More forgotten industrial heritage: Admiralty Floating Dock No.35 – The Indian connection

The story of Admiralty floating docks (AFDs) in Malta should have ended with the sinking and eventual long-drawn-out salvage and demolition of AFD 8 between 1940 and 1950 (see The Sunday Times of Malta, July 30 and August 6, 2017). In 1946, the Admiralty decided to build a new dry dock at Parlatorio Wharf. The old rule of thumb applied: dry docks were preferable, but they were expensive and took years to build. Floating docks could be built in half the time, and were cheaper and mobile. In February 1943, a new £1,500,000 floating dock, Admiralty Floating Dock No.35 (AFD 35), was ordered in India for service in Trincomalee, Ceylon (Sri Lanka). The dock was intended for the war effort in the Pacific but after the collapse of Japan it was decided to send surplus floating docks to home waters. AFD 35 was to be sent to Malta to replace AFD 8. Braithwaite, Burn and Jessop completed fabrication of AFD 35 in Calcutta in May 1944. Assembly was completed at Bombay in May 1946. A cursory glance at the map of India shows that the distance between the two is 2,096 nautical miles. Calcutta (Kolkata) is in the Bay of Bengal, and Bombay (Mumbai) is in the Arabian Sea. How the sections were...