''Magd'' was a tanker that was built by Sir J. Laing & Sons in 1943 as ''Empire Gain'' for the

Ministry of War Transport The Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) was a department of the British Government formed early in the Second World War to control transportation policy and resources. It was formed by merging the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Transpor ...

. She was sold to the Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Co. Ltd. in 1946 and renamed ''Barbatia''. Sold to Shell Tankers Ltd in 1955, she was seized by Egypt in November 1956 during the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...

. Allocated to the Egyptian General Petroleum Organisation in 1956, she was renamed ''Magd''. In 1961, she was allocated to the United Arab Maritime Co. ''Magd'' was attacked and sunk by Israeli aircraft on 8 June 1967 during the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

. Her wreck was cleared in 1975.

Description

The ship was long overall ( between perpendiculars) with a beam of . She had a depth of and a draught of . She was powered by two

two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes of the piston, one up and one down, in one revolution of the crankshaft in contrast to a four-stroke engine which re ...

single acting

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

s. Each had three cylinders of diameter by stroke and was rated at 516 nhp. The engines were built by

William Doxford & Sons William Doxford & Sons Ltd, often referred to simply as Doxford, was a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British shipbuilder, shipbuilding and marine engineering company. History William Doxford founded the company in 1840. From 18 ...

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

. She was assessed at , , .

History

''Empire Gain'' was a tanker built by Sir J. Laing & Sons Ltd, Sunderland. For the

. She was launched on 17 June 1943 and completed in September. She was operated under the management of the Hadley Shipping Co. Ltd. Her port of registry was Sunderland. The

Code Letters Code letters or ship's call sign (or callsign) Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853"> SHIPSPOTTING.COM >> Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853/ref> were a method of identifying ships before the introduction of modern navigation aids. Later, with the introduction of ...

GBYV and United Kingdom Official Number 169121 were allocated. In 1946, ''Empire Gain'' was sold to the Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Co. Ltd. and was renamed ''Barbita''. She was sold to Shell Tankers Ltd. in 1955, and was operated under the management of Shell Petroleum Co. Ltd. In November 1956, ''Barbita'' was seized by Egypt during the

. In 1957, ''Barbita'' was allocated to the Egyptian General Petroleum Organisation and was renamed ''Magd''. The Code Letters SUBM were allocated. She was allocated to the United Arab Maritime Co. in 1961. She was attacked and sunk at the southern end of the Suez Canal by Israeli aircraft on 8 June, during the

German floating cranes raise ship in the Suez Canal 1974

Her wreck was cleared by the

salvage ship A salvage tug, also known historically as a wrecking tug, is a specialized type of tugboat that is used to rescue ships that are in distress or in danger of sinking, or to salvage ships that have already sunk or run aground. Overview Few tugbo ...

s ''Roland'' and ''Thor'' in 1974 as part of the operation to reopen the canal. ''Magd'' lay on her starboard side at a position from

Port Said Port Said ( , , ) is a port city that lies in the northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, straddling the west bank of the northern mouth of the Suez Canal. The city is the capital city, capital of the Port S ...

. The wreck was cut in two by explosives on 6 November. The stern section was removed on 14 November and the bow section on 23 November. The work was carried out by the Murphy Pacific Marine Salvage Company under the direction of the Supervisor of Salvage,

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

References

Sources

* {{1967 shipwrecks 1943 ships Magd Magd Magd Magd Magd Magd Magd Magd Magd Magd Magd