World War II's toxic gas: the "Doomsday Ship" in the Thames could threaten an entire city.

The cargo ship "SS Richard Montgomery," laden with World War II munitions, has the potential to release a cloud of deadly mustard gas, known as sulfur mustard. Additionally, the 1,400 American bombs in its hold could trigger a massive tsunami. The SS Richard Montgomery sank after being struck by German aircraft in 1944, and it remains a danger today. This is reported by Mirror.

The SS Richard Montgomery sank in the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, Kent, in August 1944, taking approximately 1,400 tons of American bombs down with it. However, Southend advisor Stephen Eileen is concerned that the wreck, located just 10 km from his constituency, may have carried a second, "much more sinister" cargo—mustard gas, or sulfur mustard.

He referenced another Liberty ship, the SS John Harvey, which was sent to the Mediterranean theater with a secret shipment of deadly gas. That ship was sunk by the Luftwaffe off Bari, Italy, in December 1943, releasing its lethal cargo and killing dozens of people.

"Is there something similar on the Montgomery? Is there something much more sinister aboard this ship than we are being told? Because no one has yet said what exactly is on it," the official questioned.

Fearing that a desperate Hitler might resort to chemical weapons, the Allies sent mustard gas to Italy in order to respond quickly. However, this gas was prohibited by the Geneva Protocol and was sent with such secrecy that its presence in Italy was not acknowledged even after it was accidentally released. Eileen argued that if Hitler was considered desperate enough to use chemical weapons after the Allies invaded Italy, the situation in August 1944 was even worse for him.

D-Day occurred in June, and Hitler gave his troops permission to withdraw from Normandy just days before the SS Richard Montgomery sank. Eileen states, "I can add two plus two and get five here, but the fact is: if they were transporting gas to Italy, why wouldn’t they bring it after D-Day? Hitler must have been in despair. If they were sending it to Italy thinking that Hitler would be desperate enough to use it, they must have had compelling reasons, and of course, logic suggests they would have acquired it for this part of Europe as well."

Plans are underway to remove the masts of the SS Richard Montgomery, which still rise above the waterline, to prevent them from collapsing onto the wreckage and causing an explosion. However, actions have been repeatedly postponed, and work is not expected to begin until next year. The U.S. government twice offered to secure the wreck—once in 1948 and again in 1967—but both times received refusals.

Eileen is trying to determine why the Montgomery is still at the bottom of the Thames, particularly where hundreds of vessels continue to pass.

A recent survey revealed additional signs of the vessel's collapse, all of which had been observed the previous year. The ship is slowly deteriorating, with a crack along the second cargo hold that has widened and lengthened by 37 cm since the last survey. Meanwhile, the back half of the "Doomsday" ship has "potentially split in two about halfway along its length," with a six-meter section of deck collapsing more than half a meter within a year.

A representative from the Department of Transport, the responsible ministry, responded to Mr. Eileen's concerns. They stated: "The SS Richard Montgomery is one of the most well-documented shipwrecks in the world. In the 80 years since its sinking, there has been no evidence that mustard gas was part of its cargo."

What is mustard gas (sulfur mustard)?

Sulfur mustard, also known as mustard gas or "Lost," is a chemical warfare agent with blistering properties.

It was synthesized by César de Pré in 1822 and (independently) by British scientist Frederick Guthrie in 1860.

The name "Lost" was derived from the surnames of scientists Wilhelm Lommel and Wilhelm Steinkopf, who developed a method for its industrial production for the German Imperial Army in 1916.

Mustard gas was first used by Germany on July 12, 1917, against Anglo-French troops during the Third Battle of Ypres, after which it became known as "iprit."

Mustard gas was also used by Italy during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War from 1935 to 1936 and during World War II.

The Bari Disaster

In December 1943, the American transport ship John Harvey, carrying bombs with mustard gas, was sunk by German air raids on the Italian city of Bari. As a result of the gas leak, many American sailors and local residents were poisoned, some fatally. A total of 25 ships sank during the raid.

Officially, 628 military personnel were hospitalized with symptoms of mustard gas poisoning after the sinking of the SS John Harvey, 83 of whom died from their injuries. No civilian casualties were recorded, but people died from mustard gas poisoning even a month after the shipwreck. Officially, data about the "Bari disaster" was declassified only in 1959.