Latest news with #SSRichardMontgomery
Metro
4 days ago
- General
- Metro
Bomb-filled 'doomsday wreck' comes closer to collapse with no-fly zone in place
The masts of the wreck reach ominously above the water (Picture: Pen News) A shipwreck in the Thames full of World War II explosives is coming closer to collapsing, a new report reveals. The SS Richard Montgomery – nicknamed the 'doomsday wreck' – sank in the Thames Estuary near Sheerness in Kent and Southend-on-Sea in Essex in 1944. The ship's masts are still visible above the waterline despite plans to remove them to avoid triggering an explosion of the 1,400tonnes of explosives on board. It's feared an explosion could trigger a tsunami in the Thames, hurling a '1,000ft wide column of water, mud, metal and munitions almost 10,000ft into the air – risking wildlife and the lives of many people'. Waves up to 16ft high could engulf coastal Essex and the Isle of Sheppey. Sign up for all of the latest stories Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens. And an ominous new report suggests that potential outcome is drawing closer, with several changes detected in the year since the wreck was last surveyed a year ago. The SS Richard Montgomery before it sank in 1944 (Picture: Pen News) A no-fly zone has been put in place above the wreck by the Department for Transport (DfT), which bans civilian and non-emergency aviation from flying overhead – but the department insists the wreck is still 'stable'. The survey warns the front half of the ship – which broke in two when it sank – is slowly tipping over, moving about 19in (50cm) eastward in two years. More decay was observed in the second cargo hold, where the upper port side has cracked, and the lower starboard side has become 'significantly buckled'. This has caused part of the deck above to start collapsing into the hold, with the hatch supports in this area dropping by up to 6in (17cm) in a year. The report suggests the front part of the wreck is 'splitting in two', with the back section also in trouble. The ship sank in the Thames Estuary (Picture: Metro Graphics) It explains: 'Like the forward section, the rear section is hogging and potentially breaking in two about halfway along its length. 'This area was left unsupported when the ship broke in two back in 1944. 'Consequently, it has been badly affected by wave and current action and is steadily collapsing and falling into the gap between the two halves of the vessel. 'The degree to which the bow and stern may be being undercut as the supporting sediment is eroded away is a potential concern.' Daniel Cowan is leader of Southend council, which is just five miles north of the wreck and therefore at risk if the doomsday wreck explodes. He said: 'According to the experts, the wreck of the Montgomery remains stable, so I understand that the no-fly zone that's been put in is a precautionary measure. 'But we are seeking further clarity around the long-term plans for the wreck. 'What we'd like more than anything is clarity, to understand what the long-term plans are.' New scans suggest the front part of the wreck is splitting in two (Picture: MCA via Pen News) The DfT said the no-fly zone had been put in place on expert advice, and will remain until further notice. A spokesperson said: 'Our priority will always be to ensure the safety of the public and to reduce any risk posed by the SS Richard Montgomery. 'The condition of the wreck remains stable, and experts are continuing to monitor the site. 'As part of their ongoing monitoring, they have updated advice on how authorities can further minimise risk. 'They have recommended that pilots and operators do not fly in a limited area around and above the site as specified by the Civil Aviation Authority.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. Arrow MORE: In pictures: How the D-Day landings unfolded on June 6, 1944 Arrow MORE: Two men charged with murder after boy, four, killed in pick-up truck crash in Dartford Arrow MORE: Second World War bombs discovery in Cologne forces 20,000 people to evacuate their homes
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Urgent warning over 'Doomsday wreck' at the bottom of the Thames: Bomb-filled SS Richard Montgomery is edging close to COLLAPSE – as officials frantically impose a no-fly zone over the site
A bomb-filled 'doomsday wreck' which threatens to unleash a tsunami in the Thames is edging closer to collapse, an ominous new survey of the ship reveals. The SS Richard Montgomery sank in the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, Kent, in August 1944, taking 1,400 tons of WW2 explosives to the bottom. Her masts still loom above the water line and there are plans to remove them, lest they collapse on to the wreck and trigger an explosion. But a new survey of the ship has revealed the hull itself is deteriorating, with several alarming changes detected in the year since the last survey. Now a no-fly zone has been imposed at the wreck site by the Department for Transport, banning civilian and non-emergency aviation from the skies overhead. One problem flagged up by the survey is that the front half of the ship – which broke in two as it sank – is slowly tipping over, tilting half a metre further eastward in two years. More decay was observed in the second cargo hold, where the upper port side has cracked, and the lower starboard side has become 'significantly buckled'. This has caused part of the deck above to start collapsing into the hold, with the hatch supports in this area dropping by up to 17cm in a year. All told, it looks like 'the forward part of the wreck is splitting in two,' the new report states. The back end of the wreck is in similar trouble. The survey says: 'Like the forward section, the rear section is hogging and potentially breaking in two about halfway along its length.' Further deterioration was detected where the front and back of the wreck split apart. 'This area was left unsupported when the ship broke in two back in 1944,' the report says. 