Empire Wave
British Catapult armed merchant
Name | Empire Wave | ||
Type: | Catapult armed merchant (CAM) | ||
Tonnage | 7,463 tons | ||
Completed | 1941 - J.L. Thompson & Sons Ltd, Sunderland | ||
Owner | Barr, Crombie & Co Ltd, Glasgow | ||
Homeport | Sunderland | ||
Date of attack | 2 Oct 1941 | Nationality: British | |
Fate | Sunk by U-562 (Horst Hamm) | ||
Position | 59° 08'N, 32° 26'W - Grid AK 2717 | ||
Complement | 60 (33 dead and 27 survivors). | ||
Convoy | ON-19 (straggler) | ||
Route | Sunderland - Belfast - Halifax | ||
Cargo | Ballast | ||
History | Completed in July 1941 for Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) | ||
Notes on event | At 06.52 hours on 2 October 1941 the unescorted Empire Wave (Master Clement Porter McLay), a straggler from convoy ON-19, was torpedoed and sunk by U-562 about 500 miles east of Cape Farewell. The master, 19 crew members, five gunners and five other DEMS personnel (RDF and catapult operators) abandoned ship in one lifeboat, but they were never seen again after losing contact with the other lifeboat that contained 23 crew members, one gunner, one DEMS personnel and five RAF personnel. The men in the latter boat were picked up by the Icelandic trawler Surprise on 16 October and landed at St. Patrick’s Fjord, Iceland. However, one man had died of exposure in the lifeboat and two other men died after being taken to a hospital at Reykjavik. | ||
On board | We have details of 35 people who were on board. |
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