Empire Engineer
Photo courtesy of Alex Duncan
| Name | Empire Engineer | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 5,358 tons | ||
| Completed | 1921 - Canadian Vickers Ltd, Montreal, Quebec | ||
| Owner | Weidner, Hopkins & Co, Newcastle-upon-Tyne | ||
| Homeport | London | ||
| Date of attack | 4 Feb 1941 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-123 (Karl-Heinz Moehle) | ||
| Position | 54N, 34W - Grid AL 5718 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 39 (39 dead - no survivors) | ||
| Convoy | SC-20 (straggler) | ||
| Route | Sydney - Newport, Mon | ||
| Cargo | 7047 tons of steel ingots | ||
| History | Completed in April 1921 as Canadian Commander for the Canadian Government (Merchant Marine Ltd), Montreal. 1928 transferred to Canadian National Steamships Ltd, Montreal. 1932 sold to Italy and renamed Gioacchino Lauro for Achille Lauro, Naples. On 10 Jun, 1940, seized by Britain at West Hartlepool and was renamed Empire Engineer by Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). | ||
| Notes on loss | At 16.44 hours on 4 Feb, 1941, the Empire Engineer (Master John Whiteley), a straggler from convoy SC-20, was hit forward by one G7e torpedo from U-123 and sank by the bow within 4 minutes southeast of Cape Farewell. The Germans observed some survivors on rafts at the sinking position, but the master and 38 crew members were lost. | ||
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