Empire Amethyst was a 8,032 ton tanker which was built in 1941. She was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-154 on 13 April 1942.
History[]
Empire Amethyst was built by the Furness Shipbuilding Co Ltd, Haverton Hill-on-Tees[1] as yard number 330. She was launched on 8 July 1941 and completed in December 1941.[2] Empire Amethyst was built for the Ministry of War Transport and operated under the management of the Hadley Shipping Co Ltd, Middlesbrough. Empire Amethyst was homeported in Middlesbrough.[1]
Empire Amethyst was a member of a number of convoys during the Second World War.
- ON 17
Convoy ON 17 sailed from Liverpool on 17 September 1941 and Loch Ewe on 19 September. The convoy dispersed on 29 September.[3]
On 23 January 1942, Empire Amethyst picked up five survivors from the Norwegian SS Innerøy, which had been torpedoed and sunk by U-553.[4] The survivors were taken to Halifax, Nova Scotia.[5]
- HX 173
Convoy HX 173 sailed from Halifax for Liverpool on 1 February 1942, arriving on 14 February.[6]
- OS 21
Convoy OS 21 sailed from Liverpool on 4 March 1942 and arrived at Freetown, Sierra Leone on 24 March. Empire Amethyst was in ballast, having discharged her cargo at Milford Haven.[7] She had to call at Belfast to allow a crew member to be discharged through illness and a replacement to be taken on board. On reaching Freetown, Empire Amethyst sailed for New Orleans.[5]
Final voyage and sinking[]
In mid-April 1942, Empire Amethyst left New Orleans bound for Freetown carrying a cargo of 12,000 tons of motor spirit. Her intended route took her via the Lesser Antilles and then across the $3 to Freetown.
Empire Amethyst was spotted by the crew of U-154 on 12 April 1942. The U-boat captain, Walther Kölle, believed that she was being escorted by HMCS Prince Henry and did not attack.[5]
At 03:02 hrs Empire Amethyst received a distress call from the American SS Delvalla which had been torpedoed by U-154 and was sinking. Prince Henry headed for the reported position of the Delvalla and a Catalina aircraft was despatched. The survivors were taken aboard Prince Henry.[5]
U-154 spotted Empire Amethyst again at 11:42 hrs; she was again under escort by Prince Henry but at 16:00 hrs the escort had been lost. As he was short of torpedoes, Kapitän Kölle decided to attack from the surface. The chase began at 20:00 hrs with Empire Amethyst zig-zagging but generally following a heading of 110° towards Trinidad. Empire Amethyst managed to lose her pursuer at 00:24 on 13 April by making a sharp turn. At 01:27 hrs, Kölle ordered his engines stopped to try to ascertain where Empire Amethyst was. Kölle decided to head in the direction that Empire Amethyst was generally heading and by 04:30 had found her again. At 05:52, Kölle aimed the first of two torpedoes at Empire Amethyst, which hit under the bridge. The second exploded forward of the engine room and she exploded in a mass of flames that were visible from 30 nautical miles (56 km) away. Empire Amethyst sank with the loss of all 47 crew[5] at 17°40′N 74°50′W / 17.667°N 74.833°W.[8]
The crew of Empire Amethyst are commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial.[5]
Official number and code letters[]
Official Numbers were a forerunner to IMO Numbers.
Empire Amethyst had the UK official number 164848 and used the Code Letters BCPL.[1]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "LLOYD'S REGISTER, NAVIRES A VAPEUR ET A MOTUERS". Plimsoll Ship Data. http://www.plimsollshipdata.org/pdffile.php?name=42b0269.pdf. Retrieved 28 December 2008.
- ↑ "1164848". Miramar Ship Index. http://www.miramarshipindex.org.nz. Retrieved 28 December 2008. (subscription required)
- ↑ "CONVOY ON 17". Warsailors. http://www.warsailors.com/convoys/on17.html. Retrieved 28 December 2008.
- ↑ "U-553". Ubootwaffe. http://www.ubootwaffe.net/ops/boat.cgi?boat=553. Retrieved 28 December 2008.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 "SS Empire Amethyst - Yard No 330". Paul Dubois. http://www.sa-transport.co.za/ships/ss_empire_amethyst/yard_no_330.html. Retrieved 28 December 2008.
- ↑ "CONVOY HX 173". Warsailors. http://www.warsailors.com/convoys/hx173.html. Retrieved 28 December 2008.
- ↑ "CONVOY OS.21". Convoyweb. http://www.convoyweb.org.uk/oskms/index.html?os021.htm~osmain. Retrieved 28 December 2008.
- ↑ "Empire Amethyst". uboat.net. http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/1534.html. Retrieved 28 December 2008.
|
The original article can be found at SS Empire Amethyst and the edit history here.