Empire Wagtail
Photo Courtesy of Library of Contemporary History, Stuttgart
| Name | Empire Wagtail | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 4.893 tons | ||
| Completed | 1919 - Todd Drydock & Construction Corp, Tacoma WA | ||
| Owner | Smith, Hogg & Co Ltd, West Hartlepool | ||
| Homeport | London | ||
| Date of attack | 28 Dec, 1942 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-260 (Hubertus Purkhold) | ||
| Position | 43.17N, 27.22W - Grid BD 9881 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 39 (39 dead - no survivors) | ||
| Convoy | ONS-154 | ||
| Route | Cardiff - Belfast Lough - Halifax - Boston | ||
| Cargo | 3857 tons of coal | ||
| History | Built as American Ossining for US Shipping Board, Tacoma; 1933 renamed Point Lobos for Gulf Pacific Mail Line, San Francisco. 1941 given to Britain and renamed Empire Wagtail by Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). | ||
| Notes on loss | At 22.36 and 22.37 hours on 28 Dec, 1942, U-260 fired torpedoes at the convoy ONS-154 about 900 miles west of Cape Finisterre and reported one ship sunk with one torpedo, a second vessel sunk with three and a third ship damaged by one torpedo. However, the only ship hit at this time was the Empire Wagtail (Master Gabriel Almond). The master, 31 crew members and seven gunners were lost. | ||
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