Empire Seal
British Motor merchant
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| Name | Empire Seal | ||
| Type: | Motor merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 7,965 tons | ||
| Completed | 1922 - Merchant Shipbuilding Corp, Chester PA | ||
| Owner | Walter Runciman & Co Ltd, Newcastle-upon-Tyne | ||
| Homeport | London | ||
| Date of attack | 19 Feb 1942 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-96 (Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock) | ||
| Position | 43° 14'N, 64° 45'W - Grid BB 7753 | ||
| Complement | 57 (1 dead and 56 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | New York - Halifax - Belfast | ||
| Cargo | 4500 tons of steel | ||
| History | Completed in May 1922 as Californian for American-Hawaiian SS Co, New York. 1940 given to Britain and renamed Empire Kite by Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). Later that year renamed Empire Seal.
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| Notes on event | At 23.29 hours on 19 Feb 1942 the unescorted Empire Seal (Master Arthur Charles Kyle) was hit in the foreship by one G7e torpedo from U-96 southeast of Sable Island. The ship settled by the bow, but did not sink, so a coup de grâce was fired at 00.03 hours on 20 February. The torpedo hit aft and caused her to sink immediately. One crew member was lost. The master, 43 crew members, eleven gunners and the US pilot were picked up by the British CAM ship Empire Flame and landed at Halifax. | ||
| On board | We have details of 56 people who were on board. | ||
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