SS Empire Clough

Empire Clough was a 6,147 GRT cargo ship which was built in 1942 by John Readhead & Sons Ltd, South Shields for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). She was torpedoed and sunk on her maiden voyage.

Description
The ship was built by John Readhead & Sons Ltd, South Shields as yard number 527. She was launched on 2 April 1942 and completed in June 1942.

The ship was 405 ft long, with a beam of 53 ft and a depth of 32 ft. She had a GRT of 6,147 and a NRT of 4,251.

The ship was propelled by a triple expansion steam engine, which had cylinders of 23+1/2 in, 37+1/2 in and 68 in diameter by 48 in stroke. The engine was built by Foster, Yates & Thompson Ltd, Blackburn.

History
Empire Clough was built for the Ministry of War Transport and placed under the management of the Larringa Steamship Co Ltd. Her port of registry was South Shields and she was allocated the Code Letters BDVX and United Kingdom Official Number 168655.

On her maiden voyage, Empire Clough was a member of Convoy ONS 100, which departed from Loch Ewe on 2 June 1942 bound for Boston and New York. At 03:40 on 10 June 1942, Empire Clough was torpedoed by GS U-94 (1940) with the loss of five crew. The ship was abandoned, with the 44 survivors being rescued by HMS Dianthus (K94) and the Portuguese trawler Argus. They were landed at St John's, Newfoundland and in Greenland respectively. Empire Clough sank at 51.83333°N, -35°W. Those lost on Empire Clough are commemorated at the Tower Hill Memorial, London.