{{EngvarB|date=January 2018}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}} {{Infobox ship |section1={{Infobox ship/image | image = SS Willochra.jpg | image_caption = The ship as ''Willochra'' }}
|section2={{Infobox ship/career | hide_header = | flag = {{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|civil}} | name =*''Willochra'' (1912–19) *''Fort Victoria'' (1919–29) | owner =*Adelaide Steamship Co (1912–19) *Furness, Withy & Co (1919–29) | operator =*Adelaide Steamship Co (1912–13) *Union Steamship Company of New Zealand (1913–15) *Adelaide Steamship Co (1915–19) *Quebec Steamship Co (1920–21) *Bermuda & West Indies Steamship Co (1921–29) | registry =*Port Adelaide (1912–19) *Montreal (1920–21) *Hamilton (1921–29) | route = United States – Australia – New Zealand (1912–19) | ordered = | builder = William Beardmore & Company, Dalmuir | original_cost = | yard_number = 507 | way_number = | laid_down = | launched = 14 August 1912 | completed = 7 February 1913 | christened = | acquired = | maiden_voyage = | in_service = | out_of_service = 18 December 1929 | identification = *UK [[official number]] 122744 *[[code letters]] JBPH *{{ICS|Juliet}}{{ICS|Bravo}}{{ICS|Papa}}{{ICS|Hotel}} | fate = Sunk by collision | notes = }}
|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics | hide_header = | header_caption = | type = [[passenger ship]] | tonnage = {{GRT|7784}}, {{NRT|4532}} | displacement = | length = {{cvt|411.7|ft|abbr=on}} | beam = {{cvt|56.7|ft|abbr=on}} | draught = | depth = {{cvt|34.1|ft|abbr=on}} | decks = 2 | power = 762 [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|NHP]] | propulsion = *2 × [[Propeller|screws]] *2 × [[Marine steam engine#Triple or multiple expansion|quadruple expansion engines]] | speed = {{convert|16|kn|km/h}} | capacity = | crew = | notes = }} }}
'''''Fort Victoria''''' was a {{GRT|7784|link=off}} [[Passenger ship|passenger]] [[steamship]] that was built in 1912 as '''''Willochra'''''. During the [[First World War]] she was requisitioned for use as a [[troopship]]. In 1920 she was sold and renamed ''Fort Victoria'', serving until lost in a collision in 1929.
==History== [[William Beardmore and Company|William Beardmore & Co Ltd]] built the ship at [[Dalmuir]], [[West Dunbartonshire]] as yard number 507. She was launched as ''Willochra'' on 14 August 1912<ref name=Clyde/> and completed on 7 February 1913<ref name=Miramar>{{csr|register=MSI|id=1122744|access-date=31 October 2009}}</ref> for the [[Adelaide Steamship Company]].<ref name=Clyde>{{cite web |url= https://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?&ref=2077 |title=Willochra |work=Scottish Built Ships |publisher=Caledonian Maritime Research Trust |access-date=23 June 2023}}</ref> Her identical sister ships, also built by William Beardmore and Company, were {{ship|HMAT|Warilda||2}} (1911) and {{ship|HMAT|Wandilla||2}} (1912).
In 1913, ''Willochra'' was [[bareboat charter|chartered]] by the [[Union Company|Union Steamship Company of New Zealand]].<ref name=Union>{{cite web |url=http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/unionnz.html |title=Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand |publisher=The Ships List |access-date=31 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091010100509/http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/unionnz.html |archive-date=10 October 2009 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> In November 1914, ''Willochra'' was requisitioned, as a troopship making numerous journeys with reinforcements to the war, notably Egypt, and returning with wounded.<ref name=Sea/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.flotilla-australia.com/hmnzt.htm |title=Flotilla Australia }}</ref><ref name=Adelaide>{{Cite web |url=http://merchant-navy-ships.com/index.php?id=7,0,0,1,0,0 |title=Adelaide Steamship |publisher=Merchant Navy Ships |access-date=31 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101121101132/http://merchant-navy-ships.com/index.php?id=7%2C0%2C0%2C1%2C0%2C0 |archive-date=21 November 2010 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> In 1918 she was requisitioned by the UK for transatlantic duties and painted in [[dazzle camouflage]]. At the end if the war she repatriated German prisoners to Europe.
In 1919, ''Willochra'' was sold to [[Furness Withy]]. She was refitted and renamed ''Fort Victoria''.<ref name=Sea>{{cite book | first =Keith | last =Eastlake | year =1998 | title =Sea Disasters, the truth behind the tragedies | pages =20 | publisher =Greenwich Editions | location =London N7 |isbn=0-86288-149-8 }}</ref> Initially, she was operated by the Quebec Steamship Company, [[Montreal]] but in 1921 she was transferred to the Bermuda & West Indies Steamship Co, [[Hamilton, Bermuda|Hamilton]], [[Bermuda]]. Both companies were owned by Furness Withy.<ref name=Clyde/> On 18 December 1929, ''Fort Victoria'' sailed from [[New York Harbor]] for Hamilton with just over 200 passengers on board. The weather at the time was dense fog, and ''Fort Victoria'' stopped to await an improvement in conditions. While anchored,<ref name=Sea/> she was hit by the [[Clyde-Mallory Line]]'s {{SS|Algonquin||2}},<ref name=Wreck/> a liner which was on a voyage from [[Galveston, Texas]] to [[New York City|New York]]. ''Algonquin'' cut into the port side of ''Fort Victoria''. Distress calls were made by both ships, which were answered by the [[United States Coast Guard]] and other ships in the area. All on board ''Fort Victoria'' were rescued before the ship sank later that day.<ref name=Sea/> The position of the wreck is {{coord|40|28|27|N|73|53|13|W}}.<ref name=Wreck>{{cite web|url=http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?23080 |title=SS Fort Victoria (+1929) |publisher=Wrecksite |access-date=31 October 2009}}</ref> To replace ''Fort Victoria'', a contract was given to [[Vickers|Vickers-Armstrong's]] to build {{SS| New Australia}}, which entered service in 1933.<ref name=Bermuda>{{cite web|url=http://www.furnessbermudaline.com/index_files/Page1207.htm |title=About Furness Bermuda Line |publisher=Furness Bermuda Line |access-date=31 October 2009}}</ref>
==Description== The ship was a {{GRT|7714|link=off}} cruise ship. She was {{convert|411|ft|7|in|m|2}} long with a beam of {{convert|56|ft|7|in|m|2}}.<ref name=Clyde/> She had two [[Propeller|screws]], each driven by a [[Marine steam engine#Triple or multiple expansion|quadruple expansion engine]]. The combined power of her twin engines was rated at 762 [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|NHP]], and gave her a speed of {{convert|16|kn|km/h}}.<ref name=Miramar/> As ''Fort Victoria'' she was fitted up for 400 first class passengers, and had no accommodation for other classes.<ref name=TT>{{cite web |url= http://www.timetableimages.com/maritime/images/fur24b1.htm |title=Bermuda Steamship Service |publisher=Timetable images |access-date=31 October 2009}}</ref>
==Model== A boardroom model of ''Willochra'' is in the possession of the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum, [[Newport Beach, California]].<ref name=Model>{{cite web|url=http://www.thenrg.org/MIS/newprtbh.html?nauticalresearchguild=27762dc40d3a25861882fd3777bc45c2 |title=Newport Harbor Nautical Museum |publisher=The Nautical Research Guild |access-date=31 October 2009}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20111002120944/http://www.photoship.co.uk/JAlbum%20Ships/Old%20Ships%20F/slides/Fort%20Victoria-01.html Colour postcard of SS ''Fort Victoria''] *[http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=196874 Monochrome postcard of Fort Victoria]
{{1929 shipwrecks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fort Victoria}} [[Category:Merchant ships of Canada]] [[Category:Steamships of Canada]] [[Category:World War I merchant ships of Canada]] [[Category:Merchant ships of Australia]] [[Category:Merchant ships of Bermuda]] [[Category:Steamships of Bermuda]] [[Category:1912 ships]] [[Category:Cruise ships]] [[Category:Troop ships]] [[Category:Maritime incidents in 1929]] [[Category:Iron and steel steamships of Australia]] [[Category:Ships built on the River Clyde]] [[Category:Shipwrecks of the New Jersey coast]]