A 'Doomsday wreck' whose bomb-filled hold threatens to unleash a tsunami in the Thames may carry another deadly cargo it's feared – mustard gas. The SS Richard Montgomery sank in the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, Kent, in August 1944, taking some 1,400 tons of American bombs to the bottom.
![[The SS Richard Montgomery sank in the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, Kent, in August 1944, taking some 1,400 tons of WW2 explosives to the bottom]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/27/08/87794303-0-The_SS_Richard_Montgomery_sank_in_the_Thames_Estuary_near_Sheern-a-2_1735289305293.jpg)
But Southend councillor Stephen Aylen fears that the wreck, which lies just eight miles from his constituency, carried a second, 'far more sinister' cargo – mustard gas. He cited the example of another Liberty Ship, the SS John Harvey, which was dispatched to the Mediterranean theatre with a secret shipment of the killer gas.
![[The SS Richard Montgomery sank off Medway in Kent and has lain on the seabed for nearly 80 years]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/27/08/31039650-0-The_SS_Richard_Montgomery_sank_off_Medway_in_Kent_and_has_lain_o-a-3_1735289311558.jpg)
But the ship was sank by the Luftwaffe off Bari, Italy, in December 1943, unleashing its deadly cargo and killing dozens, with hundreds more injured. Mr Aylen asked: 'Is there something like that on the Montgomery? Is there something far more sinister on that ship than we're being told about?.
![[Plans are in place to remove the masts of the SS Richard Montgomery, which still loom above the water line, lest they should collapse on to the wreck and trigger an explosion]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/27/08/87794295-0-Her_masts_still_loom_above_the_water_line_and_plans_are_in_place-a-4_1735289327699.jpg)
'Because nobody will say exactly what's on it still.'. Fearing that a desperate Hitler might turn to chemical weapons, the Allies dispatched mustard gas to Italy so they could quickly respond. A 'Doomsday wreck' whose bomb-filled hold threatens to unleash a tsunami in the Thames may carry another deadly cargo it's feared – mustard gas.
![[The 'whole forward section of the wreck', which lies in two halves on the bottom, 'appears to have an increase in lean' of 10 to 15cm]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/27/08/87794301-0-The_whole_forward_section_of_the_wreck_which_lies_in_two_halves_-a-5_1735289334443.jpg)
The SS Richard Montgomery sank in the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, Kent, in August 1944, taking some 1,400 tons of WW2 explosives to the bottom. The SS Richard Montgomery sank off Medway in Kent and has lain on the seabed for nearly 80 years. But the gas was banned by the Geneva Protocol, and was sent with such secrecy that its presence in Italy wasn't acknowledged even after it was accidentally unleashed.
![[In a statement, the Department for Transport said its priority was to 'ensure the safety of the public and reduce any risk posed by the SS Richard Montgomery']](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/27/08/87794305-0-In_a_statement_the_Department_for_Transport_said_its_priority_wa-a-6_1735289339973.jpg)
