''Empire Arnold'' was a 7,045-ton British

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...

which was built in 1942 for the Ministry of War Transport. Launched in March and completed in May, she was torpedoed by ''U-155'' on 4 August 1942.

History

''Empire Arnold'' was built by William Gray & Co. Ltd.,

West Hartlepool West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland. The former town was originally formed ...

. She was yard number 1127 and launched on 6 March 1942 and completed in May 1942. ''Empire Arnold'' was built for the Ministry of War Transport and managed by Sir R Ropner & Co Ltd. ''Empire Arnold'' was a member of Convoy ON 99, which sailed from

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

on 29 May 1942 and arrived in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

on 12 June. ''Empire Arnold'' was in ballast for this journey. On 11 June, ''Empire Arnold'' lost the convoy in thick fog at 05:30, regaining the convoy at 17:00.

Sinking

On 4 August 1942, ''Empire Arnold'' was a member of Convoy EF 6, which was sailing from New York via

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

and

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

and then through the Suez Canal to

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

. She was carrying 10,000 tons of cargo including

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

and

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

s. At 16:15 hrs CET, ''Empire Arnold'' was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic off the South American coast () by ''U-155'', captained by Adolf Piening. Nine crew members were killed and the captain, Frederick Tate, was taken

prisoner A prisoner, also known as an inmate or detainee, is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement or captivity in a prison or physical restraint. The term usually applies to one serving a Sentence (law), se ...

. The 49 surviving crew members and two passengers were rescued by the Norwegian ship SS ''Dalvanger''. They were landed in Georgetown,

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...

on 14 August. Tate was landed at

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on 15 September and interned at Milag Nord POW camp, Westertimke. During his time as a POW, Tate was a signatory to a document praising the Pilots of the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

system for their efficiency, courtesy and reliability in assisting ships passing through the canal. Those lost on ''Empire Arnold'' are commemorated at the Tower Hill Memorial, London.

Official number and code letters

Official Numbers were a forerunner to IMO Numbers. ''Empire Arnold'' had the UK

Official Number Official numbers are ship identifier numbers assigned to merchant ships by their flag state, country of registration. Each country developed its own official numbering system, some on a national and some on a port-by-port basis, and the formats hav ...

168939 and used the

Code Letters Code letters or ship's call sign (or callsign) Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853"> SHIPSPOTTING.COM >> Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853/ref> were a method of identifying ships before the introduction of modern navigation aids. Later, with the introduction of ...

BDSV.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Empire Arnold 1942 ships Ships built on the River Tees Steamships of the United Kingdom Empire ships Ministry of War Transport ships Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Maritime incidents in August 1942