'Consequently, it has been badly affected by wave and current action and is steadily collapsing and falling into the gap between the two halves of the vessel.' If the seabed is anything to go by, the worst is yet to come. The report warns: 'The degree to which the bow and stern may be being undercut as the supporting sediment is eroded away is a potential concern.' One area of seabed close to the wreck was found to have dipped by 1.6m in a year. The front of the ship has now been 'undercut to the degree where it has started to move', according to the findings. A 1970 report from the Royal Military College of Science predicted what would happen if the whole explosive cache detonated at once. It would unleash a column of water and debris 3,000 metres high, and a five-metre tsunami, engulfing nearby Sheerness, the report said. Also in the firing line is Southend, which lies some five miles north of the wreck site. Daniel Cowan, leader of Southend Council, is looking for answers. He said: 'According to the experts, the wreck of the Montgomery remains stable. 'So I understand that the no-fly zone that's been put in is a precautionary measure. 'But we are seeking further clarity around the long term plans for the wreck. 'What we'd like more than anything is clarity, to understand what the long-term plans are.' The Department for Transport, the ministry responsible for the wreck, said the no-fly zone had been implemented on expert advice and would remain in place until further notice. A spokesperson said: 'Our priority will always be to ensure the safety of the public and to reduce any risk posed by the SS Richard Montgomery. 'The condition of the wreck remains stable, and experts are continuing to monitor the site. 'As part of their ongoing monitoring, they have updated advice on how authorities can further minimise risk. 'They have recommended that pilots and operators do not fly in a limited area around and above the site as specified by the Civil Aviation Authority.' The SS Richard Montgomery, which lies at a depth of 49ft, was an American vessel carrying munitions for the allies in the Second World War. She ran aground on a sandbank and broke her back on it when the tide went out, sinking before all of her cargo could be recovered. What is the SS Montgomery and why is it dangerous? The SS Richard Montgomery was a US Liberty Ship built in 1943 to transport cargo across the Atlantic The 7,200-tonne vessel safely crossed the Atlantic on convoy HX-301 without incident and was ordered to anchor off Sheerness. The vessel was carrying some 7,000 tonnes of munitions and it was due to carry on to Cherbourg to unload its cargo. However, on August 20, 1944, the Montgomery dragged her anchor and ran aground on a sandbank around 250 yards from the Medway Approach Channel. A major salvage operation was launched to unload the vessel's deadly cargo although, within 24 hours cracks began appearing across the hull and the forward areas began flooding. By September 25, the salvage operation had to be abandoned after the entire vessel flooded. The Richard Montgomery was one of 2,700 Liberty ships built during the war.
Telegraph
30-01-2025
- Telegraph
The folly of fixating on Heathrow expansion when better options exist
SIR – The main problem with expanding Heathrow Airport ( Bigger problems include: moving many people into, and out of, the airport; doubling the number of trucks delivering and collecting cargo; and the fact that the area is already saturated with traffic, the public transport options are only useful for people coming from London, and there would need to be huge new parking areas designated. Better use of regional airports could mitigate these problems, and people would not need to drive so far to catch a flight. It would also cost less. Gillian Courage Cheltenham, Gloucestershire SIR – Many alternatives have been suggested for handling an increase in air traffic bound for London. However, it is not just about the numbers of travellers whose final destination is London. The fact is that Heathrow is a European and international hub, able to compete with the likes of Schiphol and Frankfurt. The other three 'London' airports cannot offer this functionality. I lived for 27 years in Putney, directly under the long, final descent path to Heathrow, and quickly got used to the noise. True, others were constantly wound up about it – but aircraft are becoming quieter, as well as more fuel-efficient and less polluting. Peter Rowley Nafferton, East Yorkshire SIR – Last time I flew from Heathrow, I had to travel there by road, which revealed the true extent of this concrete wasteland – more than 3,000 treeless acres. Then there is the endless trek to get to your plane. I avoid it whenever possible. A third runway would just add to this bleak slog. I am a Conservative, not a Green, but enough is enough. John Jones London SW19 SIR – Jim Hardie ( Apart from the fact that this is an important wildlife site, there is the small matter of the sunken Second World War munitions ship, SS Richard Montgomery, with its still-intact cargo of several thousand tons of high-explosive ordnance. This wreck is considered so dangerously unstable that it has been left in place. Christopher Devine Farley, Wiltshire SIR – Rachel Reeves told Robert Peston yesterday that the last British airport runway was built in 1948. Manchester's second runway was built between 1997 and 2001. How could neither of them have remembered Swampy? Maybe because they are Southerners. Tony Foulds Wilmslow, Cheshire An Oxbridge arc SIR – Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, having done her utmost to destroy the green shoots of economic growth in her Budget, appears to have had a Damascene conversion. Her enthusiasm for the Oxford-Cambridge Arc ( Private-sector success will come in the face of increasing headwinds, as Ms Reeves tries in vain to borrow, tax and regulate her way to growth. Iain Duffin Crudwell, Wiltshire SIR – Rachel Reeves should be reminded that it was a Labour government that closed the Varsity Line