MV Empire Day

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Coordinates: 7°06′S 42°00′E / 7.100°S 42.000°E / -7.100; 42.000
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

History
NameEmpire Day
OwnerMinistry of War Transport
Operator
  • Stephens Sutton Ltd (1941– )
  • Lyle Shipping Co Ltd ( –1944)
Port of registryUnited Kingdom Sunderland, United Kingdom
BuilderWilliam Doxford & Sons Ltd
Yard number673
Launched27 March 1941
CompletedJuly 1941
Out of service7 August 1944
Identification
  • United Kingdom
    Official Number
    168914
  • Code Letters BCMG
FateTorpedoed and sunk, 7 August 1944
General characteristics
Type
  • CAM ship (1941–1943)
  • Cargo ship (1943–1944)
Tonnage
Length428 ft 8 in (130.66 m)
Beam56 ft 5 in (17.20 m)
Draught27 feet 4+3⁄4 inches (8.350 m)
Depth35 ft 5 in (10.80 m)
Installed power516
nhp
Propulsion2SCSA diesel engine
Complement34, plus 8 DEMS gunners
Armament
  • 1 Hawker Sea Hurricane (1941–1943)
  • 1 × 4-inch gun
  • 1 x 12 pdr gun
  • 2 x 20 mm guns
MV Empire Day is located in Tanzania
MV Empire Day
class=notpageimage|
Location of the attack by U-198 on Empire Day off the coast of what is now Tanzania

MV Empire Day was a 7,241 

Sunderland, Co Durham, United Kingdom for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). In 1943, she was converted to a standard cargo ship. She served until August 1944 when she was torpedoed and sunk by U-198
.

Description

The ship was built in 1941 by

yard number 673.[2]

The ship was 428 feet 8 inches (130.66 m) long, with a beam of 56 feet 5 inches (17.20 m). She had a depth of 35 feet 5 inches (10.80 m) and a draught of 27 feet 4+3⁄4 inches (8.350 m). She was assessed at 7,242 gross register tons (GRT), 5,021 net register tons (NRT).[3] Her deadweight tonnage (DWT) was 10,255.[4]

The ship was propelled by a 516

nominal horsepower diesel engine.which had three cylinders of 23+5⁄8 inches (60 cm) diameter by 91+5⁄16 inches (231.9 cm) stroke. The engines was built by William Doxford & Sons Ltd, Sunderland.[3]

History

Empire Day was built for the MoWT as an

Code Letters BCMG were allocated.[3] Her port of registry was Sunderland.[6]

Built as a

12-pounder gun and two 20-millimetre (0.79 in) guns.[2]

Empire Day sailed from

Convoy ON 6,[7] which had departed from Liverpool, Lancashire the previous day and dispersed at sea on 11 August.[9] Her destination was Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, where she arrived on 26 August.[7] Loaded with a cargo of grain, she departed Halifax on 4 September as a member of Convoy HX 148, which arrived at Liverpool on 17 September.[10]

Empire Day departed from Liverpool on 28 September as a member of Convoy ON 21, which dispersed at sea (45°05′N 52°37′W / 45.083°N 52.617°W / 45.083; -52.617) on 14 October.[11] Her destination was Halifax, where she arrived on 16 October.[7] A cargo of grain was loaded and she departed from Halifax on 22 October as a member of Convoy HX 156, which arrived at Liverpool on 5 November.[12] She departed from Liverpool in ballast on 13 November as a member of Convoy ON 36, which dispersed at sea (49°24′N 46°15′W / 49.400°N 46.250°W / 49.400; -46.250) on 25 November.[13] Her destination was Halifax, where she arrived on 28 November.[7] Loaded with grain, she departed Halifax on 8 December as a member of Convoy HX 164, which arrived at Liverpool on 23 December.[14]

Emoire Day departed from Liverpool on 23 January 1942 as a member of Convoy ON 59, which dispersed at sea (41°30′N 52°53′W / 41.500°N 52.883°W / 41.500; -52.883) on 6 February. She was carrying the convoy's

Hurricane, she was first CAM ship to leave Halifax carrying her aircraft for many weeks.[18]

Empire Day departed from Liverpool on 22 May as a member of Convoy ON 97, which arrived at Halifax on 5 June.[19] Laden with grain, she departed from Halifax on 14 June as a member of Convoy HX 194, which arrived at Liverpool on 26 June.[20] She left the convoy at the Belfast Lough on 25 June, to join Convoy BB 191, which departed the next day and arrived at Avonmouth, Somerset on 27 June.[7]

Empire Day departed from Avonmouth on 6 July and arrived at the Belfast Lough two days later. On 10 July,[7] she joined Convoy ON 111, which had departed from Liverpool that day and dispersed at sea (41°15′N 71°25′W / 41.250°N 71.417°W / 41.250; -71.417 on 24 July. Her destination was Halifax, where she was to disembark her Hurricane.[21] She arrived that day, and departed the next day for New York, United States, where she arrived on 27 July. Empire Day departed from New York on 16 August for Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts, from where she departed on 19 August as a member of Convoy BX 34, which arrived at Halifax on 22 August.[7] Carrying general cargo and steel, she departed from Halifax the next day as a member of Convoy HX 204, which arrived at Liverpool on 4 September.[22]

Empire Day departed from Liverpool on 22 October to join Convoy KMS 1G,

MKS 2,[7] which had departed from Algiers on 21 November and arrived at Liverpool on 3 December.[24]

Empire Day departed from Liverpool on 31 December for the Clyde, arriving the next day.

