SS Ohio (1940)

Ohio entering Grand Harbour in Malta lashed between two destroyers and a tugboat
History
NameOhio
Owner
OperatorEagle Oil & Shipping (1942–44)
Port of registry
BuilderSun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.
Yard number190
Laid down7 September 1939
Launched20 April 1940
CompletedJune 1940
AcquiredTransferred to MoWT 10 July 1942
Decommissioned15 August 1945
Identification
Nickname(s)"OH 10"
FateSunk by naval gunfire practice 19 September 1946
General characteristics
Class and typeSS Ohio
Tonnage
  • 1940–42: 9,625 GRT, 5,405 NRT
  • 1942–45: 9,514 GRT, 5,436 NRT
Length
  • 515 ft (157 m) o/a
  • 495.0 ft (150.9 m) p/p
Beam68.3 ft (20.8 m)
Depth36.2 ft (11.0 m)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 16 kn (30 km/h)
  • (sea trials 19 kn (35 km/h))
Complement77 men (24 DEMS gunners)
Armament

SS Ohio was an oil tanker built for The Texas Company (later Texaco). The ship was launched on 20 April 1940 at the Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. in Chester, Pennsylvania. The United Kingdom requisitioned it to re-supply the island fortress of Malta during the Second World War.[1]

The tanker played a key role in Operation Pedestal, which was one of the fiercest and most heavily contested of the Malta convoys, in August 1942.[2] Although Ohio reached Malta successfully, it was so badly damaged that it had to be effectively scuttled in order to offload its cargo, and never sailed again. The tanker is fondly remembered in Malta, where to this day it is considered the saviour of the beleaguered island.[3]

  1. ^ Holland, James (2005). Fortress Malta: An Island Under Siege, 1940–1943. Cassell Military. ISBN 0-304-36654-4.[page needed]
  2. ^ Spooner, Tony (1996). Supreme Gallantry: Malta's Role in the Allied Victory, 1939–1945. London.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)[page needed]
  3. ^ "Speech by HE Dr. George Hyzler, Acting President of Malta, on the Occasion of the 225th Anniversary of the American Independence". Retrieved 20 June 2007.