''Empire Cromwell'' was a cargo ship that was built in 1941 by William Pickersgill & Sons Ltd, Sunderland, Co Durham,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

for the

Ministry of War Transport The Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) was a department of the British Government formed early in the Second World War to control transportation policy and resources. It was formed by merging the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Transport ...

(MoWT). 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, s ...

ed and sunk off

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

on 28 November 1942 by .

Description

''Empire Cromwell'' was built in 1941 by William Pickersgill & Sons Ltd, Sunderland. ''Empire Cromwell'' was long, with a beam of . She had a depth of . She was assessed at , . ''Empire Cromwell'' was propelled by a

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 George Clark (1938) Ltd, Sunderland.

History

''Empire Cromwell'' was built for the MoWT. The United Kingdom Official Number 168920 and Code Letters BCNW were allocated. Her port of registry was

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

and she was operated under the management of Lambert Brothers Ltd, London. ''Empire Cromer'' was completed in September 1941. She made her maiden voyage on 20 September, when she joined Convoy EC 75, which had departed

Southend Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

on 18 September and arrived at

Loch Ewe Loch Ewe ( gd, Loch Iùbh) is a sea loch in the region of Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The shores are inhabited by a traditionally Gàidhlig-speaking people living in or sustained by crofting villages, the most notab ...

on 23 September. From Loch Ewe, she joined Convoy ON 20, which had departed from

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 populat ...

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 Lancash ...

on 25 September and dispersed at sea on 9 October. She then sailed to the Hampton Roads,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and then to

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

, arriving on 26 October. Departing Tampa on 30 October, she returned to the Hampton Roads and then sailed to Sydney, Cape Breton,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, where she arrived on 9 November. The next day, she joined Convoy SC 54, which arrived at Liverpool on 26 November. ''Empire Cromwell'' was carrying a cargo of

phosphate In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid . The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phosph ...

s. She left the convoy on 27 November at Loch Ewe, joining Convoy WN 211, which departed Oban, Argyllshire that day and arrived at Methil, Fife on 30 November. She then joined Convoy FS662, which departed Methil the next day and arrived at Southend on 3 December. She left the convoy at Immingham,

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

, arriving on 4 December. ''Empire Cromwell'' departed from Immingham to join Convoy FN583A, which had departed from Southend on 21 December and arrived at Methil on 23 December. She then joined Convoy EN 24, which departed Methil the next day and arrived at Loch Ewe on 28 December. ''Empire Cromwell'' was in ballast. She left the convoy at Loch Ewe on 27 December and then sailed to

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

, from where she departed on 21 January 1942 for Galveston, Texas, arriving on 28 January. A voyage was made to

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

and back, before ''Empire Cromwell'' returned to Houston, departing on 12 February for the Hampton Roads. She then sailed to 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 ...

to join Convoy SC 73, which departed on 6 March and arrived at Liverpool on 24 March. She was the first ship in the convoy to leave port, and was carrying general cargo. She left the convoy on 23 March at the

Belfast Lough Belfast Lough is a large, intertidal sea inlet on the east coast of Northern Ireland. At its head is the city and port of Belfast, which sits at the mouth of the River Lagan. The lough opens into the North Channel and connects Belfast to ...

. Two days later, she joined Convoy BB 153, which arrived at Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire the next day. She then sailed to Swansea, Glamorgan, arriving on 26 March. ''Empire Cromwell'' sailed from Swansea to Milford Haven to join Convoy WP 134, which departed on 30 April and arrived at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

the next day. Her destination was nearby

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. ''Empire Cromwell'' departed from Southampton on 17 April to join Convoy PW 142, which departed the next day and arrived at Milford Haven on 19 April. She then made a voyage to

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, Glamorgan and back. On 1 May, she left Milford Haven to join Convoy OS 27, which departed from Liverpool on 2 May and arrived at

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and po ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

on 19 May. She was carrying a cargo of stores bound for

Suez Suez ( ar, السويس '; ) is a seaport city (population of about 750,000 ) in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez (a branch of the Red Sea), near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same bou ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

. From Freetown, ''Empire Cromwell'' sailed via

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

Lourenço Marques Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,088 ...

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

and Aden to Suez, where she arrived on 15 August. She then sailed to Port Said and

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

, Palestine. Two return voyages were made to

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

, Syria and the Lebanon before she returned to Port Said, arriving on 19 September. She then sailed to Suez, Aden and Lourenço Marques before arriving on 2 November at

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, South Africa. ''Empire Cromwell'' departed Cape Town on 4 November, for

and New York, United States. She was carrying 1,000 tons of chrome ore. At 02:17 German time on 28 November, ''Empire Cromwell'' was

ed and sunk at by , under the command of Georg Staats. Of her crew of 40, plus nine DEMS gunners, 21 crew and 3 DEMS gunners were killed. The 25 survivors were rescued on 30 November by British Motor Torpedo Boats and taken to Port of Spain, Trinidad. Those lost on ''Empire Cromwell'' are commemorated at the Tower Hill Memorial, London.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Empire Cromwell 1941 ships Ships built on the River Wear Ministry of War Transport ships Empire ships Steamships of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in November 1942 Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II World War II shipwrecks in the Caribbean Sea