designated as dangerous under section 2 of the [[Protection of Wrecks Act 1973]]. There is an [[exclusion zone]] around her monitored visually and by [[radar]].{{efn|Currently the only other similarly designated wreck is that of {{SS|Castilian|1919|6}}, which sank off Holyhead in 1943, whilst en route to Lisbon, and was designated in 1997, as a result of diver interference with her cargo of munitions.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/annual_report_2003.pdf |title= Receiver of Wreck Annual Report 2003 |publisher=The Maritime and Coastguard Agency |access-date=29 October 2006 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070927003920/http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/annual_report_2003.pdf |archive-date=27 September 2007}}</ref>}} The exclusion zone around the wreck is defined by the following co-ordinates:

{{geoGroup|section=Status and risk}}
* {{coord|51|28|04|N|00|47|12|E|display=inline|type:landmark}}
* {{coord|51|27|57|N|00|47|22|E|display=inline|type:landmark}}
* {{coord|51|27|50|N|00|47|11|E|display=inline|type:landmark}}
* {{coord|51|27|58|N|00|47|01|E|display=inline|type:landmark}}

According to a survey conducted in 2000 by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency,<ref name=surveyreports/>{{rp|2000 survey, p21–22}} the wreck still held <!-- ref does not give this figure {{convert|3,173|tonnes|ST}} of--> munitions containing approximately {{convert|1400|tonnes|ST}} of [[trinitrotoluene|TNT]] high explosive.<ref name=surveyreports/>{{rp|2000 survey, p21–22}} This comprises the following items of ordnance:
* 286 × {{cvt|2000|lb}} high explosive bombs
* 4,439 × {{cvt|1000|lb}} bombs of various types
* 1,925 × {{cvt|500|lb}} bombs
* 2,815 fragmentation bombs and [[cluster bomb|bomb clusters]]
* Various [[explosive booster]] charges
* Various [[smoke bomb]]s, including [[White phosphorus (weapon)|white phosphorus]] bombs
* Various [[pyrotechnic]] signals

In May 2025, the [[Secretary of State for Transport]] restricted flying below 13,100&nbsp;ft within a radius of 1 nautical mile of the wreck.<ref>[https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2025/547/pdfs/uksi_20250547_en.pdf The Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying)(SS Richard Montgomery) Regulations 2025.]</ref>

One of the reasons that the explosives have not been removed was the unfortunate outcome of a similar operation in July 1967, to neutralize the contents of the [[Poland|Polish]] cargo ship {{SS|Kielce||2}}, that sank in 1946, off [[Folkestone]] in the [[English Channel]]. During preliminary work, ''Kielce'' exploded with a force equivalent to an [[earthquake]] measuring 4.5 on the [[Richter magnitude scale|Richter scale]], digging a 20-foot-deep (6 m) crater in the [[seabed]] and bringing "panic and chaos" to Folkestone, although there were no injuries.<ref name=surveyreports/>{{rp|2000 survey, p21–22}} ''Kielce'' was at least {{convert|3|or|4|miles}} from land, had sunk in deeper water than ''Richard Montgomery'', and had "just a fraction" of the load of explosives.<ref name=SouthendTL /> According to a [[BBC News]] report in 1970,<ref>{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/3578244.stm |title=Wrecked warship [incorrect: is a cargo ship] is a 'timebomb' |publisher=BBC News |date=19 August 2004 |access-date=29 October 2006 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060617141542/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/3578244.stm |archive-date=17 June 2006 |url-status=live }}</ref> it was determined that if the wreck of ''Richard Montgomery'' exploded, it would throw a {{convert|300|m|ft|abbr=off}}-wide column of water and debris nearly {{convert|3,000|m|ft|abbr=off}} into the air and generate a wave {{convert|5|m|ft|abbr=off}} high. Almost every window in [[Sheerness]] (population circa 20,000) would be broken and buildings would be damaged by the blast. News reports in May 2012 however, including one by [[BBC Radio Kent|BBC Kent]], stated that the wave could be about {{convert|1|m|ft|abbr=off|spell=in}} high, which although lower than previous estimates would be enough to cause flooding in some coastal settlements.<ref>{{cite news|first=Nicholas |last=Cecil |date=30 May 2012 |title=Timebomb ticking in Thames Estuary could put Boris Island plans in jeopardy |newspaper=London Evening Standard |url=http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/transport/timebomb-ticking-in-thames-estuary-could-put-boris-island-plans-in-jeopardy-7803948.html}}</ref>{{efn|Staff at BBC Kent quoted [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrat]] [[Julian Huppert]] that "[an explosion] would blow out every window in Sheerness, and create a 16 ft wave just outside the capital", but went on to state lower down that article that "Previously experts have said if the wreck exploded it would cause a metre-high tidal wave"<ref>{{cite news |author=BBC Kent staff |date=30 May 2012 |title=SS Richard Montgomery wreck 'bomb risk' to estuary airport |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-18264067 |publisher=BBC Kent |access-date=20 June 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181124052626/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-18264067 |archive-date=24 November 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

