SS Empire Blessing

History

Name:	Empire Blessing
Owner:	Ministry of War Transport
Operator:	W Runciman & Co Ltd
Port of registry:	Sunderland
Builder:	Bartram & Sons Ltd, Sunderland
Yard number:	298
Launched:	1 October 1943
Completed:	January 1944
Out of service:	19 March 1945
Identification:	UK Official Number 180054 Code Letters GCTW
Fate:	Mined and sunk, 19 March 1945
General characteristics
Tonnage:	7,064 GRT 4,885 NRT
Length:	431 ft (131.37 m)
Beam:	56 ft 3 in (17.15 m)
Depth:	35 ft 2 in (10.72 m)
Propulsion:	Triple expansion steam engine

Empire Blessing was a cargo ship which was built in 1943 by Bartram & Sons Ltd, Sunderland. She was built for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and operated under the management of W Runciman & Co Ltd. In March 1945, Empire Blessing struck a mine in the River Scheldt and sank.

Description

Empire Blessing was a 7,064 GRT cargo ship. She was built by Bartram & Sons Ltd, Sunderland,^[1] as yard number 298. The ship was launched on 1 October 1943 and completed in January 1944.^[2] She was 431 feet (131.37 m) long, with a beam of 56 feet 3 inches (17.15 m) and a depth of 35 feet 2 inches (10.72 m).^[3] The ship was powered by a triple expansion steam engine which had cylinders of 24 ¹⁄₂ inches (62 cm), 39 inches (99 cm) and 70 inches (180 cm) diameter by 48 inches (120 cm) stroke. It was manufactured by Worthington Simpson Ltd, Newark on Trent.^[3]

Career

Empire Blessing was a member of a number of convoys during the Second World War.

ON 220

Convoy ON 220 sailed from Loch Ewe on 15 January 1944, bound for Canada and the United States. Empire Blessing set off in the convoy, but returned to Loch Ewe.^[4]

ONS 29

Convoy ONS 29 sailed from Oban on 13 February 1944, bound for Canada and the United States.^[5]

HX 291

Convoy HX 291 departed Halifax, Nova Scotia on 10 May 1944 and arrived at Liverpool on 27 May. Empire Blessing was carrying a cargo of sugar and was bound for the Inverness Firth to await further orders.^[6]

Empire Blessing was involved in the Normandy Landings in June 1944.^[7] On 19 March 1945, Empire Blessing struck a mine in the River Scheldt at Knocke, Belgium (51°24′N 3°17′E / 51.400°N 3.283°E / 51.400; 3.283Coordinates: 51°24′N 3°17′E / 51.400°N 3.283°E / 51.400; 3.283) and sank. On 13 February 1954, MV Seablue (formerly Empire Seablue) struck the wreck of Empire Blessing and was holed. Although attempts were made to beach Seablue, she sank 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) west south west of Vlissingen, Netherlands.^[1]^[2]

Official Numbers and Code Letters

Official Numbers were a forerunner to IMO Numbers. Empire Blessing had the UK Official Number 180054 and used the Code Letters GCTW.^[3]

References

1 2 Mitchell, W H, and Sawyer, L A (1995). The Empire Ships. London, New York, Hamburg, Hong Kong: Lloyd's of London Press Ltd. ISBN 1-85044-275-4.
1 2 "1180054". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 25 November 2009. (subscription required (help)).
1 2 3 "Lloyd's register, Steamers & Motorships" (PDF). Plimsoll Ship Data. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
↑ "ON Convoys – 1941-1945, Convoy ON 201 through ON 2491". Warsailors. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
↑ "ONS Convoys – 1943-1945, Convoy ONS 1 through ONS 51". Warsailors. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
↑ "CONVOY HX 291". Warsailors. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
↑ "Walter Bennett's Experiences". BBC. Retrieved 25 November 2009.

Empire ships beginning with Empire B

Cargo ships	Empire Baffin Empire Balfour Empire Balham Empire Ballad Empire Ballantyne Empire Bank¹ Empire Banner Empire Barbados² Empire Bard² Empire Bardolph³ Empire Baron Empire Barracuda Empire Barrie Empire Baxter Empire Bay Empire Beacon¹ Empire Beaconsfield Empire Beatrice Empire Beaumont Empire Beauty Empire Beaver³ Empire Bede Empire Bell Empire Bermuda Empire Birdsay Empire Bison Empire Blackwater Empire Blanda Empire Blessing Empire Blossom Empire Bond Empire Boswell Empire Bowman Empire Boy Empire Breeze Empire Bridge¹ Empire Brigade Empire Bromley¹ Empire Brook¹ Empire Bruce Empire Brutus Empire Buckler Empire Buffalo Empire Builder Empire Bulbul¹ Empire Bunting Empire Burton Empire Buttress Empire Byng² Empire Byron

Landing ships	Empire Baltic Empire Battleaxe Empire Broadsword

Ocean liners	Empire Bittern Empire Brent Empire Bure⁴

Tankers	Empire Bairn¹ Empire Barkis¹ Empire Barnaby¹ Empire Belgrave¹ Empire Benefit Empire Beresford Empire Billow¹ Empire Bombardier Empire Bounty Empire Boxer¹ Empire Bronze Empire Bute¹

Tugs	Empire Barbara⁵ Empire Bascobel Empire Becky⁵ Empire Belle⁵ Empire Ben⁵ Empire Bess Empire Betsy⁵ Empire Birch⁵ Empire Bracken⁵

A B Ca–Cl Co–Cy D E F G H I–J K L M N O P R Sa–Sh Si–Sy Ta–Te Th–Ty U–Z

1 Coaster 2 Heavy lift ship 3 Refrigerated Cargo Ship 4 Cargo liner 5 Coastal tug

Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in March 1945

Shipwrecks	1 Mar: USS Hannibal 2 Mar: U-3519 3 Mar: HMT Southern Flower, HMAS Steady Hour 4 Mar: U-3508 6 Mar: Albert Ballin, Z28 7 Mar: U-1302 10 Mar: Amiral Charner, U-275, U-681 11 Mar: U-682 12 Mar: USS Bass, U-260 13 Mar: HMS Sealion 14 Mar: Hugo Zeye, U-714, U-1021 15 Mar: USS Lancetfish 16 Mar: U-367 17 Mar: HMCS Guysborough 18 Mar: U-866 19 Mar: Empire Blessing, Suma 21 Mar: James Eagan Layne 23 Mar: Gneisenau, USS S-21 24 Mar: Tomozuru 26 Mar: HMAS Terka, U-399, U-1003, Zähringen 27 Mar: U-722, U-905 28 Mar: USS Skylark, USS Trigger 29 Mar: Kommandøren, U-1106, U-1169 30 Mar: Köln, U-96, U-348, U-350, U-429, U-430, U-870, U-884, U-965, U-1131, U-1167, U-2340, U-3508 31 Mar: Ha-60, I-8 Unknown date: Ha-69, USS Kete, U-296

Other incidents	6 Mar: Greenhill Park 11 Mar: U-1201 19 Mar: USS Franklin, Ryūhō 23 Mar: U-1003 26 Mar: USS Halligan, HMS Puffin 29 Mar: HMCS Teme 30 Mar: U-1197 31 Mar: USS Coos Bay Unknown date: U-758

1944 1945 1946 February 1945 April 1945

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