תיאור מפורט תוכל למצוא בספרו של מורי גרינפלד
הצי הסודי של היהודים
בנוסף הנה קטע מאתר המח"ל עליו המלצתי:
In regard to the Mala, she was also under the name of Mayflower at the time
she was a US Presidential Yacht
for Presidents from Theodore Roosevelt through Herbert Hoover.
During WW II the Mayflower served as US Coast Guard Cutter as Anti Submarine
Warfare and communications training ship
she was named WPE-153 and was based in Norfolk and in Boston. In July 1946
she was decommissioned , taken out of service
and sold to a private owner who intended to use the Mayflower as seal
Hunting Ship in the Arctic sea. On the way to the hunting
grounds between Labrador and Greenland at the early part of 1947, a fire
occurred in the Engine Room and she was forced to
return to Baltimore.
Subsequently, she was bought by "Collins Distributors Inc"., a front company
for "Rechesh. a Jewish underground operations" at that time
and was named "Mala" Flying Panamanian Flag in early 1948.
Mala was designated to serve as Aliyah Bet ship with a code name of
"Calanit", and with replacement Boilers stowed on deck she sailed
to Marseilles France for repairs and conversion to carry immigrant
passengers to Israel.
Mala's Captain was Danny Maltese with a 41 crew of Jewish volunteers.
Mala's first successful voyage with 1200 immigrant passengers to Haifa was
in July 1948
Her second successful voyage to Haifa with 1104 Immigrant passengers was on
Sept.6th 1948
Mala, left Haifa for repairs and conversion in Marseilles France at the end
of Sept.1948. Captain Danny Maltese in command with a 48 crew
which included 18 Israeli crew members who replaces the Americans who stayed
ashore in Haifa. Arrival in Marseilles Oct.12 1948
While in Marseilles Shipyard on repairs and conversion on Oct.16th,1948,
while in shipyard Mala's Panamanian Registry expired and she was
put under Israeli Flag and Registry renamed Carmel and later changed her
name to Tabor with Captain Axell.
On Sept. 1949 she sailed to Naples Italy , took on 400 immigrant passengers
to deliver to Haifa, but due to re-occurring breakdowns she was
forced to return to shipyard in Marseilles France, her passengers were
transferred to another ship and the ship taken out of service for the scrap
yard.
She was 53 years old when taken out of service.