Based on a modified mercantile design, five of the class were completed as merchant vessels after the war's end.

Following setbacks in the Pacific theatre of operations which led to the loss of naval bases, the Royal Navy required more depot and repair ships for the fleet to replace shore facilities.

[1] As part of the war construction programme, the Royal Navy ordered a series of vessels based on standard mercantile designs and modified them to fit their expected roles.

[1] The Beachy Head class, ordered from a series of Canadian shipbuilders, was based on the Fort ship, but of the "Victory" type layout.

[8] The stern of Cape Breton was scrapped at the North Vancouver, British Columbia waterfront in 2014 despite protests,[9] the rest of the ship having been sunk as an artificial reef.