On this day (2nd November) WW2 Shipwreckollections
SS Empire Sunrise ( 1941-1942)
The SS Empire Sunrise was a British cargo ship built in 1941 by Joseph L. Thompson & Sons in Sunderland, UK. In the year between her launch and her sinking, she was owned by Nitrate Producers Steamship Co.
On 2nd November 1942 whilst en route from Three Rivers, Quebec to Belfast, Northern Ireland via Sydney, Nova Scotia, the Empire Sunrise was badly damaged by a German torpedo around 500 miles east of Belle Isle.
The damage to the vessel was severe, however she only sank after she was hit by another torpedo from a German U-Boat. The ship had been carrying 10,000 tonnes of steel and timber on her voyage.
The 45 strong crew and five gunners were rescued from the doomed ship by the British rescue ship Stockport and were transported to Reykjavik, Iceland, where they arrived six days later.
The Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society provided the survivors with £85/17s worth of financial support – the equivalent of £3,905 today.
Photo credit: www.wrecksite.eu