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Operation Pedestal - Convoy WS. 5. 21. S

Ohio enters Grand Harbour

To say the Pedestal Convoy was important would be a gross understatement. Malta was virtually out of ammunition, fuel & supplies.
Had this convoy been destroyed it would have meant the surrender of Malta to Axis forces. Fuel was down to a critical level & aircraft would have been grounded giving no fighter air protection.
Everything was put into this convoy as a maximum effort to re-supply Malta.
Axis forces similarly put everything into sinking it before it reached Malta. The Italians even tried new weapons such as radio controlled flying bombs & circling aerial torpedoes.
This later weapon would be dropped by aircraft. On hitting the water they would not go in a straight course but circle until they hit a target or ran out of fuel.
The Luftwaffe brought aircraft from as far away as France to attack the convoy.

I would strongly recommend Peter C. Smith's work - Pedestal - The Malta Convoy of August 1942.
A website such as this has constraints & hopefully those interested will go out & buy a few books to get a fuller picture.

Merchant Ships taking part in Pedestal Convoy Commodore A.G.Venables R.N. (retired)
Almeria Lykes 7,773 tons Captain W.Henderson	Almeria Lykes taken 16th May 1942.	Cargo - Ammunition & military equipment surrounded by 9,700 tons of general cargo. Another hold held bombs. She was torpedoed by (possibly) the German E boats S 30 & S 36 in the E boat zone between Pantelleria Island & Kelibia. She was abandoned but remained afloat for awhile. Some of the crew reboarded to set scuttling charges but these failed to sink her. The destroyer Somali tried to sink the ship by gunfire but failed.
Brisbane Star 12,791 tons Captain F.N.Riley	Photo courtesy of Tony Jones - www.rhiw.com	Hit in the bow by torpedo from an Italian aircraft (SM79) & stopped but managed to get under way again. The Captain followed the coast of Tunisia to hide the ships silhouette.
Clan Ferguson 7,347 tons Captain A.N.Cossar Armaments: 1 x 4" gun, 2 x 40mm, 8 x 20mm.		Hit by aerial torpedo from an Italian aircraft (SM79) on the 13th. The burning ship was finally sunk by the Italian submarine Bronzo which fired a single torpedo, blowing her bows off.
Deucalion 7,516 tons Captain R.Brown Armaments: 1 x 4·7" gun, 2 x 40mm, 6 x 20mm & 4 depth charges.		Cargo - aviation spirit. Hit 12th August following a massed attack by Italian aircraft. The destroyer HMS Bramham was detailed to guard the vessel & they slowly set off for the African coast hoping to sneak eastwards without being observed. At sunset on the 12th she was found by two Heinkels & torpedoed. She sank & all crew were transferred to HMS Bramham.
Empire Hope 12,688 tons Captain G.Williams Armaments: 1 x 4·7" gun, 1 x 40mm, 6 x 20mm & 4 depth charges.		Hit by enemy aircraft at 20.50 (2 bombs) 13th August & set ablaze. One bomb penetrated No.4 hold which contained explosives. Fire spread to high octane aircraft fuel. She had a 15' hole in her side. The fire was reported as being a 'beacon until nearly midnight' when an Italian submarine finished her off. HMS Penn tried to rescue the crew from the burning sea.
Dorset 10,624 tons Captain J.C.Tuckett Armaments: 1 x 4" gun, 1 x 40mm, 6 x 20mm & 2 depth charges.		Hit by dive bombers in No.4 hold. A large fire ensued in the cargo of high octane. The ship was abandoned & the crew picked up by Bramham.It was intended to scuttle the ship but the charges were in the flooded area of the ship. She was reboarded with a view to attaching a tow but the fire had taken control of the ship & the idea was abandoned. She was hit by 2 bombs in seperate attacks & started to go down by the stern.
Glenorchy 8,982 tons Captain G.Leslie Armaments: 1 x 4" gun, 2 x 40mm, 6 x 20mm, & 3 depth charges		Cargo - Aviation fuel. Hit by 2 torpedoes off Keriba light, Tunisia by Italian motor torpedo boat Ms 31. The ship was sunk.
Melbourne Star 12,806 tons Captain D.R.Macfarlane	Photo courtesy of Tony Jones - www.rhiw.com	Cargo - 1,350 tons high octane spirit, 700 tons kerosene, 1,450 tons high explosive shell & heavy oil. She was following the Waimarama when this ship was bombed & sank. Parts of this striken ship showered down on her including steel plates 5 feet long & a shell which penetrated the captaions cabin. One of her kerosene tanks ignited as she sailed through the burning sea.
Ohio 9,514 tons Captain D.Mason Armaments: 1 x 5" gun, 1 x 3" gun, 1 x 40mm, 6 x 20mm.	Ohio discharging oil at Malta after Operation Pedestal.	Ohio started the convoy with 13,000 tons of petroleum products. Hit by torpedo from the Italian submarine Axum on the 12th. Nearing Malta she was again bombed with one Ju 87 crashing nearby & bouncing onto the deck remained there. A Ju 88 hit by gunfire crashed into the sea & slid into the side of the Ohio. The explosion blew out the boilers & she was adrift. With engines stopped Penn tried to tow the 30,000 ton ship but it broke the tow line. Rye took up the tow with Penn acting as steer at the stern. This didn't work so Rye continued to tow from the front & Penn & Ledbury lashed themselves either side of Ohio. Rye lost the towing wire so Penn & Ledbury had to maneuver the crippled ship into Grand Harbour.
Port Chalmers 8,535 tons Captain H.G.Pinkey Armaments: 1 x 4" gun, 2 x 40mm, 6 x 20mm.		Survived the convoy & made it to Malta.
Rochester Castle 7,795 tons Captain R.Wren		Hit by torpedo probably from Italian motor torpedo boat Ms 26 above the bilge keel in No.3 hold off the Tunisian coast near Keribia light. Damage caused a hole 25 x 18' in her side.
Santa Elisa 8,379 tons Captain T.Thompson	Santa Elisa taken 17th January 1942.	Cargo - Aviation fuel. Hit by torpedo from Italian motor torpedo boat Mas. 564 in the E boat zone between Panteleria Island & Keribia. This resulted in the ship burning & sinking. Later bombed by a single Ju 88 where the ship caught fire with many explosions.
Waimarama 12,843 tons Captain R.S.Pearce	Waimarama on fire & sinking during Pedestal.	Bombed by Ju 88's where one aircraft scored 4 hits out of five bombs dropped. The deck cargo was petrol stowed in tins & the ship quickly set alight & shortly after sank. One of the aircraft was caught in the blast & disintegrated in mid air. Thirty three of the ships crew were rescued from the firey water by Ledbury. In all 87 of the crews company were lost.
Wairangi 12,400 tons Captain H.R.Gordon Armaments: 1 x 6" gun, 1 x 40mm, 6 x 20mm & 3 depth charges.		Torpedoed by Italian motor torpedo boats Mas. 552 & 554 (probably both) in the E boat zone between Pantelleria Island & Kiribia. The engines stopped. Despite valliant efforts to get them going again it was not possible & it was decided to scuttle her with charges but this had little effect & some of the crew reboarded & broke the water cooling pipe in the engine room & opened water tight doors. She eventually sank.

