SS Malakand, Huskisson Dock
4 May 1941 · Liverpool, Merseyside
View this record on the map →- Date
- 4 May 1941
- Record type
- Historic bombing site
- Bomb type
- HE
- Casualties
- 4
- Location
- Liverpool, Merseyside
- Position accuracy
- Confirmed event, landmark point
What happened
The Brocklebank cargo ship Malakand, loaded with about 1,000 tons of munitions, caught fire during the May Blitz while berthed in Huskisson Branch Dock No. 2. Hours after the raid ended her cargo detonated, destroying the entire branch dock.
Also worth knowing
Debris was thrown up to two and a half miles; a two-ton anchor landed a mile and a half away at Bootle General Hospital. Accounts of the cause differ — the Imperial War Museum's memorial record attributes the fire to a burning barrage balloon, while other accounts say that fire was put out and the ship was ignited by burning dock sheds.