SS Malakand (1919)

SS Malakand was a cargo liner built in 1919 for the Brocklebank Line. She was the second Brocklebank Line ship named after the Malakand area of the Indian subcontinent.

SS Malakand
 
Namesake: Malakand Agency
Owner: Brocklebank Line
Launched: 1919
Fate: Destroyed by explosion 4 May 1941
General characteristics
Type: Cargo liner

During World War II, Malakand was loaded with munitions at the Huskisson Dock in Liverpool, England, on the evening of 3 May 1941 during a heavy German air raid – a part of the city's "May Blitz" – when flames from dock sheds that had been bombed spread to her. The fire services could not contain the fire and on 4 May 1941, a few hours after the raid had ended, Malakand exploded, destroying the entire Huskisson No. 2 dock and killing four people. It took seventy-four hours for the fire to burn out.[1]

Although the Malakand explosion is often attributed to a burning barrage balloon, the fire the balloon started was put out before it could affect the ship.[1]

References

  1. "The Blitz on Merseyside". E. Chambré Hardman Archive. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2012.


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