Sister of
Montcalm and
Montclare,
this ship was laid down in 1919 as
Montmorency, but was renamed while on the stocks; when she was launched
at Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering of Glasgow in 1920, it was as
Montrose. She entered service with a 5 May 1922 roundtrip from Liverpool
to Montr�al and back, a route on which should would remain until 1928.
In 1928, her European base was moved eastward, to Antwerp, and in 1929,
to Hamburg. In 1931, Montrose underwent a major overhaul, including the
installation of new single reduction turbine engines, at Harland & Wolff,
Belfast. She then returned to the Hamburg-Montr�al service, but by 1932
her principal occupation was cruising.
Her last transatlantic trip was from Liverpool to Montr�al in August
1939. When she arrived at Liverpool on 11 September, she was converted
into an armed cruiser, HMS Forfar. On 1 December 1940, 500 miles (800
km) off the west coast of Ireland, Forfar was torpedoed by U99. She
sank the next day with 173 fatalities. Only 3 officers and 18 crew
survived.
Sources: Williams' Wartime Disasters at Sea; Bonsor's North Atlantic
Seaway; Haws' Merchant Fleets.
