SS Empire Rest

History
United Kingdom
Name: SS Empire Rest
Owner: Ministry of War Transport
Operator: Ellerman City Line
Ordered: 9 December 1942
Builder: Ferguson Brothers, Port Glasgow
Launched: 19 June 1944, as Rayleigh Castle
Completed: 26 October 1944, as Empire Rest
In service: November 1944
Out of service: July 1948
Identification:
Fate:
  • Sold, 1951
  • Scrapped, 1952
General characteristics [1]
Class and type: Castle-class corvette, converted to convoy rescue ship
Tonnage: 1,333 GRT
Length: 252 ft (77 m)
Beam: 36 ft (11 m)
Depth: 13 ft 5 in (4.09 m)
Propulsion: 2,889 ihp (2,154 kW) triple expansion steam engine, 2 shafts
Speed: 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph)

SS Empire Rest was a British convoy rescue ship that served at the end of World War II, originally laid down as the corvette HMS Rayleigh Castle. Post-war she served as a transport ship until 1948, was sold in 1951, and scrapped in 1952.[2]

Ship history

The ship was ordered from Ferguson Brothers of Port Glasgow on 9 December 1942 as a Castle-class corvette. She was launched on 19 June 1944 as Rayleigh Castle (K695), but further work was then cancelled, and she was eventually completed as a convoy rescue ship on 26 October 1944. Under the ownership of the Ministry of War Transport, and managed by the Ellerman City Line, she sailed on eleven convoys between November 1944 and June 1945, but made no rescues. In November 1945 she sailed to Kiel to repatriate Royal Navy personnel,[1] and was also employed as an transport ship in the Mediterranean in 1947, taking illegal Jewish immigrants from Haifa to internment camps on Cyprus in October that year.[3][4][5][6]

In July 1948 she was laid up at Falmouth, Cornwall, and offered for sale in October 1949. She was eventually bought by Lloyds Albert Yard & Motor Boat Packet Services Ltd. in October 1951. She arrived at Thos W Ward of Briton Ferry, Wales, for scrapping on 6 June 1952.[1]

Convoys

Empire Rest sailed on the following convoys:[7]

  • OS-95 km/KMS-69G — River Clyde to Gibraltar (November 1944)
  • MKS-68G/SL-177MK — Gibraltar to Liverpool (November 1944)
  • OS-100 km — Liverpool to Gibraltar (December 1944)
  • MKS-72G — Gibraltar to Liverpool (December 1944)
  • OS-104 km — Liverpool to Gibraltar (January 1945)
  • MKS-76G — Gibraltar to Clyde (January 1945)
  • ON-283 — Southend to New York City (February 1945)
  • HX-341 — NYC to Liverpool (March 1945)
  • ON-294 — Southend to NYC (April 1945)
  • HX-352 — NYC to Liverpool (May 1945)
  • ON-304 — Southend to NYC (June 1945)

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Convoy Rescue Ships Service". historicalrfa.org. 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  2. ↑ "Empire R". mariners-l.co.uk. 2011. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  3. ↑ Ulvi, Keser (2009). "Turkish assistance activities for the Jewish immigrants and Jewish immigrant camps in Cyprus during Second World War" (PDF). Ege Academic Review. Ankara, Turkey: Atılım University. 9 (2): 735–758. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  4. ↑ "Palestine Units". Britain's Small Wars. 2012. Archived from the original on 19 June 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  5. ↑ Mason, Geoffrey B. (2011). "HMS Widemouth Bay". naval-history.net. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  6. ↑ Wertheimer, Earl (2011). "Haapalah / Aliyah Bet". wertheimer.info. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  7. ↑ Hague, Arnold (2009). "Ports Database: Ship Movements". convoyweb.org.uk. Retrieved 16 November 2012.



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