SS ''Empire Dell'' was a CAM ship that was built in 1941 by Lithgows Ltd,

Port Glasgow Port Glasgow (, ) is the second-largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19,426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16,617 persons. The most recent census in 2011 s ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). She served until May 1942, when she was torpedoed and sunk by whilst a member of Convoy ONS 92.

Description

The ship was built in 1941 by Lithgows Ltd,

. She was yard number 947. The ship was long, with a beam of . She had a depth of and a draught of . She was assessed at , . The ship was propelled by a triple expansion steam engine, which had cylinders of , and diameter by stroke. The engine was built by Rankin & Blackmore Ltd,

Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...

. She could embark and operate a Hawker Sea Hurricane aircraft via a

catapult A catapult is a ballistics, ballistic device used to launch a projectile at a great distance without the aid of gunpowder or other propellants – particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. A catapult uses the sudden rel ...

. Her crew numbered 41, plus seven

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

(RAF) personnel.

History

''Empire Dell'' was built for the MoWT. She was launched on 26 May 1941. She was placed under the management of George Nisbet & Co Ltd,

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. ''Empire Dell'' was allocated the United Kingdom

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 ...

167004 and

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 ...

BCMD. Her port of registry was

. ''Empire Dell'' departed from the Clyde on 11 July 1941 for the

Belfast Lough Belfast Lough () is a large sea inlet on the east coast of Northern Ireland. At its head is the city and port of Belfast, which sits at the mouth of the River Lagan. The lough opens into the North Channel and connects Belfast to the Irish ...

, from where she sailed on 16 July to join Convoy OB 347, which departed 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 ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

that day and dispersed at sea on 31 July. she then sailed to

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, arriving on 2 August. Laden with

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and ...

, she departed from Halifax on 10 August as a member of Convoy HX 144, which arrived at Liverpool on 30 August. ''Empire Dell'' was transferred to Convoy SC 40, which had departed from

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Cape Breton Cape Breton Island (, formerly '; or '; ) is a rugged and irregularly shaped island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18.7% of Nova Scotia's total area. Although ...

, Nova Scotia on 10 August and arrived at Liverpool on 29 August. ''Empire Dell'' was a member of Convoy ON 16, which departed from Liverpool on 13 September and dispersed at sea on 27 September. She sailed to Halifax, arriving on 5 October. She departed from Halifax a week later and sailed to Sydney, arriving the next day. Laden with a cargo of

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

, ''Empire Dell'' was a member of Convoy SC 50, which departed from Sydney on 17 October and arrived at Liverpool on 4 November. She left the convoy at the Belfast Lough on 3 November to join Convoy BB 97, which departed on 6 November and arrived at

Milford Haven Milford Haven ( ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, an estuary forming a natural harbour that has been used as a port since the Middle Ages. The town was ...

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...

the next day. She sailed on to

Avonmouth Avonmouth ( ) is a port and outer suburb of Bristol, England, on the north bank of the mouth of the River Avon and the eastern shore of the Severn Estuary. Part of the Port of Bristol, Avonmouth Docks is important to the region's maritime eco ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, arriving on 8 November. She left four days later and sailed to

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

, arriving on 13 November. ''Empire Dell'' departed from Cardiff on 22 November and sailed to Liverpool, arriving on 24 November. She was a member of Convoy ON 40, which departed on 25 November and dispersed at sea on 4 December. She detached from the convoy and put into the Clyde, arriving on 27 November. She sailed from the Clyde the next day to join Convoy OG 77, which departed from Milford Haven on 24 November and arrived at

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

on 13 December. She departed from Gibraltar on 29 December for

Huelva Huelva ( , , ) is a municipality of Spain and the capital of the Huelva (province), province of Huelva, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. Located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, it sits betwee ...

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, arriving the next day. ''Empire Dell'' departed from Huelva on 7 January 1942 for Gibraltar, arriving the same day. Laden with a cargo of

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

, she departed from Gibraltar on 11 January as a member of Convoy SL 97G, which arrived at Liverpool on 24 January. She sailed to the Clyde, arriving on 23 January. ''Empire Dell'' departed from the Clyde on 24 February to join Convoy OG 80, which departed from Milford Haven on 22 February and arrived at Gibraltar on 8 March. She left Gibraltar on 26 March, returning on 30 March. Carrying a cargo of iron ore, she departed from Gibraltar on 5 April as a member of Convoy HG 81, which arrived at Liverpool on 15 April. ''Empire Dell'' was a member of Convoy ON 92, which departed from Liverpool on 6 May and arrived at Halifax on 21 May. At around 02:00 (German time) on 12 May, ''Empire Dell'' was hit by a

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

fired by , which was under the command of ''

Kapitänleutnant , short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( or ''lieutenant captain'') is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the modern German . The rank is rated Ranks and insignia of NATO navies' officers, OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to i ...

'' Johann Mohr. ''U-124'' was operating as part of Wolf pack

Hecht Hecht may refer to: * Hecht (surname) * Hecht, a pop rock band from Lucerne, Switzerland. * Hecht's, a chain of department stores, also known as Hecht Brothers, Hecht Bros. and the Hecht Company * Hecht Museum at Haifa University in Israel * '' ...

. She sank at . Two of her crew of 48, which included seven RAF personnel, were killed. Twenty-one survivors were rescued by the

convoy rescue ship During the Second World War, designated convoy rescue ships accompanied some Battle of the Atlantic (1940), Atlantic convoys to rescue survivors from ships that had been attacked. Rescue ships were typically small freighters with passenger accomm ...

and 25 were rescued by . They were landed at St John's,

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

on 17 and 16 May respectively. Those lost on ''Empire Dell'' are commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial, London.

References

External links

Photo of ''Empire Dell''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Empire Dell 1941 ships Ships built on the River Clyde CAM ships Empire ships Ministry of War Transport ships Maritime incidents in May 1942 Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean