Summary
Empire City was a 7,295 GRT cargo ship which was built in 1943 by William Doxford & Sons Ltd, Sunderland for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). She was torpedoed and sunk on 6 August 1944 by U-198.
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Empire City |
| Owner | Ministry of Transport |
| Operator | A Weir & Co Ltd |
| Port of registry |  Sunderland |
| Builder | Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd |
| Launched | 15 July 1943 |
| Completed | November 1943 |
| Identification |
|
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Cargo ship |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 428 ft 8 in (130.66 m) |
| Beam | 56 ft 5 in (17.20 m) |
| Depth | 35 ft 5 in (10.80 m) |
| Installed power | 2SCSA diesel engine |
| Propulsion | Screw propeller |
| Crew | 50, plus 20 DEMS gunners |
| Armament | Anti-torpedo nets |
Description edit
Empire City was built by William Doxford & Sons Ltd, Sunderland. She was launched on 15 July 1943.[1]
The ship was 428 feet 8 inches (130.66 m) long, with a beam of 56 feet 5 inches (17.20 m) and a depth of 35 feet 5 inches (10.80 m). She had a GRT of 7,295 and a NRT of 4,941.[2]
The ship was propelled by a 2-stroke Single Cycle Single Action diesel engine, which had eight cylinders of 23+5⁄8 inches (60 cm) diameter by 91+5⁄16 inches (231.9 cm) stroke.[2]
History edit
Empire City was built for the MoWT. She was placed under the management of the A Weir & Co Ltd. Her port of registry was Sunderland. The Code Letters BFLB and the United Kingdom Official Number 180046 were allocated.[2]
Empire City was a member of a number of convoys in the Second World War.
- ON 212
Convoy ON 212 departed Liverpool on 19 November 1943 and arrived at New York on 5 December.[3] Empire City had departed from Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire on 18 November. She was equipped with anti-torpedo nets on this voyage.[4]
- DKA 21
Empire City was a member of Convoy DKA 21, which departed Lourenço Marques, Portuguese East Africa bound for Port Said, Egypt via Aden. Empire City was carrying a cargo of 8,403 tons of coal. On 6 August 1944, she was torpedoed and sunk by U-198 off Mocímboa da Praia, Portuguese East Africa (11°33′S 41°25′E / 11.550°S 41.417°E). Two crew (Engineers) were killed. The surviving 48 crew and 20 DEMS gunners were rescued. They were landed at Pekawi, Portuguese East Africa.[5] U-198 was sunk on 12 August.[6] Those lost on Empire City are commemorated at the Tower Hill Memorial, London.[7]
References edit
- ^ Mitchell, W.H.; Sawyer, L.A. (1995). The Empire Ships. London, New York, Hamburg, Hong Kong: Lloyd's of London Press Ltd. p. not cited. ISBN 1-85044-275-4.
- ^ a b c "LLOYD'S REGISTER, NAVIRES A VAPEUR ET A MOTEURS" (PDF). Plimsoll Ship Data. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2010.
- ^ "CONVOY ON 212". Warsailors. Retrieved 8 April 2010.
- ^ "ON Convoys – 1941-1945, Convoy ON 201 through ON 249". Warsailors. Retrieved 8 April 2010.
- ^ "Empire City". U-boat. Retrieved 8 April 2010.
- ^ "U-198". Uboat. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
- ^ "Ship Index A-F". Brian Watson. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 20 May 2011.