''Empire Engineer'' was a refrigerated cargo ship that was built in 1921 as ''Canadian Commander'' by Canadian Vickers Ltd, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She was sold to an Italian firm in 1932 and renamed ''Giaocchino Lauro''. She was seized by the United Kingdom in 1940, passed to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and renamed ''Empire Engineer''. She served until 4 February 1941 when she was

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

ed and sunk by .

Description

The SS Empire Engineer was built in 1920 by Canadian Vickers Ltd,

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. She was yard number 79. The ship was long, with a beam of . She had a depth of , and a draught of . She was assessed at , . 8,400 DWT. The ship was propelled by a 520

nhp Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...

triple expansion steam engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up he ...

, which had cylinders of , and diameter by stroke. The engine was built by Canadian Vickers Ltd, Montreal. She had of refrigerated cargo space. Refrigeration machinery was by the Lightfoot Refrigeration Co Ltd.

History

''Canadian Commander'' was launched in 1920, with completion in April 1921. She was built for the Canadian Government and operated by the Canadian Government Merchant Marine Ltd (GCMM). Her port of registry was Montreal, under the

British flag The national flag of the United Kingdom is the Union Jack, also known as the Union Flag. The design of the Union Jack dates back to the Act of Union 1801 which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland (previously in per ...

. The United Kingdom

Official Number Official numbers are ship identifier numbers assigned to merchant ships by their flag state, country of registration. Each country developed its own official numbering system, some on a national and some on a port-by-port basis, and the formats hav ...

141832 and

Code Letters Code letters or ship's call sign (or callsign) Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853"> SHIPSPOTTING.COM >> Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853/ref> were a method of identifying ships before the introduction of modern navigation aids and today also. Later, with the i ...

TQDW were allocated. On 3 July 1922, ''Canadian Commander'' ran aground at Saint Pierre and Miquelon. She was refloated on 16 July. Following the demise of CGMM in 1928, ''Canadian Commander'' was transferred to Canadian Commander Ltd and placed under the management of Canadian National Steamships Ltd. In 1932, ''Canadian Commander'' was sold to Achille Lauro,

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, Italy and renamed ''Gioacchino Lauro''. Her port of registry was Naples. The Italian Official Number 383 was allocated. From 1934, her Code Letters were IBOG. She was assessed as , . On 10 June 1940, ''Gioacchino Lauro'' was in port at

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...

Co Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

when Italy declared war against the United Kingdom. The ship and her cargo were seized as a prize of war, ''Gioacchino Lauro'' was passed to the MoWT and renamed ''Empire Engineer''. ''Empire Engineer'' was placed under the management of Weidner, Hopkins & Co Ltd. She regained her previous Official Number. The Code Letters GLYG were allocated. Her port of registry was

West Hartlepool West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland. The former town was originally formed in ...

, Co Durham. She was assessed at , . Little is known of her war service. She was a member of Convoy OA 216, which departed from

Methil Methil (Scottish Gaelic: Meadhchill) is an eastern coastal town in Scotland. It was first recorded as "Methkil" in 1207, and belonged to the Bishop of St Andrews. Two Bronze Age cemeteries have been discovered which date the settlement as ov ...

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

on 18 September 1940 and joined Convoy OB 216 at sea on 21 September. ''Empire Engineer'' was in ballast and bound for

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. ''Empire Engineer'' was a member of Convoy SC 20, which departed from Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, Canada on 22 January 1941 and arrived at

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, United Kingdom on 8 February. She was carrying a cargo of

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

ingots bound for

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay Europe Ireland *Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

. ''Empire Engineer'' straggled behind the convoy. At 16:44 German time on 4 February, she was hit by a torpedo fired by and sank within four minutes at . Although some survivors were known to have taken to

liferaft A lifeboat or liferaft is a small, rigid or inflatable boat carried for emergency evacuation in the event of a disaster aboard a ship. Lifeboat drills are required by law on larger commercial ships. Rafts (liferafts) are also used. In the mil ...

s, all 39 crew were lost. They are commemorated on the

Tower Hill Memorial The Tower Hill Memorial is a pair of Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorials in Trinity Square Gardens, on Tower Hill in London, England. The memorials, one for the First World War and one for the Second, commemorate civilian, merchant seaf ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

References

External links

Photo of ''Gioacchino Lauro''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Empire Engineer 1920 ships Ships built in Quebec Steamships of Canada Merchant ships of Canada Maritime incidents in 1922 Steamships of Italy Merchant ships of Italy World War II merchant ships of Italy Empire ships Ministry of War Transport ships Steamships of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in February 1941 World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II Ships lost with all hands