Empire Morn
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SS ''Empire Morn'' was a 7,092-ton CAM ship that was built in 1941. She saw service on a number of trade routes during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, making several crossings of the North Atlantic as well as voyages to Russia and Africa. She was badly damaged after hitting a
mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...
in 1943, and spent the rest of the war laid up as a hulk. She was subsequently sold and repaired, returning to service for several companies after the war, under the names ''San Antonio'' and ''Rio Pas'' before being sold for scrapping in 1973. ''Empire Morn'' is known for the death of the second youngest person in the British services to die in the war, 14-year-old galley boy
Raymond Steed Raymond Victor Steed (1 October 1928 – 26 April 1943) was the second youngest British Armed Forces, British services recruit to die during the Second World War. He was just 14 years and 207 days old when the ship on which he was a galley b ...
. She is also the only CAM ship whose fighter pilot died in action after his aircraft was launched from the ship.


Wartime career

''Empire Morn'' was built by
Vickers-Armstrongs Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927. The majority of the company was nationalised in the 1960s and 1970s, w ...
,
Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...
as yard number 769. She was launched on 1 July 1941 and completed in September 1941. ''Empire Morn'' was built for the Ministry of War Transport and managed by E.J. Sutton & Co. She served in a number of convoys during the war, occasionally sailing between British ports, such as
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 ...
and Southend,
Milford Haven Milford Haven ( cy, Aberdaugleddau, meaning "mouth of the two Rivers Cleddau") is both a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, an estuary forming a natural harbour that has ...
and
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 ...
, as well as the Arctic convoy assembly point at Loch Ewe. (Enter search term 'Empire Morn') She sailed several times to North America, as part of convoys ON 17, ON 109 and ON 165, and back again as part of convoys SC 49, SC 50, SC 54 and
SC 122 South Carolina Highway 122 (SC 122), also known as Dave Lyle Boulevard, is a state highway in Rock Hill, York County, South Carolina. It travels from the intersection with West Main Street in Rock Hill and continues west to Waterford ...
. In January 1942 she sailed to
Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...
as part of convoy OG 78, returning to Liverpool in February with convoy HG 79. ''Empire Morn'' was then assigned to the Arctic convoys, delivering supplies to the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. She sailed in April 1942 as part of convoy PQ 15 to
Murmansk Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') i ...
, making the return journey in late April to May with
convoy QP 12 A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...
. While she was sailing with QP 12 on 26 April her aircraft catapult she launched her single
Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...
, piloted by Flying Officer John Kendal. Kendal chased away a
Blohm & Voss BV 138 The Blohm & Voss BV 138 ''Seedrache'' (Sea Dragon), but nicknamed ''Der Fliegende Holzschuh'' ("flying clog",Nowarra 1997, original German title of the Schiffer book. from the side-view shape of its fuselage, as well as a play on the title of th ...
and shot down a Junkers Ju 88. According to the Fighter Direction Officer:
Some seconds later the Hurricane was seen to dive perpendicularly into the sea, followed immediately by Kendal, his parachute opening some 50ft before he reached the water. raced to the scene and picked him up at 1004. They signalled that Kendal was alive but very seriously injured and later that he had died from his injuries''.''
''Empire Morn'' returned to Russia in September with
convoy PQ 18 Convoy PQ 18 was an Arctic convoy of forty Allied freighters from Scotland and Iceland to Arkhangelsk in the Soviet Union in the war against Nazi Germany. The convoy departed Loch Ewe, Scotland on 2 September 1942, rendezvoused with more ships an ...
. On 18 September Flying Officer Burr from ''Empire Morn'' destroyed two
Heinkel He 111 The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a "wolf in sheep's clothing". Due to restrictions placed on Germany after th ...
s and then flew to the Russian Keg Ostrov aerodrome. ''Empire Morn'' arrived safely at Arkhangelsk, and returned to Britain with
convoy QP 15 Convoy QP 15 was an Arctic convoys of World War II, Arctic convoy of the PQ/QP series which ran during the Second World War. It was one of a series of convoys run to return Allies of World War II, Allied ships to home ports in the United Kingd ...
.


Damaged by mine

''Empire Morn'' shifted to warmer waters the following year, and in April 1943 she joined convoy OS/KMS 46 bound for
Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...
''via''
Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
. She was carrying a cargo of equipment destined for
naval A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
,
army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
and RAF forces. She arrived at Casablanca on 25 April 1943, and then set off for Gibraltar, and on 26 April 1943, at , she struck a mine that had been laid by ''U-117'' on 10 April. A secondary explosion damaged the stern and blew out much of the crew accommodation. When the order was given to abandon ship, a head count of crew found 21 men missing. Among them was the 14-year old galley boy
Raymond Steed Raymond Victor Steed (1 October 1928 – 26 April 1943) was the second youngest British Armed Forces, British services recruit to die during the Second World War. He was just 14 years and 207 days old when the ship on which he was a galley b ...
. Steed's body was found two days later, and he became the second youngest person in the British services to die in the war. He was 14 years and 207 days old. It was thought that he was the youngest wartime service casualty until February 2010, when it was confirmed
Reginald Earnshaw Reginald Hamilton Earnshaw (5 February 1927 – 6 July 1941), known as Reggie Earnshaw, is believed to have been the youngest person in the British services to die in World War II. He was just old when he died under enemy fire on the off the ...
was actually younger, at 14 years and 152 days.Second World War: Reginald Earnshaw, 14, Confirmed As Britain's Youngest Known Service Casualty , UK News , Sky News
/ref> The damaged ''Empire Morn'' was towed back into Casablanca, where she was expected to be declared a total constructive loss. She was however refloated and towed to Gibraltar, eventually arriving on 1 September 1943.


Hulked and postwar

The ''Empire Morn'' was not repaired, and was used as a store
hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...
at Gibraltar. She remained in this role until 1947, when she was sold to F M Pereda, of Spain, as the ''San Antonio''. She underwent repairs that involved the fitting of a new stern in Cadiz, that increased her length and tonnage. She sailed with F M Pereda, having been renamed ''Rio Pas'' later in 1947, until 1963. She was then sold to Marítima Colonial y de Comercio SA (MARCOSA), of
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
and remained in service with them until being scrapped at
Santander Santander may refer to: Places * Santander, Spain, a port city and capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain * Santander Department, a department of Colombia * Santander State, former state of Colombia * Santander de Quilichao, a m ...
in January 1973.


Notes


References

* * * * (Enter search term 'Empire Morn') {{DEFAULTSORT:Empire Morn 1941 ships Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness CAM ships Empire ships Steamships of the United Kingdom World War II merchant ships of the United Kingdom Steamships of Spain Merchant ships of Spain