Malay
| Name | Malay | ||
| Type: | Steam tanker | ||
| Tonnage | 8.206 tons | ||
| Completed | 1921 - Northwest Bridge & Iron Co, Portland OR | ||
| Owner | Marine Transport Lines Inc, New York | ||
| Homeport | Wilmington | ||
| Date of attack | 19 Jan, 1942 | Nationality:  American | |
| Fate | Damaged by U-123 (Reinhard Hardegen) | ||
| Position | 35.25N, 75.23W - Grid CA 7938 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 34 (5 dead and 29 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Philadelphia (18 Jan) - Port Arthur, Texas | ||
| Cargo | Water ballast | ||
| History | Built as Swiftwind, 1933 renamed Malay | ||
| Notes on loss | At 10.34 hours on 19 Jan, 1942, the unarmed Malay (Master John M. Dodge) was shelled by U-123 off Oregon Inlet, while steaming in an unescorted convoy of five ships with dim navigational lights set. The U-boat fired ten shots of which five or six struck from about 650 metres. The shelling killed one man, destroyed two lifeboats, damaged the crew´s quarter and started a fire on the tanker. Then the U-boat left to follow another ship, torpedoed at 12.01 hours the Ciltvaira and returned to the tanker. In the meantime the passing Scania helped the crew of Malay by passing firefighting equipment. The eight officers and 26 crewmen got the fire under control and the ship under way. U-123 fired at 12.44 hours, her last torpedo, hitting the #7 starboard side tank, just aft of amidships in 35°40N/75°20W. The crew abandoned ship in three lifeboats, but one capsized and four men drowned. The survivors circled the ship for about an hour before reboarding her. The dead man and three badly injured were later taken off by boats from the Chicamacomico Coast Guard Station. The Malay reached Hampton Roads, Virginia under own power the same day. | ||
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