Name Empire City Operator A Weir & Co Ltd Completed November 1943 Length 131 m | Owner Ministry of Transport Port of registry Sunderland Launched 15 July 1943 | |
 | ||
Builder Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd | ||
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.
Contents
Description
Empire City was built by William Doxford & Sons Ltd, Sunderland. She was launched on 15 July 1943.
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.
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.
History
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.
Empire City was a member of a number of convoys in the Second World War.
Convoy ON 212 departed Liverpool on 19 November 1943 and arrived at New York on 5 December. Empire City had departed from Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire on 18 November. She was equipped with anti-torpedo nets on this voyage.
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). Two crew and 10 DEMS gunners were killed. The surviving 48 crew and 10 DEMS gunners were rescued. They were landed at Pekawi, Portuguese East Africa. Her captain was taken prisoner by U-198; he perished with the submarine's crew when U-198 was sunk on 12 August. Those lost on Empire City are commemorated at the Tower Hill Memorial, London.