HMS Breconshire

Breconshire in Grand Harbour, Malta
History
NameBreconshire
OwnerGlen Line
Port of registryLiverpool, England
BuilderTaikoo Dockyard & Engineering, Hong Kong
Launched2 February 1939
Identification
  • UK official number: 172758
  • Code letters: GSGF
FateSunk by Axis bombers, 27 March 1942
General characteristics
TypeCargo liner
Tonnage
Length483 ft (147.22 m)
Beam66 ft 4 in (20.22 m)
Draught30 ft 6 in (9.30 m)
Depth31 ft 2 in (9.50 m)
Decks2
Installed power2 × diesel engines (2,469 nhp)
Propulsion2 × screws
Speed14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)

MV Breconshire was a 9,776-gross register ton (GRT) cargo liner built in the late 1930s for the Glen Line. She was taken over by the Royal Navy during World War II as a supply ship and modified to carry fuel oil. The ship participated in many Malta convoys and was sunk by Axis bombers on 27 March 1942.

This ship was a former Holt liner converted to serve as a fast tanker. She was forced to beach due to damage sustained during a convoy run from Alexandria to Malta. Though the ship was put out of action, she was stranded high enough out of the water that some of her vital cargo of petroleum was salvaged.[1]


References

  1. ^ Mackay, Ron. (2005). Britain's Fleet Air Arm in World War II. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Military History. pp. 106–08. ISBN 0764321315. OCLC 58841715.