HMS ''Montford'' was one of 23 boats of the of

patrol boat A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval ship, naval vessel generally designed for Coastal defence and fortification, coastal defence, Border control, border security, or law ...

s built for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

in the 1950s. Their names were all chosen from villages ending in ''-ford''. This boat was named after

Montford, Shropshire Montford is a small village and parish in Shropshire, England. The village lies near the A5 road, on the north bank of the River Severn and is 3 miles north-west of the town of Shrewsbury. At the parish church of St Chad, Robert Waring Darw ...

. She was launched on 10 October 1957 and sold to

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

on 9 September 1966. Renamed NNS ''Ibadan'', she was captured at the declaration of independence of

Biafra Biafara Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicized as Biafra ( ), officially the Republic of Biafra, was a List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, partially recognised state in West Africa that declared independence from Nigeria ...

by independentists in

Calabar Calabar (also referred to as Callabar, Calabari, Calbari, Cali and Kalabar) is the capital city of Cross River State, Nigeria. It was originally named Akwa Akpa, in the Efik language, as the Efik people dominate this area. The city is adjac ...

. She saw action as BNS ''Vigilance'' during

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Biafran War, Nigeria-Biafra War, or Biafra War, was fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a Secession, secessionist state which had declared its independen ...

and was sunk on 9 October 1967 at

Port Harcourt Port Harcourt (Pidgin: ''Po-ta-kot or Pi-ta-kwa)'' is the capital and largest city of Rivers State in Nigeria. It is the fifth most populous city in Nigeria after Lagos, Kano, Ibadan and Benin. It lies along the Bonny River and is locate ...

References

Ford-class seaward defence boats Royal Navy ship names 1957 ships Nigerian Civil War Patrol vessels of the Nigerian Navy {{UK-mil-ship-stub