Empire Shackleton 1941 - CAM Ship

[Woody]

Empire Shackleton
CAM Ship
Launched by Lithgows Ltd. Port Glasgow, Yard No 953, on 23/7/1941 as a General Cargo Ship for the Ministry of War Transport. 29/12/1942 sunk by gunfire after being torpedoed.
7068 grt
432.7 ft x 56.2 ft x 34.2 ft
Engines by Rankin & Blackmore, Greenock
1 screw, T3cyl, 436 nhp
1 x 4in, 1 x 12pdr. 4 x 20mm and 2 MGs
1 rocket catapult with 1 Mk 1 Hurricane
Crew 62

She was to be managed by G. Heyn & Sons, Belfast, but was transferred to Houlder Brothers & Co Ltd., on completion in September 1941
28/12/1942 at nearly midnight she was the Convoy Commodore's ship in Convoy ONS 154 ( Liverpool to Halifax), North of Azores, when she was struck and damaged by two torpedoes from U-225
29/12/1942 at 05.00 she was struck by another torpedo from U-123 and stopped. Later in the evening 43 of the crew were picked up by HMS Fidelity. Unfortunately they were lost when Fidelity was sunk the next day. 17 others were rescued from a lifeboat and a raft
The wreck was finally sunk by gunfire from U-435 which also sank the Fidelity
During her short career she did not have cause to launch her Hurricane