When the condition of the munitions was originally assessed there was concern that [[copper azide]], an extremely sensitive explosive, would be produced through reaction between [[lead azide]] and copper from [[fuze|fuse]] components (lead azide would react with water vapour, rather than liquid water, to form [[hydrazoic acid]], which could react with copper in the detonating cap to form copper azide).
Critics of government assurances that the likelihood of a major explosion is remote argue that one of the fuses of the 2,600 fused-fragmentation devices could become partially flooded and undergo the reaction producing copper azide.<ref name=nsaug04>{{cite journal |last=Hamer |first=Mick |title=The doomsday wreck |journal=New Scientist |date=21 August 2004 |id=Z |pages=36–39 |url= https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18324615.100-the-doomsday-wreck.html |access-date=11 September 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150424003101/http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18324615.100-the-doomsday-wreck.html |archive-date=24 April 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> A knock, such as caused by the ship breaking up further, or a collision on the busy shipping lane, could cause the copper azide to explode and trigger an explosive chain reaction detonating the bulk of the munitions. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said in 1998, "as the fuses will probably all have been flooded for many years and the sensitive compounds referred to are all soluble in water this is no longer considered to be a significant hazard".<ref name=surveyreports/>{{rp|1997 survey}} The UK government's [[Receiver of Wreck]] commissioned a risk assessment in 1999, but this has not been published.<ref name=nsaug04/> The Maritime and Coastguard Agency convened with local and port authorities to discuss the report in 2001 and concluded that "doing nothing [was] not an option for much longer".

An investigation by ''[[New Scientist]]'' magazine in 2004, based partly on government documents released in 2004, concluded that the cargo was still deadly, and could be detonated by a collision, an attack, or even shifting of the cargo in the tide. The deterioration of the bombs is so severe that they could explode spontaneously.<ref name=nsaug04/> Documents [[Classified information|declassified]] shortly before revealed that the wreck was not dealt with immediately after it happened, or in the intervening 60 years, due to the expense.<ref name=nsaug04/> The Maritime and Coastguard Agency nevertheless believes that the risk of a major explosion is remote.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.dft.gov.uk/mca/mcga07-home/emergencyresponse/mcga-receiverofwreck/mcga-ssrichardmontgomery.htm |title=SS Richard Montgomery web page |publisher=The Maritime and Coastguard Agency |access-date=29 October 2006 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110401161008/http://www.dft.gov.uk/mca/mcga07-home/emergencyresponse/mcga-receiverofwreck/mcga-ssrichardmontgomery.htm |archive-date=1 April 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>  The wreck site has been surveyed regularly since 1965 to determine the stability of the structure, with a diver survey being completed in 2003.<ref name=surveyreports/>{{rp|2003 survey}} High-resolution multi-beam sonar surveys in 2005 and September 2006 found that there had been no recent significant movement of the wreck.

