Disaster as SS Paul Hamilton hit

20th April 1944: 580 men are blown to oblivion as a glider bomb hits the ammunition ship in the Mediterranean

The ammunition-laden Liberty ship SS Paul Hamilton is completely destroyed after being struck by a German aerial torpedo launched from a Junkers Ju 88A, 20th April 1944. Two other ships in the convoy are visible under the falling debris, giving a sense of the size of the explosion.

One of the iconic images of the war was the picture of the SS Paul Hamilton being blown up after being struck by a German glider bomb. It was used extensively during the war to illustrate the hazards of supplying the front lines by convoy. However, the authorities did not want the whole truth to be told and much of the story remained classified for the next fifty years. Many of the relatives of the men who died that night never lived long enough to learn the true circumstances of their fate.

None of the 8 officers, 39 crew, 29 armed guards from the Paul Hamilton, and 504 USAAF personnel aboard - including 154 officers and men of the 831st Bombardment Squadron and 317 officers and men of the 32nd Photo Reconnaissance Squadron - survived. Only one body was recovered.