Empire Spenser
Ship Number
1079
Vessel Type
Ocean Type Tanker
Built
Belfast
Slip Number
8
Launch Date
February 17, 1942
Delivered
September 29, 1942
Owner
Ministry of Shipping-Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Co
Weight
8194 grt
BP Length
460 feet
Breadth
59 feet
No. of Screws
Single
Speed (approx)
11.5 knots
Propulsion
Single Acting (S.A.) Diesel
Official No.
168516
Registered
Belfast
Fate
Torpedoed
Empire Spenser

On the 8th Decmber 1942 she was torpedoed by German submarine U-524 and sunk.
 
U-524 was part of Gruppe Panzer comprising seven U-boats. The ship was on her maiden voyage. She had loaded her cargo in Curacao for the British port of Stanlow and sailed to New York where she joined the Liverpool bound 26-ship convoy HX-217. U-524 fired four torpedo salvos, detonations were heard with a short interval. U-524 saw a tanker explode with a fire column of about 300 metres high. The ship burst into flames and sank.
 
A hit on a freighter and a destroyer of the V&W class were also observed. Thereafter another freighter exploded. Despite these claims only Empire Spenser was hit. At 05:53 CET a damaged ship was sunk with a coup-de-grâce. This was probably the Empire Spenser. The rescue ship Perth picked up all but one of her 58 crew. They were landed at Greenock on 13 December 1942.