.jpg) HMS Montclare | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | |
| Name | Montclare |
| Owner |
|
| Operator |
|
| Port of registry | 1922: Liverpool |
| Builder | John Brown & co,Clydebank |
| Launched | 18 December 1921 |
| Completed | August 1922 |
| Commissioned | into Royal Navy, August 1939 |
| Decommissioned | from Royal Navy, October 1954 |
| Maiden voyage | 18 August 1922 |
| Reclassified | |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Scrapped inInverkeithing in 1958 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Ocean liner |
| Tonnage | 16,314 GRT, 9,724 NRT |
| Displacement | 21,550 tons when commissioned |
| Length | 549.5 ft (167.5 m) |
| Beam | 70.2 ft (21.4 m) |
| Draught | 27 ft 6 in (8.38 m) |
| Depth | 40.2 ft (12.3 m) |
| Decks | 2 |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 16 knots (30 km/h) |
| Capacity |
|
| Sensors and processing systems | |
| Armament |
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| Notes | sister ships:Montrose,Montcalm |
HMSMontclare (F85) was a Britishocean liner that was commissioned into theRoyal Navy as anarmed merchant cruiser in 1939, converted into adestroyer depot ship in 1944 and asubmarine depot ship in 1946. She was decommissioned in 1954 and scrapped in 1958.
Montclare was launched in Scotland in 1921 as a transatlantic liner for theCanadian Pacific Steamship Company. She was one of threesister ships. The others wereMontrose, launched in 1920 andMontcalm, launched in 1921.
Canadian Pacific ordered a set of three ships from shipyards on theRiver Clyde.John Brown & Company inClydebank builtMontcalm andMontclare.[1][2] TheFairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company inGovan builtMontrose.[3]
Montclare was laid down asMetapedia,[4] but the name was changed before she was launched on 18 December 1921. She was completed in August 1922.[2]
Montclare's registered length was 549.5 ft (167.5 m), her beam was 70.2 ft (21.4 m) and her depth was 40.2 ft (12.3 m).[5] She had berths for 542 cabin class and 1,268 third class passengers,[6] and her holds included capacity for 71,380 cubic feet (2,021 m3) ofrefrigerated cargo.[7] Hertonnages were 16,314 GRT and 9,724 NRT. She had twinscrews, each driven by high-, intermediate- and low-pressuresteam turbines via double reduction gearing. Between them, her turbines were rated at 2,476NHP,[5] and gave her a speed of 16 knots (30 km/h).[citation needed]
TheCanadian Pacific Railway Company owned the ship, but the Canadian Pacific Steamship Company was her operator. CPregistered her atLiverpool in England. Her United Kingdomofficial number was 145964 and hercode letters were KMQF.[5]
On 18 August 1922Montclare leftLiverpool, on her maiden voyage, bound forQuebec andMontreal, withCaptain RG Latta as herMaster.[8]
In 1928Montclare's passenger accommodation was reconfigured for three classes: Cabin, Tourist and Third.[6] As built, the ship suffered from excessive fuel consumption, so in 1929 byHarland & Wolff inBelfast rebuilt her turbines with single reduction gearing.[4] This also marginally increased her horsepower.[9]
Her route was changed toAntwerp –Southampton –Saint John, New Brunswick from 22 March 1929, and to Antwerp – Southampton – Quebec – Montreal from 17 April 1929.[6] By 1930 hercall sign was GFTL.[10] Her route wasHamburg – Southampton –Cherbourg – Quebec – Montreal from 20 March 1930 until 9 November 1933.[6]
While heading for Greenock on 22 March 1931, she ran aground onLittle Cumbrae with a number of passengers aboard. She was later refloated and was repaired in Liverpool.[citation needed]
Between 1932 and 1939Montclare madecruises as well as scheduled transatlantic crossings. In 1939 her passenger accommodation was reconfigured for Cabin class and Third class only. On 21 July 1939 she left Liverpool on her final civilian transatlantic crossing. She called atGreenock,Belfast, Quebec and Montreal, and then returned to Liverpool.[6]
TheAdmiralty requisitionedMontclare on 28 August 1939.[6] She was converted into anArmed Merchant Cruiser, andcommissioned into the Royal Navy in October 1939 as HMSMontclare with the pennant number F85.
On 2 June 1942 the Admiralty bought the ship from CP. She was converted to a destroyer depot ship, with work being completed in 1944. She sailed from the Clyde on 1 March 1945 in convoy via theSuez Canal, reachingSydney on 20 April 1945. She then sailed toManus in theAdmiralty Islands to support the destroyers of Task Force 57 onOperation Iceberg: the conquest ofOkinawa and theSakishima Islands. Rear AdmiralDB Fisher then took her as his flagship for the Pacific Fleet Train (Task Force 112) with theBritish Pacific Fleet until the war ended. She remained mainly in Manus until 4 September 1945, when she sailed toHong Kong arriving on 9 September for the re-occupation of the colony. She left Hong Kong on 3 January 1946, her crew having played a vital part in getting the colony back on its feet again. She arrived back in Portsmouth on 21 February 1946, and was reduced to Reserve status before conversion to submarine depot ship, as which she spent much time atRothesay.[11] In 1953 she took part in thefleet review to celebrate theCoronation of Elizabeth II.[12]
In 1954HMS Adamant replacedMontclare as the 3rd Submarine Flotilla depot ship, and that OctoberMontclare was decommissioned and laid up, at first onGare Loch and then atPortsmouth.[citation needed] In January 1958 she was sold for scrap toThos. W. Ward. She reached Ward's yard atInverkeithing on 2 February, and scrapping commenced the next day.[2]
In the early 1950sPeter O'Toole didnational service in the Royal Navy, and was aSignaller aboardMontclare when she was a submarine depot ship.[citation needed]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1931 | |
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