Royal Navy Ships taking part in Pedestal Vice Admiral Sir E.Neville Syfret CB. Pedestal was a complex operation involving many groups of ships which were called 'Forces'. These were broken up into:- Force F The entire convoy force. Force P The group from loading in the UK to the rendezvous point. Force M Part of Force P but included the carriers Victorious & Argus + escort ships. Force J The carrier Eagle + escort ships from Gibraltar to rendezvous point. Force K The carrier Indomitable + escort ships from Freetown to rendezvous. Force G Carriers + escort ships after rendezvous for Operation Berserk which was basically a training exercise for a group of carriers & escorts. Force R Re-fueling tankers commonly called oilers + escort ships. Force W Part of the Berserk operation comprising the oiler Abbeydale & escorts. Force X Close escort up to Malta. Force Y Harpoon convoy & escort on return from Malta to Gibraltar. Return trip named Operation Ascendant. Force Z The entire convoy (Force F) minus Force X. Operation Bellows - A subsidiary operation which included Aircraft carrier HMS Furious & destroyers HMS Lightning & HMS Lookout. The purpose of this operation was to fly off 41 Spitfires from an area south of Ibiza to Malta long range. One was faulty which made 41 flown off between 12.29 & 1.09 hrs. Another flight left between 1.47 & 3.12hrs. 38 Spitfires were flown off but one had problems with the propeller & landed on Indomitable. She returned to Gibraltar dry dock & on the 17th was at sea again despatching another 23 Spitfires for Malta.
Force Z Detached from the convoy 18.55 on the 12th & turned to cruise off the North African coast in readiness should the Italian fleet sail down to join the battle. The next day Indomitable, Rodney, Ithuriel, Amazon, Antelope, Westcott, Wishart & Zetland made for Gibraltar.
	Battleships
Nelson		Vice Admiral Sir E.Neville Syfret, CB. Captain H.B.Jacomb
Rodney		Captain J.W.Rivett-Carnac, DSC
	Aircraft Carriers
Victorious		Flag R/Admiral A/C's, Home Fleet, Rear Admiral Sir A.L.St. A.Lyster, CB Captain H.C.Bovell
Indomitable	Heavily damaged on the 12th by Stuka's flown by Italian pilots	Rear Admiral D.W.Boyde, OBE, DSC. Captain T.H.Troubridge
Eagle	Hit on the port side by 4 torpedoes from U 73 & sank within 6 minutes. Survivors included 67 officers & 862 ratings. The ship sailed with a complement of 1,160.	Captain L.D.Mackintosh, DSC
Furious	See above - Operation Bellows.	Captain T.O.Bulteel
	Light Cruisers
Phoebe		Captain C.P.Frend
Sirius		Captain P.W.B.Brooking
Charybdis		Captain G.A.W.Voelcker
	Destroyers
Antelope		Lieutenant Commander E.N.Sinclair
Eskimo		Commander E.G.Le.Geyt, DSC
Ithuriel		Lieutenant Commander D.H.Maitland-Makfill-Crichton, DSC
Laforey	Picked up survivors from HMS Eagle.	Captain (D), 19th DF; Captain R.M.J.Hutton
Lightning		Commander H.G.Walters, DSC
Lookout	Picked up survivors from HMS Eagle.	Lieutenant Commander C.P.F.Brown
Quintin		Lieutenant Commander A.H.P.Noble, DSC
Somali		Commander E.N.V.Currey, DSC
Tartar	Sank Foresight by torpedoes after trying to tow her to Gibraltar. See Foresight.	Commander St.J.R.J.Tyrwhitt, DSC
Vansittart		Lieutenant Commander T.Johnston, DSC
Wishart		Commander H.G.Scott
Westcott		Commander I.H.Bockett-Pugh, DSO
Wrestler		Lieutenant R.W.B.Lacon, DSC
Wilton	Detached from Force Z on the 12th to join Force X on the return to Gibraltar.	Lieutenant A.P.Northey, DSC
Zetland		Lieutenant J.V.Wilkenson