Bône on 9 February and arrived at Gibraltar on 13 February.[27] She departed Gibraltar on 22 February to join Convoy MKS 8,[7] which had departed from Bône on 17 February and arrived at Liverpool on 1 March.[28] She left the convoy in home waters, sailing to Newport, Monmouthshire where she arrived on 1 March.[7]

Loaded with a cargo of coal,[29] Empire Day departed from Newport on 11 March for Milford Haven, arriving the next day and departing the day after that to join Convoy ON 173,[7] which departed from Liverpool on 13 March and arrived at Halifax on 29 March. On 24 March, Empire Day was straggling behind the convoy.[29] Laden with grain,[30] she departed from Halifax on 14 April to join Convoy HX 234,[7] which had departed from New York and arrived at Liverpool on 29 April[30] She left the convoy at the Clyde on 28 April. Empire Day departed from the Clyde on 5 June for Milford Haven, arriving the next day and departing the day after that as a member of Convoy WP 351,[7] which arrived at Portsmouth on 9 June. She was the only merchant ship in the convoy, and was escorted by HMS La Combatante, HMS Limbourne, HMS Plover and HMS Stevenstone.[31] She left the convoy at Falmouth, Cornwall on 8 June.[7]

Empire Day departed from Falmouth on 18 June and sailed to Gibraltar, arriving on 24 June.

Bizerta, Algeria on 18 July and arrived at the Hampton Roads, Virginia, United States on 9 August.[34] Empire Day departed sailed on to New York, from where she departed on 2 September for the Hampton Roads, where she joined Convoy UGS 17,[7] which departed on 3 September and arrived at Port Said, Egypt on 3 October. She left the convoy at Algiers,[35] where she arrived on 25 September. She departed from Algiers on 16 November to join Convoy GUS 21,[7] which had departed from Port Said on 7 November and arrived at the Hampton Roads on 5 December.[36] Her destination was New York.[7]

Empire Day departed from New York on 2 January 1944 for the Hampton Roads, where she joined Convoy UGS 29, which arrived at Port Said on 31 January. She then sailed to

Calcutta, India on 1 April and returning with Convoy CJ 24, which departed on 15 April and arrived at Colombo on 22 April. Two days later, she departed for Lourenço Marques, Mozambique, where she arrived on 8 May.[7]

Empire Day departed from Lourenço Marques on 21 May for

DEMS gunners survived. Her chief officer was taken prisoner by U-198.[41] He was killed when U-198 was sunk by HMS Findhorn and HMIS Godavari off the Seychelles on 12 August.[42] He is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial.[6] The survivors from Empire Day landed on Zanzibar island,[41] which they reached on 11 August and the sinking of Empire Day was then reported. Her loss had not been realised as she was unable to send out a Mayday at the time of her sinking.[43]

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 1-85044-275-4
    .
  2. ^ a b c "The Sunderland Site Page 054". Searle. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  3. ^ a b c "Llloyd's Register, Navires a vapeur et a moteurs" (PDF). Plimsoll Ship Data. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
  4. ^ "William Doxford/Pallion Ship Index". John Bage. Archived from the original on 1 March 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  5. ^ "EMPIRE - D - E". Mariners. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  6. ^ a b "Empire Day to Empire Engineer". Brian Watson. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae "Empire Day". Convoyweb. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  8. ^ "Convoy EC.50". Convoyweb. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  9. ^ "CONVOY ON 6". Warsailors. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  10. ^ "Convoy HX.148". Convoyweb. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  11. ^ "Convoy ON.21". Convoyweb. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  12. ^ "Convoy HX.156". Convoyweb. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  13. ^ "CONVOY ON 36". Warsailors. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  14. ^ "Convoy HX.164". Convoyweb. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  15. ^ "Convoy ON.59". Convoyweb. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  16. ^ "CONVOY SC 70". Warsailors. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  17. ^ "Convoy ON 77". Convoyweb. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  18. ^ "CONVOY HX 184". Warsailors. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  19. ^ "Convoy ON.97". Convoyweb. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  20. ^ "CONVOY HX 194". Warsailors. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  21. ^ "Convoy ON.111". Convoyweb. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  22. ^ "Convoy HX.204". Convoyweb. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  23. ^ "Convoy KMS.1G". Convoyweb. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  24. ^ "Convoy MKS.2". Convoyweb. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  25. ^ "Convoy KMS.7G". Convoyweb. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  26. ^ "Convoy TE.14". Convoyweb. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  27. ^ "Convoy ET.11". Convoyweb. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  28. ^ "Convoy MKS 8". Convoyweb. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  29. ^ a b "Convoy ON.173". Convoyweb. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  30. ^ a b "Convoy HX.234". Convoyweb. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  31. ^ "Convoy WP.351". Convoyweb. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  32. ^ "Convoy TE.23". Convoyweb. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  33. ^ "Convoy ET.22". Convoyweb. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  34. ^ "Convoy GUS.10". Convoyweb. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  35. ^ "Convoy UGS.17". Convoyweb. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  36. ^ "Convoy GUS.21". Convoyweb. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  37. ^ "Convoy BM.88". Convoyweb. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  38. ^ "Convoy KD.5". Convoyweb. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  39. ^ "A History of HMS Shah". Royal Navy Research Archive. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  40. ^ "Convoy DK.21A". Convoyweb. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  41. ^ a b "Empire Day". Uboat. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  42. ^ "U-198". Uboat. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  43. ^ Jones, Malcolm (December 2007). ""Just like a Training Exercise", The Destruction of U-198 in the Indian Ocean, 12 August 1944" (PDF). International Journal of Naval History. 6 (3). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 October 2010.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MV_Empire_Day&oldid=1214688942"