Empire Whale
Photo Courtesy of Library of Contemporary History, Stuttgart
| Name | Empire Whale | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 6.159 tons | ||
| Completed | 1919 - Federal Shipbuilding Co, Kearny NJ | ||
| Owner | Donaldson Brothers Ltd, Glasgow | ||
| Homeport | London | ||
| Date of attack | 29 Mar, 1943 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-662 (Heinz-Eberhard Müller) | ||
| Position | 46.44N, 16.38W - Grid BE 5635 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 57 (47 dead and 10 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | SL-126 | ||
| Route | Pepel - Freetown (12 Mar) - Methil - Tyne | ||
| Cargo | 7870 tons of iron ore | ||
| History | Built as American Winona County for US Shipping Board, Newark NJ; 1937 transferred to US Maritime Commission and laid up as reserve. 1941 given to Britain and renamed Empire Whale by Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). | ||
| Notes on loss | At 22.50 hours on 29 Mar, 1943, U-662 fired a spread of four FAT torpedoes and one G7e torpedo at the convoy SL-126 about 425 miles northwest of Cape Finisterre. Two hits on a first ship were heard, one hit on a second and the last torpedo was considered to be a hit on a third ship. The U-boat had sunk Empire Whale and Umaria and damaged Ocean Viceroy, but the order in which the ships were hit is unclear. The master, 41 crew members, four gunners and one RAF personnel from the Empire Whale (Master James Thompson Davitt) were lost. Seven crew members, one gunner and two RAF personnel were picked up by the HMS Spey (K 246) (Cdr H.G. Boys-Smith DSO) and landed at Londonderry. | ||
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