Force X
	Light Cruisers
Nigeria - Flagship	Torpedoed on the 12th by the Italian submarine Axum. She was heavily damaged & returned to Gibraltar with escorts Wilton & Bicester. The flag was transferred to Aschanti.	Rear Admiral, 10th C.S.: Rear Admiral H.M.Burrough, CB, DSO
Kenya	Hit by 1 torpedo from the Italian submarine Alagi on the 13th.	Captain A.S.Russell
Manchester	Hit by torpedoes from Italian motor torpedo boats Ms 16 & Ms 22 near Kelibia light, Tunisia on the 13th. Eventually the ship was scuttled & sank. Most of the surviving crew were interned by the French.	Captain H.Drew, DSC
Cairo	Crippled she was left to be sunk by Pathfinder who fired 4 torpedoes. Only one hit due to faults in the torpedoes. This failed & she was depth charged without success. Pathfinder returned to the convoy & left Derwent to finish off the job by gunfire. She sank on the evening of 13th August	Acting Captain C.C.Hardy, DSO
	Destroyers
Ashanti	The flag was transferred to Aschanti following the return to Gibraltar of Nigeria.	Captain (D) 6th DF; Commander R.G.Onslow, DSO
Bicester		Lieutenant Commander S.W.F.Bennets
Bramham		Lieutenant E.F.Baines
Derwent	Finished off the crippled Cairo with gunfire. Then joined the convoy back to Gibraltar.	Commander R.H.Wright, DSC
Foresight	Hit by torpedo near the steering compartment which broke her back. Tartar was detached to escort her. After many attacks the foresight was unmanoeverable & low in the water. I was decided that Tartar should finish her off with torpedoes which she did.	Lieutenant Commander R.A.Fell
Fury		Lieutenant Commander C.H.Campbell, DSC
Icarus		Lieutenant Commander C.D.Maud, DSC
Intrepid		Commander E.A.de.W.Kitcat
Ledbury		Lieutenant Commander R.P.Hill
Pathfinder	Detailed to sink the crippled Cairo but failed.	Commander E.A.Gibbs, DSO
Penn		Lieutenant Commander J.H.Swain

Force Y This was formerly the Harpoon convoy which was returning from Malta through the Sicilian Channel to Gibraltar. Arrived Gibraltar 14th August after a skirmish with Italian destroyer Malocello.

