Empire Bison
We don't have a picture of this vessel at this time.
| Name | Empire Bison | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 5.612 tons | ||
| Completed | 1919 - South Western Shipbuilding Co, San Pedro CA | ||
| Owner | Sir R. Ropner & Co Ltd, West Hartlepool | ||
| Homeport | London | ||
| Date of attack | 1 Nov, 1940 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-124 (Georg-Wilhelm Schulz) | ||
| Position | 59.30N, 17.40W - Grid AL 3465 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 35 (31 dead and 4 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | HX-82 (straggler) | ||
| Route | Baltimore - Halifax - Clyde | ||
| Cargo | 6067 tons of scrap steel and 94 trucks | ||
| History | Built as American West Cawthon for US Shipping Board, Los Angeles; 1920 sold to Green Star SS Co, New York; 1921 sold to Imperial Shipping Co, New York; 1923 sold to US Shipping Board, New York; 1926 sold to American South African Line Inc, New York. 1940 taken over by Britain and renamed Empire Bison by Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). | ||
| Notes on loss | At 07.06 hours on 1 Nov, 1940, the Empire Bison (Master William Herbert Harland OBE), a straggler from convoy HX-82, was torpedoed and sunk by U-124 about 400 miles west of Rockall. The master, 29 crew members and one gunner were lost. Three crew members and one passenger were picked up by the Danish merchant Olga S. and landed at Gourock. | ||
If you can help us with any additional information on this vessel then please contact us.