View source for SS Empire Breeze

{{short description|World War II merchant ship of the United Kingdom}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2017}}
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|Ship name= ''Empire Breeze''
|Ship ordered=
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|Ship builder=J L Thompson & Sons Ltd, Sunderland
|Ship yard number=603
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=3 October 1940
|Ship completed=January 1941
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|Ship registry={{flagicon|United Kingdom|civil|}} Sunderland
|Ship identification=*UK [[Official Number]] 168662
*Code Letters GPFP (1941-42)
*{{ICS|Golf}}{{ICS|Papa}}{{ICS|Foxtrot}}{{ICS|Papa}}
|Ship owner=[[Ministry of War Transport]]
|Ship operator=J & J Denholm Ltd
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|Ship out of service=25 August 1942
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|Ship fate= Torpedoed 25 August 1942 and sank 27 August
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|Ship tonnage=*{{GRT|7,457}}
*{{NRT|4,557}}
|Ship length={{convert|310|ft|6|in|m|2|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam= {{convert|59|ft|9|in|m|2|abbr=on}}
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|Ship depth={{convert|35|ft|m|2|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=Triple expansion steam engine
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|Ship armament=* 1 × 4-inch gun
* 1 × 20 mm anti-aircraft gun
* 2 × twin machine guns
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|Ship crew = 42, plus 6 DEMS gunners
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{{location map|North Atlantic|width=304
|lat=49.367
|long=-35.867
|caption=Location of the sinking of ''Empire Breeze''.
}}

'''''Empire Breeze''''' was a {{GRT|7,457}} [[cargo ship]] which was built in 1940 for the [[Ministry of War Transport]] (MoWT). Shortly after entering service she ran aground but was repaired. ''Empire Breeze'' was torpedoed and sunk by {{GS|U-176||2}} on 25 August 1942.

==Description==
''Empire Breeze'' was built by [[J.L. Thompson and Sons|J L Thompson & Sons Ltd]], [[Sunderland, Tyne and Wear|Sunderland]].<ref name=Ships>{{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}}</ref> She was yard number 603.<ref name=Miramar>{{csr|register=MSI|id=1168662|access-date=8 December 2009}}</ref> Launched on 3 October 1940, she was completed in January 1941.<ref name=Ships/>

''Empire Breeze'' was {{convert|310|ft|6|in|m|2}} long, with a beam of {{convert|59|ft|9|in|m|2}} and a depth of {{convert|35|ft|m|2}}. She was propelled by a [[triple expansion steam engine]] which had cylinders of {{convert|25|in|cm}}, {{convert|41|in|cm}} and {{convert|68|in|cm}} bore by {{convert|45|in|cm}} stroke. The engine was built by George Clarke (1938) Ltd, Sunderland.<ref name=Breeze>{{cite web|url=https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/40/40a1058.pdf |title=LLOYD'S REGISTER, NAVIRES A VAPEUR ET A MOTEURS |publisher=Plimsoll Ship Data |access-date=8 December 2009}}</ref> ''Empire Breeze'' was armed with a 4" gun, a 20mm AA gun and two twin machine guns.<ref name=Uboat/>

==Career==

''Empire Breeze''{{'}}s [[Ship registration|port of registry]] was Sunderland. She was operated under the management of J & J Denholm Ltd, Sunderland.<ref name=Breeze/> On 5 February 1941, she ran aground on the Bondicar Rocks, off [[Amble]], [[Northumberland]]. She was refloated on 13 March and taken in tow by the [[tugboat|tug]] ''Bullger'', but the tug struck a [[naval mine|mine]] and sank in [[Druridge Bay]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://rnliarchive.blob.core.windows.net/media/1675/1941wys.pdf |title=RNLI Services 1941 |publisher=rnliarchive.blob.core.windows.net |access-date=16 March 2020}}</ref> ''Empire Breeze'' was anchored off [[Cresswell, Northumberland|Cresswell]] and later taken to Sunderland for repairs. She was a member of a number of convoys during the [[Second World War]].

===ON 37===
Convoy ON 37 departed from [[Liverpool]] on 15 November 1941 and dispersed at sea on 24 November.<ref name=ON37>{{cite web|url=http://www.warsailors.com/convoys/on37.html |title=CONVOY ON (S) 37 |publisher=Warsailors |access-date=8 December 2009}}</ref>

===ON 122===
Convoy ON 122 departed from Liverpool on 15 August 1942 and dispersed at sea on 3 September.<ref name=ON122>{{cite web|url=http://www.warsailors.com/convoys/on122.html |title=CONVOY ON 122, Code Word MAGOG |publisher=Warsailors |access-date=8 December 2009}}</ref> On 25 August 1942, ''Empire Breeze'' was [[torpedo]]ed by {{GS|U-176||2}} and {{GS|U-438||2}}.  Two torpedoes struck ''Empire Breeze'', killing one crew member. She began to settle by the stern. The captain of ''U-438'' claimed the kill, but postwar analysis shows that it was ''U-176'' which had fired the fatal shot. The tug {{HMS|Frisky}} was sent from [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador|St. John's]], [[Newfoundland and Labrador]] and {{sclass2|Flower|corvette}} {{HMCS|Rosthern|K169|6}} was detached from the convoy to assist in salvaging ''Empire Breeze''. The surviving crew abandoned ship, but later reboarded her and sent distress signals after repairing the radio set. On 27 August, the [[Republic of Ireland|Irish]] merchant ship {{SS|Irish Willow|1918|2}} rescued the 42 surviving crew and six [[Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships|DEMS]] gunners. They were landed at [[Dunmore East]], [[County Waterford]] on 1 September. Although ''Empire Breeze'' was still afloat on 27 August, she could not be found by HMS ''Frisky'' and the search was abandoned on 30 August.<ref name=Uboat>{{cite web|url=http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/2088.html |title=Empire Breeze |publisher=Uboat |access-date=8 December 2009}}</ref> Those lost on ''Empire Breeze'' are commemorated at the [[Tower Hill Memorial]], London.<ref name=THM>{{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 }}</ref>

==Official Numbers and Code Letters==

Official Numbers were a forerunner to [[IMO ship identification number|IMO Numbers]]. ''Empire Breeze''  had the UK [[Official Number]] 168662 and used the [[Code Letters]] GPFP.<ref name=Breeze/>

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{coord|49|22|N|35|52|W|display=title}}

{{Empire ships}}
{{February 1941 shipwrecks}}
{{August 1942 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Empire Breeze}}
[[Category:1940 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built on the River Wear]]
[[Category:Empire ships]]
[[Category:Ministry of War Transport ships]]
[[Category:Steamships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in February 1941]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in August 1942]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean]]