MS BLENHEIM
[Sorry I don’t have a picture for this freighter]
------------------------------------------- T he MS Blenheim was a 5,097 gross ton freighter that was built in 1923 in Hamburg,
Germany and was taken over by the WSA [War Shipping Administration]...and being
operated by Waterman Steamship Co. The Blenheim’s home port was New Orleans, LA.
On November 17th 1944 the Blenheim, mastered by Axel Carl B. Lindgren, 37 crewmen,
and 18 U.S. Naval Armed Guard, sailed from New York to Antwerp, Belgium. On January 3rd
1945 the freighter tied up to Pier 123 in Antwerp and began discharging her 4,000 lbs of general
cargo.
The Blenheim stayed tied up to the Pier 123 after her discharge of cargo. On January 8th a
German V-2 rocket exploded on the quay about fifty feet off the starboard side. The explosion
caused extensive damaged to the ship.....The concussion broke and cracked all the bulkheads in
the cabins and forecastle, blew off or damaged the doors, broke water pipes, and ripped radiators
and bunks from the bulkheads.
The destruction from this explosion did not stop with the above....it also blew in all the
port holes, both port and starboard, wrecked the Armed Guards quarters and every cabin on the
starboard side, and destroyed three of the four life boats.
The blast injured twenty individuals....five of these were hospitalized for serious
injuries...but all survived.
It was reported that several U.S. Army personnel and 18 civilians were killed
Even with all the above damage the MS Blenheim returned to the U.S. under its own
power, she was repaired and returned to service.
-----------------------------------------------
Author: Bud Shortridge
Sources:
A Careless Word....A Needless Sinking
By: Captain Arthur R. Moore
U.S. Merchant Vessel War Casualties of World War II
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