Surveys undertaken in 2008 and 2009 by the MCA, showed that the ship was continuing to deteriorate structurally, with accelerated deterioration in some areas and new cracks appearing in the bow section of the wreck.<ref name=BBC14809572>{{cite web |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-14809752 |title=SS Richard Montgomery structural collapse 'getting closer' |publisher=BBC News Online |date=6 September 2011 |access-date=7 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120220834/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-14809752 |archive-date=20 January 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> The report states that "Whilst significant structural collapse does not appear to be imminent, surveys suggest that this prospect is getting closer."<ref name=surveyreports/>{{rp|2008 & 2009 surveys}} The increasing calls for a new [[Thames estuary airport|airport in the Thames estuary]] would mean a solution would have to be found for removing the wreck, or at least making it safe, should the airport be built.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/transport/article6879656.ece |newspaper=The Times |location=London |title=HeathrowonSea travel hub inches towards Heathrow airport |first=Chris |last=Gourlay |date=18 October 2009 |access-date=23 May 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110612194323/http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/transport/article6879656.ece |archive-date=12 June 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The 2010 survey report,<ref name=surveyreports/>{{rp|2010 survey, s5}} released in May 2012, found that, while there had been little change in 2009–2010, the future was uncertain due to the "dynamic nature" of the surrounding environment.<ref name=bonkers>{{cite news |last=Cox |first=Marijke |title=Building an estuary airport close to sunken warship [incorrect: is a cargo ship] branded "bonkers" |url=http://www.kentnews.co.uk/news/building_an_estuary_airport_close_to_sunken_warship_branded_bonkers_1_1416102 |access-date=13 February 2018 |work=Kent News |date=22 June 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161203061012/http://www.kentnews.co.uk/news/building_an_estuary_airport_close_to_sunken_warship_branded_bonkers_1_1416102 |archive-date=3 December 2016}}</ref> Mayor of London [[Boris Johnson]] said that engineers had found the wreck would not prevent construction of an airport, and the wreck area would have to be considered.<ref name=bonkers/> [[Julian Huppert]], the co-chair of the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]] committee on transport, disagreed, saying: "This report shows the ship's slow deterioration is continuing with the lethal cargo still on board", and "This must surely put an end to the bonkers idea of building an airport in the Thames estuary."<ref name=bonkers/> A 2013 ''[[Daily Telegraph]]'' article quoting local historian Colin Harvey, agreed the ship would have to be removed before any airport was built and printed a [[spectrogram]] showing the ship clearly broken into two pieces.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/aviation/9745665/Boris-Island-airport-site-could-blow-up-at-any-minute.html |title=Boris Island airport site 'could blow up at any minute' |date=24 January 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180213195233/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/aviation/9745665/Boris-Island-airport-site-could-blow-up-at-any-minute.html |archive-date=13 February 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A [[Department for Transport]] (DfT) spokesperson said however, that the ship remained stable and the likelihood of an explosion was remote; the matter of the ship was unrelated to the ongoing development of the aviation strategy.<ref name=bonkers/>

In June 2020, the DfT announced it was looking for a contractor to remove the ship's three masts as they were placing undue strain on the rest of the vessel structure.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-52918221 |title=Masts to be cut from Thames Estuary wreck packed with explosives |date=4 June 2020|work=BBC News}}</ref> The [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]] warned that the collapse of a mast could detonate ordnance, and [[Royal Navy]] specialists would need to remove them safely. In December 2021 it was reported that a contractor supported by the Navy would remove the ship's masts, starting in June 2022.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Sunken warship [incorrect: is a cargo ship] in River Thames with explosives on board could cause 'mass damage and loss of life' |last=Nicholls |first=Dominic |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=29 December 2021 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/12/29/sunken-warship-river-thames-explosives-board-could-cause-mass/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/12/29/sunken-warship-river-thames-explosives-board-could-cause-mass/ |archive-date=2022-01-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-12-30|title=Navy to dismantle sunken cargo ship on Thames holding unstable explosives|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/dec/30/navy-to-dismantle-sunken-warship-on-thames-holding-unstable-explosives|access-date=2021-12-31|website=the Guardian|language=en}}</ref><ref>[https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sheerness/news/bombs-away-for-second-world-war-kent-wreck-256039/ Kent Online: Work starts on making Sheppey bomb ship Richard Montgomery 'safe']. By Claire McWethy, cmcwethy@thekmgroup.co.uk. Published: 15:04, 20 October 2021. Updated: 03:45, 21 October 2021. Accessed 13 February 2022.</ref> At the end of June 2022 it was reported that the work to remove the masts would be delayed another year.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-06-29|title=Masts removal of Sheppey bomb ship Richard Montgomery 'delayed for a year'|url=https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sheerness/news/bomb-ship-landmark-mast-stay-for-now-at-least-269406/|access-date=2022-02-07|website=Kent Online|language=en}}</ref> In June 2023, unidentified objects found on the seabed around the ship caused the original plan to remove the masts to be deemed as too dangerous, and the removal was, again, delayed.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-06-23|title='Objects' found on the seabed delay removal of the masts of munitions ship SS Richard Montgomery sunk off the coast of Sheerness|url=https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sheerness/news/new-discovery-prompts-further-delays-to-doomsday-wreck-rem-288921/|access-date=2024-04-08|website=Kent Online|language=en}}</ref>  In December 2023, the MCA determined that the masts had degraded more than expected and scheduled their removal for March 2024.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-12-07|title=Masts of sunken Second World War ship off Southend coast to be removed urgently|url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/masts-sunken-second-world-war-121426051.html|access-date=2024-04-08|website=Yahoo News|language=en}}</ref> In April 2024 18 metallic objects were found around the wreck and work delayed again.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2024-04-13 |title=Explosives-filled shipwreck has safety work delayed as objects found |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-68787845 |access-date=2024-06-06 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>

