In August 1944, the American military cargo ship SS Richard Montgomery sank at the mouth of the River Thames with roughly 1,500 tons of bombs, ordnances and weapons still aboard. Now, more than eight decades later, officials have taken steps to reduce the risk of an explosion. Engineers recently removed the vessel’s three masts, which had remained visible above the waterline near Sheerness, a coastal town about 50 miles east of London on the Thames Estuary.
They were concerned that the towering steel structures might one day collapse onto the decks below, potentially triggering the World War II munitions still stored inside the Richard Montgomery’s damaged hull. The masts were taken to the Historic Dockyard Chatham, a maritime museum and heritage site in Kent, for conservation and preservation, according to a statement delivered to Britain’s Parliament on October 19. Meanwhile, the wreck will “continue to be subject to continuous monitoring and control,” he adds.
When it sank, the Richard Montgomery was participating in an Allied convoy delivering munitions to the United Kingdom and France. When the ship arrived in the Thames Estuary, it anchored off the coast of Sheerness while waiting to cross the English Channel. However, on August 20, its anchor dragged in the shallow water and the ship ran aground on a sandbar.
Salvage crews immediately began unloading the ship’s cargo, but a crack developed in the hull, allowing water to flood the front of the vessel. Crews continued removing explosives until September 25, ultimately recovering about half of its explosive cargo. By then, however, the ship was taking on too much water, forcing them to abandon the effort.
The vessel sank to the seafloor with its masts protruding from the water. It’s not clear exactly which munitions were left onboard. However, experts think the ship—nicknamed the Monty—might still be full of 2,000-pound blockbusters, fragmentation bombs and white phosphorus smoke ordnances.
The potential impact of an explosion is difficult to predict, with estimates ranging from minor damage to nearby shorelines to a tsunami-style tidal wave that could travel up the Thames. But any scenario would likely put local communities at risk. In 2022, scientists discovered that the V-1302 John Mahn, a German naval ship sunk by the British Royal Air Force in 1942, was leaking toxic chemicals like arsenic into the North Sea.
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