Portal:Malta/Showcased article/6

The SS Ohio was an oil tanker. When built for the Texas Oil Company (now Texaco), she was the largest oil tanker in the world. She was launched on April 20, 1940 at Sun Shipbuilding Yard in Chester, Pennsylvania, United States. SS Ohio was capable of doing over 16 knots (30 km/h) at sea.

Ohio was the most important survivor of Operation Pedestal, a convoy sent to Malta in August 1942 during the Second World War.

During the convoy's journey she was torpedoed by Italian submarine Axum and hit several times by bombs, and by a Junkers Ju 87 dive-bomber which crashed onto her deck. With a wrecked engine room and nearly broken in half, she was abandoned and reboarded twice but was eventually towed into Grand Harbour whilst sandwiched between two destroyers (HMS Penn and Ledbury) to deliver most of her original cargo of 12,000 tons of diesel and kerosene to the beleaguered island. Her captain, Dudley William Mason, was subsequently awarded the George Cross. After Ohio reached Malta, the ship broke in two from the damage it had sustained. There were insufficient shipyard facilities to repair the tanker, so the two halves were used for storage, and later barracks facilities for Yugoslavian troops. On 19 September 1946, the two halves were towed ten miles (16 km) off the coast, and sunk with naval gunfire. The aft section sank first, followed by the forward half. (more...)