==In media==

[[Saturday-Night Theatre]] first broadcast in 1979 on [[BBC Radio 4]] the crime drama ''Blockbuster'' — scripted by Stephen Barlay, adapting his own novel of the same name — of a blackmail conspiracy to obtain a million pounds from the [[Bank of England]] under the threat to cause a detonation of the wreck of the SS ''Richard Montgomery'' and so destroy the [[East End]] of London. The drama starred [[Brian Cox (actor)|Brian Cox]], Malcolm Hayes, Haydn Jones, [[Peter Woodthorpe]], and Frances Jeater.<ref>[[BBC Radio 4]] — ''Blockbuster'' by Stephen Barlay [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0029gnf]</ref>

The SS ''Richard Montgomery'' was the subject of a plot line in season three of the [[BBC one]] drama ''[[Waking the Dead (TV series)|Waking the Dead]]'' from 2003, in the episode titled "Walking on Water".

In the 2018 Indian movie [[Vishwaroopam II]], the SS ''Richard Montgomery'' is the target of an attempted terrorist attack using cesium weapons.<ref>{{Citation |title=Vishwaroopam II |date=2024-10-09 |work=Wikipedia |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishwaroopam_II |access-date=2024-10-14 |language=en}}</ref>

In the second season of the [[National Geographic]] documentary series ''[[Drain the Oceans]]'', broadcast in 2019, the story of the SS ''Richard Montgomery'''s sinking and the status of the wreck was the third story of an episode.

In the second series of the Sky political thriller ''[[COBRA (British TV series)|COBRA]]'', broadcast in 2021, the SS ''Richard Montgomery'', (unnamed in the series), explodes as a consequence of undersea earthquakes, with the consequences predicted in the 1970 BBC report: heavy flooding and property damage in Sheerness with great loss of life — including that of the local MP.

==See also==
* [[List of accidents and incidents involving transport or storage of ammunition]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite web |url=http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencylarge/stjohnsriver.htm |title=St. John's River Shipbuilding, Jacksonville FL |publisher=www.ShipbuildingHistory.com |date=16 October 2010 |access-date=16 December 2019 |ref={{sfnRef|St. John's River SBC|2010}}}}
* {{cite web |url=https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/ShipHistory/Detail/10541 |title=Richard Montgomery |author=Maritime Administration |work=Ship History Database Vessel Status Card |publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration |access-date=16 December 2019 |ref={{sfnref|MARAD}}}}
* {{cite web |last=Davies |first=James |url=http://www.ww2ships.com/acrobat/us-os-001-f-r00.pdf |title=Specifications (As-Built) |page=23 |date=May 2004 |access-date=16 December 2019}}
* {{cite web |url=http://usmaritimecommission.de/query.php?datalist=1&typeofquery=Name%20of%20Ship&valueofquery=Richard%20Montgomery&code=B1199a |title=SS ''Richard Montgomery'' |access-date=16 December 2019 |ref={{sfnRef|MARCOM}}}}
* {{cite book |last=Turner |first=F. R. |title=Wreck of the USS Richard Montgomery |year=1995 |publisher=F R Turner |isbn=0-9524303-6-3}}
* {{cite journal |last=Hamer |first=Mick |title=The doomsday wreck |journal=New Scientist |date=21 August 2004 |id=Z |pages=36–39 |issn=1032-1233}}
* {{cite book |last=Anderson |first=Barrie |title="Escapade 297" |date=October 2008 |publisher=Bright Pen |isbn=978-0-7552-1093-0}}
*{{Cite book |last=Hoskins |first=Brett |title=The Fleischer Menace |publisher=Treacle Moon |year=2024 |isbn=9798320144191}}{{refend}}

==External links==
* [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-ss-richard-montgomery-information-and-survey-reports Maritime and Coastguard Agency website page, including links to survey reports. Updated periodically with new publications.]
{{coord|51|27|57|N|0|47|12|E|display=title|region:GB}}

{{MARCOM ships St. John's River SB Co.}}
{{August 1944 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richard Montgomery}}
[[Category:Liberty ships]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the North Sea]]
[[Category:Protected wrecks of England]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in August 1944]]
[[Category:1944 in England]]
[[Category:Ships built in Jacksonville, Florida]]
[[Category:1943 ships]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the River Thames]]
[[Category:Thames Estuary]]