Operation MB (ii)

'MB' (ii) was the designation of Allied convoys (together with a numerical and sometimes literal suffix) plying the route from Colombo to Bombay, and as such reciprocals of the 'BM' (ii) series (April 1942/January 1945).

The first of the convoys was MB.1 of 15/20 April 1942 with seven British merchant ships in the form of the Arctika, 5,190-ton Gogra, 1,463-ton Matang, 6,942-ton Nellore, 7,043-ton Prome, Saidja and 4,970-ton Stanmore, as well as two commissioned ships in the form of the 1,579-ton Springtide mine destructor vessel and 5,078-ton Teviotbank auxiliary minelayer.

The last of these convoys was MB.80B of 26/29 January 1945 with the British Maharaja.