	Destroyers
Badsworth		Lieutenant G.T.S.Gray, DSC
Matchless		Lieutenant Commander J.Mowlam
	Merchant Ships
Orari
Troilus

Force R

	Corvettes
Coltsfoot		Temp-Lieutenant The Hon. W.K.Rous RNVR
Geranium		Temp-Lieutenant Commander A.Foxall, RNR
Jonquil		Lieutenant Commander R.E.H.Partington RNR
Salvonia		Temp-Lieutenant G.M.M.Robinson
Spirea		Lieutenant Commander R.S.Miller, DSC, RD, RNR
	Fleet Tankers (Oilers)
Brown Ranger		Master D.B.C.Ralph
Dingledale		Master R.T.Duthie
	Tug
Jaunty	Later sent back to join the fueling force do to only being able to do 12 knots. Picked up survivors from HMS Eagle.	Lieutenant Commander H.Osburn, OBE, RNR
	Aircraft Carrier
Argus	Attached for Operation Berserk	Captain G.T.Philip, DSC

Force sent from Gibraltar to escort HMS Furious back after Operation Bellows

	Destroyers
Amazon		Lieutenant Commander Lord Teynham
Keppel		Commander J.E.Broome
Malcolm	Took survivors from HMS Eagle back to Gibraltar.	Commander A.B.Russell
Venemous		Commander H.W.Falcon-Steward
Wolverine	Rammed the Italian Submarine Dagabur on the night of 11/12th & was damaged in the bow. Returned to Gibraltar escorted by corvettes Burdock & Armeria sent from Gibraltar.	Lieutenant Commander Gretton
Vidette		Lieutenant Commander E.N.Walmsley, DSC

Malta Escort Force

	17th Minesweeping Flotilla
Hebe		Lieutenant Commander G.Mowatt, RD, RNVR
Hythe		Lieutenant Commander L.B.Miller
Rye		Lieutenant J.A.Pearson, DSC, RNR
Speedy		Lietenant Commander A.E.Doran (S.E Acting Commander)
	3rd Motor Launch Flotilla
ML 121	Sent out from Malta to aid the Ohio, taking off injured crewmen.	Lieutenant Commander E.J.Strowlger, RNVR, (S.O)
ML 126
ML 134
ML 135
ML 168	Sent out from Malta to aid the Ohio. Damaged by air attack & returned to Malta.
ML 459
ML 462
10th Submarine Flotilla (Malta)	Submarines	S.O.Captain G.W.G.Simpson
Otus	At the time of Pedestal this submarine was going back to Gibraltar after delivering vital spares & petrol to Malta.	Lieutenant-Commander J.W.Collett
Safari		Commander B.Bryant, DSC
Unbroken	Torpedoed the Italian cruiser Bolzano which ran ashore on the Island of Panarea, later to be refloated & taken to Naples.	Lieutenant A.C.G.Mars
Uproar		Lieutenant J.B.Kershaw, DSO
Ultimatum		Lieutenant P.R.Harrison, DSC
Unruffled		Lieutenant J.S.Stevens, DSO, DSC
Utmost		Lieutenant A.W.Langridge
United		Lieutenant T.E.Barlow
Una	Carried a raiding party which was put ashore to attack Catania on the night of 11/12th. All the landing party were captured but managed to cut communications between Syracuse & Catania.	Lieutenant D.S.R.Martin
P 222	Sunk in another operation by the Italian torpedo boat Fortunale 12th December 1942 while attacking a convoy.	Lieutenant Commander A.J.Mackenzie

Axis Ships taking part in Operation Pedestal.