between Oxford and Cambridge to passenger services on January 1 1968. Governments are much more skilled at destroying opportunities for enterprise than creating them. Chris Gillibrand Swainby, North Yorkshire Covid Inquiry scope SIR – I was disappointed to read your Leading Article ( You call for the inquiry to 'show some curiosity' and spend time investigating matters outside our scope, yet also suggest that the process is too slow. This year the inquiry will examine vital topics within our remit, including the pandemic's effect on our care sector, children and young people, and the estimated £376 billion cost to the British government. The UK Covid-19 Inquiry will continue to conduct our investigations not as committees or panels but as public hearings – transparently, thoroughly and efficiently, helping the UK to learn lessons for next time. Samantha Edwards Director, Communications and Engagement, UK Covid-19 Inquiry London W2 Driving unlicensed SIR – I have just received copies of my late father's military records. As with Gordon Casely's father ( David Hemingway Leicester SIR – My mother, who was born in 1915, told me that on her 17th birthday she drove to Norwich, where she bought a driving licence, then drove home again. Ruth de Grey London SW16 SIR – I was somewhat surprised while deployed at sea to be informed that my wife, who was in our Land Rover with the children, had run out of petrol in the lion enclosure at Longleat. None were eaten. Admiral Lord West of Spithead (Lab) London SW1 Backing Ukraine SIR – Ukraine's allies held back aid when it would have been most effective. Now Russia is gnawing away at the country's borders – but we can still stop Vladimir Putin and uphold Ukraine's sovereignty. A coalition of willing European states, possibly including the UK, could rapidly agree on: confiscating Russian frozen assets, of which £39 billion are in the UK; protecting Ukraine's sky; and rejecting any peace agreement that does not include the return of all Ukrainians held by Russia against their will, and an invitation to Ukraine to join Nato. None of these measures involve going to war with Russia. It is time for the whole of Europe to stand up and not betray Ukraine. Dr Denis MacShane Former minister for Europe Assistant Professor Dr Ian Garner Pilecki Institute, Warsaw Dr Benjamin Tallis Director, Democratic Strategy Initiative, Berlin Emeritus Professor Sylvie Rollet Chairwoman, For Ukraine, for their freedom and ours Professor Phillips O'Brien Professor of Strategic Studies, St Andrews W H Smith's demise SIR – Ben Marlow tells us not to mourn the passing of W H Smith ( The splendid building on our high street that housed the original Post Office still stands empty, nearly 10 years after it transferred to W H Smith. David Cockerham Bearsted, Kent SIR – For several summers in the 1990s, W H Smith held a week-long book sale, where huge quantities of good-quality books were reduced to £1 each: an amazing bargain for a book dealer like me. One year I managed to visit nine branches in two days, filling my car. I had to give up my plans for a third day of buying because of backache. I wondered then how long the chain would survive. Richard Frost Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire SIR – In 1960, aged 17, I worked at a bank in Coventry, just up the street from W H Smith. Most days I would peruse the magazines and books, and I bought Autocar every week. But my most vivid memory is of reading Lady Chatterley's Lover , 20 pages or so at a time during my lunch hour, as I wouldn't dare take a copy home. Peter Bull New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada Wimbledon must expand if it is to survive SIR – Simon Briggs ( The vital difference between Wimbledon and the other three grand slams is that they are all controlled by the national governing bodies for tennis, whereas Wimbledon is under the control of a private members' club, the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC). Our tennis governing body, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), only has a minority role. In Australia and America, the slams were moved from smaller club venues, Kooyong and Forest Hills, to allow for development of state-of-the-art tournaments. Of course, it wouldn't be in the interests of the AELTC to move Wimbledon to a different venue, so the championships will have to find extra adjacent space if the event is to survive as a grand slam. Most people – including the players – admire and value the tradition of Wimbledon; but prioritising tradition can become a constraint. It may be that the long-term interests of British tennis are better served by a grand slam under the control of the LTA, rather than a private club. Donald Macdonald Weybridge, Surrey The shameful failure of Britain's water industry SIR – The Victorians planned. Their reservoirs were built in strategic locations, anticipating need as the great conurbations developed. In our own era, however, there appears to have been little planning. One new reservoir may be finished in 2029, and others could be in use by the 2030s and 2040s ( Meanwhile, the past 15 years have seen incompetent governments and regulators display a cynical disinclination to enforce the law – or even demand that water companies act with any integrity. Bills are due to rise again in April. They will come through letterboxes as wasted water swirls around doors, spouts from blocked drains and courses towards the sea. Yet building on flood plains continues. The failure to preserve the gift of water is absurd. Ofwat seems to be completely toothless, unable or unwilling to instigate any serious change, while the country suffers grotesque sewage spills. To top it off, as the costs to poor swimmers and consumers are allowed to rise, executives are still in receipt of vast bonuses. James Bishop Wincanton, Somerset Letters to the Editor We accept letters by email and post. Please include name, address, work and home telephone numbers. 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