Empire Sailor
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| Name | Empire Sailor | ||
| Type: | Motor merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 6.140 tons | ||
| Completed | 1926 - Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino, Trieste | ||
| Owner | Cairns, Noble & Co Ltd, Newcastle-upon-Tyne | ||
| Homeport | London | ||
| Date of attack | 21 Nov, 1942 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-518 (Friedrich-Wilhelm Wissmann) | ||
| Position | 43.53N, 55.12W - Grid BB 9515 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 65 (23 dead and 42 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | ON-145 | ||
| Route | Liverpool (10 Nov) - St.John, New Brunswick | ||
| Cargo | 2700 tons general cargo, including 270 tons phosgene bombs and 26 tons of mustard gas in 68 drums | ||
| History | built as Italian Cellina for Società Anonima di Navigazione Italia, Genoa. On 10 Jun, 1940, the Cellina was seized at Gibraltar by Britain and was renamed Empire Sailor by Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). | ||
| Notes on loss | At 04.16 hours on 21 Nov, 1942, U-518 fired two stern and two bow torpedoes at the convoy ON-145 and thought that she missed a corvette with one stern torpedo, but hit a tanker beyond. In fact, both stern torpedoes damaged the British Renown and one or both bow torpedoes damaged the British Promise. At 04.23 hours, the U-boat hit the Empire Sailor with one bow torpedo and sank her four minutes later with a second. The master, 35 crew members, two gunners, two Canadian singnalmen and two Canadian army personnel from the Empire Sailor (Master Frederick William Fairley) were rescued by the HMCS Timmins (K 223) (Lt J.A. Brown) and the HMCS Minas (J 165) (Lt J.C. Barbour) and landed at Halifax. 19 crew members, three gunners and one Canadian army personnel were lost. | ||
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