	Heavy Cruisers
Bolzano	Torpedoed by British submarine Unbroken. Ran ashore on the Island of Panarea but later refloated & taken to Naples. The ship was never completely repaired before the end of the war & was destroyed in the dock.	Capitano di Vascello Mario Mezzadra
Gorizia
Trieste
	Light Cruisers
Muzio Attendolo	Torpedoed by Unbroken in the same attack as the Bolzano. It blew 60 feet off the bows but the ship managed to reach Messina under her own steam. The ship was never completely repaired before the end of the war & was destroyed in the dock.	Capitano di Vascello Mario Schiavuta
	Destroyers
Camicia Nera

 

Based between Algiers & Majorca	Submarines
Brin	Departed Cagliari. Attacked 30 miles north-west of Algiers but survived.	Tenente di Vascello Luigi Andreotti
Dagabur 700 ton built in 1937 & based at Cagliari.	Rammed by HMS Wolverine 37°18'N, 01°551'E. No survivors were picked up.	Tenente di Vascello Renato Pecori
Giada	Depth charged by a Sunderland - TK7R from Gibraltar. Later on surfacing it was attacked by another Sunderland - TK7C but shot the aircraft down, managing to reach Valencia.	Tenente di Vascello Gaspare Cavallina
Uarsciek
Wolframio
U 73 750 ton, type VIIB U boat based at Spezia.		Kapitänleutnant Helmut Rosenbaum
U 205	Depth charged by Pathfinder & Zetland 11.35hrs on the 12th but escaped to undergo repairs.	Kapitänleutnant Franz-Georg Rerchke
Stationed between the Fratelli Rocks to the far north approach to the Skerki Narrows.
Alagi	Fired 4 torpedoes at Kenya, 1 hit the target in the stern.	Tenenta di Vascello Sergio Puccini
Ascianghi	Sunk 23rd March 1943 by British destroyers Laforey & Eclipse after surfacing.
Avorio	Depth charged but escaped to lie up for 5 hours. On surfacing the convoy had disapearred.	Tenente di Vascello Mario Priggione
Axum Based at Cagliari	Made a successful attack on the 12th & fired 4 torpedoes which all hit targets - Nigeria, Cairo (2 torpedoes), & Ohio. All came to a halt.	Tenente di Vascello Renato Ferrini
Bronzo	Finished off the burning Clan Ferguson on the 13th with 1 torpedo.	Tenente di Cascello Cesare Buldrini
Cobalto 750 tons. Based at Cagliari. Photos of this sinking can be found in the book 'Pedestal' by Peter Smith.	Depth charged by Ithuriel on the 12th the submarine broke surface & was rammed by Ithuriel. Survivors picked up were 3 officers including the captain & 38 ratings. HMS Ithuriel ramming Italian submarine Cobalto.	Tenente di Vascello Raffaele Amicarelli
Dandolo		Tenente di Vascello Giovanni Febbraro
Dessié Based at Trapani		Tenente di Vascello Renato Scandola
Emo	Scuttled following an at attack by the armed trawler Lord Nuffield during follow up landings of Operation Torch 1942 - The allied landing in Algeria. Surfaced due to engine failure & fought with deck guns.	Tenente di Vascello Giuseppe Franco
Granito	Fired 4 torpedoes at Aschanti on the return to Gibraltar as part of Force X near Fratelli Rocks but all missed. Turning to escape it fired 2 more torpedoes from the stern tubes which failed to hit anything. Granito was sunk by Saracen off north-west Sicily 9th November 1942.	Tenente di Vascello Sposito
Otaria	Reports suggest this submarine was off the coast of Algeria in August 1942 but returned to Cagliari & then onto Taranto for a refit. Following the Italian surrender it eventually returned to Taranto where it was used as a target ship eventually being scrapped.
Stationed to the west of Malta
Asteria
Italian 18th Squadron	Motor Torpedo Boats
Ms 16	Torpedoed Manchester near Kelibia Light	Capitano di Corvetta Giogio Manuti
Ms 22	Torpedoed Manchester near Kelibia Light	Sottotenente di Vascello Franco Mezzadra
Ms 23		Sottotenente di Vascello Patrone
Ms 25		Tenente di Vascello Le Pera
Ms 26	Thought to have hit Rochester Castle with 1 torpedo off Keribia light.	Sottotenente di Vascello Bencini
Ms 31	Torpedoed Glenorchy off Keriba light with 2 torpedoes	Tenente di Vascello Antonio Calvani
Italian 20th Squadron
Mas. 552	Torpedoed Wairangi in the E boat zone between Pantelleria Island & Keribia. Mas 553 may have also been in on this attack.	Sottotenente di Vascello Perasso
Mas. 553	Reported torpedoing a tanker. Santa Elisa was the probable target still burning from a previous attack.	Tenente di Vascello Paolizza
Mas. 554		Sottotenente di Vascello Calcagno
Mas. 556	Claimed a torpedo hit near Kelibia light off the Tunisian coast but no hit was recorded by allied ships.	Tenente di Vascello Luii Sala
Mas. 557	Fired torpedo at Santa Elisa in the E boat zone between Pantelleria Island & Keribia but missed.	Guarda-Marina Cafiero Battista
Mas. 564	Torpedoed & sank Santa Elisa in the E boat zone between Pantelleria Island & Keribia.	Tenenti di Vascelle Iafrate
German E Boats
S 30	Torpedoed Almeria Lykes between Pantelleria & Kebilia.	Oberleutnant zur See Weber
S 36	Torpedoed Almeria Lykes between Pantelleria & Kebilia.	Oberleutnant zur See Brauns
S 59	Reported hitting a tanker with 2 torpedoes in the Kelibia area but no tanker reported being hit in this area.	Oberleutnant zur See Albert Muller

