Empire Union
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| Name | Empire Union | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 5.952 tons | ||
| Completed | 1924 - Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino, Trieste | ||
| Owner | Canadian Pacific Steamships Ltd, Montreal | ||
| Homeport | London | ||
| Date of attack | 27 Dec, 1942 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-356 (Günther Ruppelt) | ||
| Position | 47.30N, 24.30W - Grid BD 41 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 69 (6 dead and 63 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | ONS-154 | ||
| Route | London - Loch Ewe (19 Dec) - St.John, New Brunswick | ||
| Cargo | 940 tons of general cargo, including government stores | ||
| History | Built as Italian Salvore for Navigazione Libera-Triestina, Societa in Azioni, Trieste; 1937 renamed Italian Sistiana for Società Anonima di Navigazione Lloyd Triestino, Trieste. On 10 Jun, 1940, the Sistiana was seized at Table Bay by the South African Navy and renamed Myrica by the South African Government. | ||
| Notes on loss | About 02.40 hours on 27 Dec, 1942, the Empire Union and Melrose Abbey in convoy ONS-154 were torpedoed and sunk north-northeast of the Azores. About 03.10 hours, the Soekaboemi and King Edward were also hit. All ships must have been torpedoed by U-356, which was herself lost after the attacks. The master, four crew members and one gunner from Empire Union (Master Hubert Arthur MacCallum) were lost. 59 crew members and four gunners were picked up by the British rescue ship Toward (Master Gordon K. Hudson) and landed at Halifax on 9 January. | ||
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