SS Empire Byron
{{short description|World War II merchant ship of the United Kingdom}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2017}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image= |Ship caption= }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= | Ship country = | Ship flag = |Ship class= |Ship name= Empire Byron |Ship ordered= |Ship awarded= |Ship builder=Bartram & Sons Ltd, Sunderland |Ship yard number=289 |Ship laid down= |Ship launched=6 October 1941 |Ship completed=January 1942 |Ship christened= |Ship acquired= |Ship registry={{flagicon|United Kingdom|civil}} Sunderland |Ship identification=*UK Official Number 169005
|Ship owner=Ministry of War Transport |Ship operator=Haldin & Philipps Ltd |Ship commissioned= |Ship recommissioned= |Ship decommissioned= |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= 5 July 1942 |Ship route= |Ship renamed= |Ship reclassified= |Ship refit= |Ship captured= |Ship struck= |Ship reinstated= |Ship fate= Torpedoed and sunk by U-703 }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship tonnage=*{{GRT|6,645}}
|Ship type= |Ship length={{convert|416|ft|8|in|m|2|abbr=on}} |Ship beam= {{convert|56|ft|5|in|m|2|abbr=on}} |Ship draught= |Ship depth={{convert|34|ft|m|2|abbr=on}} |Ship propulsion=1 x triple expansion steam engine |Ship speed= |Ship range= |Ship endurance= |Ship test depth= |Ship capacity= |Ship complement= |Ship time to activate= |Ship sensors= |Ship EW= |Ship armament= |Ship armor= |Ship aircraft= |Ship motto= |Ship nickname= |Ship badge= |Ship honours= |Ship notes= |Ship crew = 49, plus 19 DEMS gunners }} |
{{location map|Russia|width=304
|lat=76.3
|long=33.5
|caption=Location of the sinking of Empire Byron.
}}
Empire Byron was a {{GRT|6,645}} cargo ship which was built in 1941 for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). Completed in January 1942, she had a short service career. Empire Byron was torpedoed and sunk on 5 July 1942 by {{GS|U-703}} while a member of Convoy PQ 17.
Description
Empire Byron was built by Bartram & Sons Ltd, Sunderland for the MoWT.{{cite book | first = and Sawyer, L A| last = Mitchell, W H | year = 1995| title = The Empire Ships| publisher = Lloyd's of London Press Ltd| location = London, New York, Hamburg, Hong Kong|isbn=1-85044-275-4}} She was yard number 289.{{csr|register=MSI|id=1169005|accessdate=1 January 2010}} Empire Byron was launched on 6 October 1941 and completed in January 1942.
The ship was {{convert|416|ft|8|in|m|2}} long, with a beam of {{convert|56|ft|5|in|m|2}} and a depth of {{convert|34|ft|m|2}}. She was propelled by a triple expansion steam engine which had cylinders of {{convert|23.5|in|cm}}, {{convert|38|in|cm}} and {{convert|66|in|cm}} diameter by {{convert|48|in|cm}} stroke. The engine was built by North East Marine Engine Co (1938) Ltd, Newcastle upon Tyne. She had a GRT of 6,645 and a NRT of 4,796.{{cite web|url=https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/41/41b0989.pdf |title=LLOYD'S REGISTER, STEAMERS & MOTORSHIPS |publisher=Plimsoll Ship Data |access-date=1 January 2010}}
Career
Empire Byron was operated under the management of Haldin & Philipps Ltd. She was a member of a number of convoys during the Second World War.
;PQ 12
Convoy PQ 12 departed Reykjavík, Iceland on 1 March 1942.{{cite web |url=http://www.bismarck-class.dk/tirpitz/history/tiropersportpalast.html |title=Tirpitz, the History |publisher=Bismark class |access-date=1 January 2009 |archive-date=17 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090217062452/http://bismarck-class.dk/tirpitz/history/tiropersportpalast.html |url-status=dead }} It arrived at Murmansk on 12 March.{{cite web|url=http://www.worldwar-2.net/timelines/war-at-sea/atlantic/battle-of-the-atlantic-index-1942.htm |title=Battle of the Atlantic! March 1942 |publisher=World War 2 |access-date=1 January 2009}} Empire Byron was a member of this convoy.{{cite web |url=http://www.gordonmumford.com/m-navy/survive6.htm |title=Arctic Convoys |publisher=Gordon Mumford |access-date=1 January 2010 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090808215650/http://www.gordonmumford.com/m-navy/survive6.htm |archive-date=8 August 2009 |df=dmy-all }}
;QP 9
Convoy QP 9 departed the Kola Inlet, Soviet Union on 21 March 1942 and arrived at Reykjavík on 3 April. Empire Byron was listed as a member of this convoy, with a destination of Immingham.{{cite web|url=http://www.warsailors.com/convoys/qp9.html |title=Convoy QP 9 |publisher=Warsailors |access-date=1 January 2010}}
;PQ 17
Convoy PQ 17 departed Reykjavík on 27 June 1942 and scattered at sea on 5 July.{{cite web |url=http://www.mikekemble.com/ww2/convoypq17.html |title=Convoy PQ 17 |publisher=Mike Kemble |access-date=1 January 2010 |archive-date=4 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100204083940/http://www.mikekemble.com/ww2/convoypq17.html |url-status=usurped }} Empire Byron had started her voyage from Hull. She was carrying a cargo of 15 aircraft, 30 tanks, 2,455 tons of military stores and six vehicles. On 4 July, Empire Byron was hit by a torpedo dropped by a Heinkel He 111 of II/KG 26 and was damaged, straggling behind the convoy. at 08:27 (German time) on 5 July, {{GS|U-703}} fired another torpedo, which sank Empire Byron with the loss of six crew and a passenger at {{coord|76|18|N|33|30|E|display=inline,title}}. A second passenger was taken prisoner. He was landed at Narvik, Norway on 15 July. The remaining 62 survivors were rescued by {{HMS|Dianella|K07|6}} and landed at Archangelsk on 16 July.{{cite web|url=http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/1891.html |title=Empire Byron |publisher=Uboat |access-date=1 January 2010}}
The ship's captain, John Wharton MBE, and the 3rd Radio Officer, R Phillips, were each awarded a Lloyd's War Medal for Bravery at Sea for their actions in the sinking of Empire Byron. In the case of Phillips, the award was posthumous.{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/30/a8649930.shtml |title=Lloyd's War Medal for Bravery at Sea (Part Two) |publisher=BBC |access-date=1 January 2010}} Those lost on Empire Byron are commemorated at the Tower Hill Memorial, London.{{cite web |url=http://www.benjidog.co.uk/Tower%20Hill/Ship%20Index%20A-F.html |title=Ship Index A-F |publisher=Brian Watson |access-date=20 May 2011 |archive-date=6 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006025450/http://www.benjidog.co.uk/Tower%20Hill/Ship%20Index%20A-F.html |url-status=dead }}
Official Numbers and Code Letters
Official Numbers were a forerunner to IMO Numbers. Empire Byron had the United Kingdom Official Number 169005 and used the Code Letters BCTG.
References
{{reflist}}
{{Empire ships}}
{{July 1942 shipwrecks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Empire Byron}}
Category:Ships built on the River Wear
Category:Ministry of War Transport ships
Category:Steamships of the United Kingdom
Category:Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II