Kelibia Light - This was a lighthouse on the Tunisian coast. As Tunisia was neutral the lighthouse was kept running, casting a powerful light out to
sea & illuminating the darkened allied ships giving axis boats a clear target. This was known as an E boat area & stretched from Kelibia on the Tunisian coast to the
Italian held island of Pantelleria

Convoy MG 3

This was a diversionary convoy sent out from Haifa & Port Said in the eastern Mediterranean. The purpose was to sail to Alexandria & try to lure the Italian
fleet away from Pedestal. Also the Luftwaffe on Crete would be diverted in this direction to take some pressure off Pedestal. In fact the aircraft had already
been deployed in other areas & the Italian fleet stayed in harbour.
This operation joined up on the 11th & steamed westwards until dusk when they turned round & headed back eastwards.
Commanding Officer - Rear-Admiral Sir Philip Vain

Sailing from Port Said - Dusk 10th August

	Cruisers
Arethusa
Euryalus
	Destroyers
Aldenham
Beaufort
Dulverton
Eridge
Hursley
Hurworth
Jervis
Kelvin
Pakenham
Paludin
	Escorts
Antwerp
Hyacinth
	Merchant Ships
3 ships

Sailing from Haifa - 03.00hrs 11th August

	Cruisers
Cleopatra
Dido
	Destroyers
Javelin
Sikh
Zulu
	Merchant Ships
One ship

The arrival of Pedestal.

Operation Ceres - This was the mobilisation of dockyard workers to unload all merchant ships on arrival as fast as possible.

Photo courtesy of Paul Lazell.

Rochester Castle - Was the first of the merchant ships to arrive in Malta on the 13th August.

....oooOOOooo....

Melbourne Star - followed on the 13th.

MV. Melbourne Star enters Grand Harbour, Valletta, August 1942. Photo courtesy of Llyn Ruddock. Signatures around the edges are from those serving on the vessel.

Photo courtesy of Paul Lazell.

....oooOOOooo....

Port Chalmers - On entering harbour she was flying the flag of the convoy commodore.

Although this photo & the one to the right were labelled 'Melbourne Star' It's possible this ship is Port Chalmers. Photo courtesy of Paul Lazell.

See caption on left Photo courtesy of Paul Lazell.

....oooOOOooo....

Brisbane Star - followed at about 15.15 on the 14th

Brisbane Star enters Grand Harbour during Pedestal.

Brisbane Star taken after Pedestal. Note the bows which have been repaired with a shortened bow section. She is high in the water & this may have been taken after repair work was completed.

Link: http://www.maltaconvoyaug42.freewebspace.com/brisbanestar.html

....oooOOOooo....

Ohio - was the last merchant ship to arrive on the 15th. She had been badly damaged & near to sinking. Under tow from HMS Rye & lashed each side by
HMS Penn & HMS Bramham.
After the cargo was unloaded she was moored in Rinella Bay where she broke in two & sank in shallow water. Each section was made watertight. One half was used for
storage & the other as a base for small units of the navy.
On the 19th September 1946 the fore part was towed to a point ten miles off Grand Harbour & sunk by gunfire from HMS Virago. Two weeks later the stern half was
sunk by explosive charges.

First attempt to tow Ohio from HMS Penn on the 13th August. Photo shown in the Malta Aviation Museum taken onboard Penn by Lesley David Winston Rees

References - Literature:

Pedestal. The Malta Convoy of August 1942. Second revision 1987. Peter C. Smith

Links - Websites:

http://www.maltaconvoyaug42.freewebspace.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Pedestal