Bought some ordinary HMSO WWII publications, partly because they included a photo of HMS Volage in Malta in 1946 (bow blown off after hitting a mine). Just opened East of Malta, West of Suez to check condition prior to listing on Ebay, only to find several more original photos, some stamped Fleet Photographic Office Fort Ricasoli Malta. Photos appear to be of SS Ohio in 1946 (what was left of her) including being towed out of harbour to be sunk by shellfire!
Is there a reason you're telling us....other than that I want to know more? I just bought a whole group of photos of a non-navy ship with similar war damage issues. I am a Navy guy and so I am interested in such things especially ships in 'Dazzle' paint. (camo today, though a waste of paint with present technology)
"Although Ohio reached Malta successfully, she was so badly damaged that she had to be effectively scuttled in order to offload her cargo, and never sailed again. The tanker is fondly remembered in Malta, where to this day she is considered to be the savior of the beleaguered island."
Was going to post it in hidden gems in auction box lots, but that's in the silver forum! Was trying to make sense of the photos but think that we have Salventure RFA tug, SS Ohio with back broken in harbour (close up), photos of the two halves being separately towed out to sea and a final photo of what looks like two halves together with explosions. No dazzle paint!
Hi! I think it would be rare, if at all, that a Merchant Marine ship would have had dazzle paint as the company would likely have had to bear that cost. Seems Lloyd's would prefer that, maybe a discount, but I don't know if insurance covered wartime sailing. MM dazzle painted ships are something I will have to watch for but had I seen any I would have them. What are you going to do with the photos? ~ p.s. "In 1940, while escorting a convoy, Lord Mountbatten of the British Royal Navy noted that one ship in the group vanished from view much earlier than the remainder. The ship, a Union-Castle liner, was painted lavender mauve grey. Mountbatten thus became convinced of the colour's effectiveness as a camouflage during dawn and dusk, often dangerous times for ships, and had all of the destroyers of his flotilla painted with a similar pigment, which he created by mixing a medium grey with a small amount of Venetian Red. By early 1941, several other ships began using the same camouflage, though no formal testing was done to determine how well it worked. A later refinement of the basic Mountbatten Pink camouflage was the use of a slightly lighter tone of the same colour for the upper structures of the ship. By the end of 1942, however, all vessels of destroyer size and larger had dispensed with Mountbatten Pink, although it is believed that smaller vessels retained this colour until well into 1944. The primary problem with Mountbatten pink was that it stood out around midday, when the sky was no longer pink, and the traditional battleship grey was much less visible. The US Navy had experimented with a similar shade of paint as well, and at least one ship, the USS Winslow, received such a paint job. The Kriegsmarine likewise experimented with a light pink shade. The Royal Navy prisoner interrogation report of crew rescued from S 147, a Schnellboot sunk in the English Channel in April 1944, states the boat's overall pink shade was effective."
HMS Volage is on Ebay already otherwise I would have posted an image . Not sure yet what to do with others, dont know how rare the images are, probably an international auction? There's a lot of history with these
I think most may have little interest unless there was a family connection to a ship. My Merchant Marine Uncle was in convoys in WWII....in the engine room. If a ship was hit by torpedo these guys didn't often get out. He came home. The SS Ohio could be hot although, maybe..., you could offer them to a museum in Malta......
Well, emailed Heritage Malta, will await their response. I'm guessing they should have plenty of like material but who knows. We once had a print of the burials of the Royal Charter shipwreck off Moelfre. Turned out that it was previously unknown so it went to Oriel Ynys Môn.
Well, no reply from Heritage Malta, always disappointing when you try to do the right thing. Their loss, my gain. Will auction these on Ebay instead.
Sometimes ya' just gotta wonder..... An example>>>>> I have home movies shot by one of the build crew on the Spirit if St. Louis...yes...in 1926-27...THAT plane....yes...I do. There are 11 of at least 12 reels he shot. In these films there is one with Lindbergh climbing on the frame like it's monkey bars. There is a S of SL test flight, 'Wrong Way' Corrigan, parades and auto racing. ~ Now...his wood sculptor grandson, Erik, lives right here on Vashon Island in Puget Sound off Seattle. At a Pacific Science Center event for Gene Cernan he was a guest. I was able to speak with his wife and I explained to her what I had and thought he should know and want to see them.... Never heard a thing.
They are! I have been terrified for years that if I had them converted that whoever did it would copy them. I have wanted to make a DVD but each time I broach the idea people don't respond or not well. I have even spoken to one of the Boeing flight museum directors and zippo. I have talked with Bonham's about them and they want me to send them to NY for them to look at...ummmm.....no.
Just a thought. Obviously those are important films that need to be preserved and deserve a wider viewing. Is this a situation where the rights to the films could be sold or leased to a commercial company who could then arrange for preservation, duplication onto hard drive and worldwide commercial access via streaming etc. You lose the exclusive access but you'd gain an income source? I'm not an expert in that field but have always believed that people value something more when either they can't have it or they have to pay for it!
Hi! I have found the photos I was speaking of in regard to this post. I got these about a month ago and as I researched I learned much more! This ship, SS Peter White, was a Liberty Ship. She was launched 23 October 1943 and 'struck' a mine in Leyte ,a month before the battle, on 9/27/45. It doesn't seem to have been a contact mine because, despite all the damage, nothing was blown away. She was scrapped in 1949. ~ She is in floating drydock U.S.S. ABSD-1, which was commissioned May 10th 1943 at Everett, WA., with CAPT. A.R. Mack, USN, in command. Guess where I live...
