SS Empire Miniver The SS " Empire Miniver was a British steam merchant ship . She was originally an American merchant , launched in 1918 as SS " West Cobalt . During a brief stint in the United States Navy in 1919 , she was known as USS " West Cobalt " ( ID - 3836 ) . SS " West Cobalt " was built as a steam - powered cargo ship in 1918 for the . She was part of the " West " boats , a series of steel - hulled cargo ships built on the West Coast of the United States for the First World War war effort , and was the 11th ship built at Columbia River Shipbuilding Company in Portland , Oregon . Though she was completed too late for the war , she was commissioned into the of the United States Navy as USS " West Cobalt " ( ID - 3836 ) in January 1919 . After her one overseas trip for the Navy — delivering grain products to Danzig — she was decommissioned in May 1919 and returned to the . " West Cobalt " had a relatively uneventful merchant career for the and , after her 1933 sale , for the Lykes Brothers Steamship Company . In June 1940 , " West Cobalt " was sold to British interests and renamed " Empire Miniver " . Just over four months later , the ship was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine " U - 99 " while carrying supplies to the UK in Convoy SC - 7 during the Second World War . Three crewmen were killed in the attack ; the master and 34 others were rescued by a British corvette . Design and construction . The " West " ships were cargo ship s of similar size and design built by several shipyards on the West Coast of the United States for the for emergency use during the First World War . All were given names that began with the word " West " , like " West Cobalt " , the ninth of some 30 " West " ships built by the Columbia River Shipbuilding Company of Portland , Oregon . " West Cobalt " ( Columbia River Shipbuilding yard number 11 ) was launched on 26 October 1918 , and was completed in December . " West Cobalt " was , and was long ( between perpendiculars ) and abeam . She had a steel hull that displaced 12 , 424 t with a mean draught of . Her hold was deep and she had a deadweight tonnage of . " West Cobalt " s power plant consisted of a single steam turbine driving a single screw propeller which moved the ship at up to . US Navy career . Upon completion of " West Cobalt " in December 1918 , a month after the end of fighting in the First World War , she was handed over to the United States Navy for use in the . She was commissioned as USS " West Cobalt " ( ID - 3836 ) on 29 December at the Puget Sound Navy Yard in Bremerton , Washington , with Lieutenant Commander Andrew Patterson , USNRF , in command . After undergoing sea trials , " West Cobalt " sailed for San Pedro , California , on 11 January to load a cargo of grain on behalf of the American Relief Administration . Six days later , " West Cobalt " headed for Norfolk , Virginia , where she arrived on 10 February . After fuel replenishment , " West Cobalt " sailed on 19 February for Plymouth , where she arrived on 11 March , the Hook of Holland , and Danzig . After delivering her cargo , used to help feed the hungry in the aftermath of the war , she steamed for New York on 8 April . After reaching New York on 24 April , " West Cobalt " was decommissioned on 5 May and returned to the . Civilian career . Many details of " West Cobalt " s post - Navy career remain undiscovered , but mentions in shipping reports in contemporary newspapers offer hints at her activities . In 1924 , for example , reports in " The New York Times " mention a departure from New York for Manchester on 27 August , and an arrival at Liverpool on 8 September . By 1930 , " West Cobalt " was reported in " The Washington Post " as sailing on a New Orleans – London route . On 15 October of that year , the captain and four other officers of " West Cobalt " were arrested at New Orleans after of liquor — against the law under Prohibition — were found on board the ship . The five men were held under $ 1 , 000 bond each . In 1933 , " West Cobalt " was sold to the Lykes Brothers Steamship Company , which assigned her to its Ripley Steamship Company subsidiary . During the 1930s , Lykes Brothers operated cargo ships between Gulf Coast and Caribbean ports , and though there is little specific information available regarding " West Cobalt " s movements , it is likely that she called at Gulf coast and Caribbean ports as well . One specific mention of the ship is found in a report in " The New York Times " in 1937 , when the newspaper reported " West Cobalt " s arrival in New York on 30 October , ten days after sailing from New Orleans . Second World War . In June 1940 , the granted permission to Lykes to sell " West Cobalt " and three other ships to the Bank Line of Glasgow for transfer to British registry . " West Cobalt " , loaded with scrap iron , sailed from Hampton Roads , Virginia , on 28 June for Halifax . After arriving there on 2 July , " West Cobalt " sailed the next day in Convoy HX - 55 for Liverpool . On the night of 15 / 16 July , " West Cobalt " dropped astern of the convoy and was last sighted at 01 : 00 by British merchant ship " Loch Don " . " West Cobalt " continued on , however , and reached Liverpool independently on 18 July . Soon transferred to the Ministry of War Transport , the newly renamed ship , now named " Empire Miniver " , was assigned to Andrew Weir & Co . of London for operation . She sailed from Liverpool in her first wartime convoy under her new name , Convoy OB - 205 , on 29 August 1940 . The convoy dispersed the next day after coming under attack from at least four German submarines : " U - 59 " , " U - 38 " , " U - 60 " , and " U - 101 " . Though three ships from the convoy were sunk , two were damaged , and a sixth was a total loss , " Empire Miniver " arrived at Hampton Roads , on 15 September and at Baltimore two days later . After a nine - day turnaround , " Empire Miniver " sailed independently to Sydney , Nova Scotia , with a cargo of 4 , 500 tons of pig iron and 6 , 200 tons of steel , arriving on 2 October . At Sydney , she joined the ill - fated Convoy SC - 7 , bound for Newport , for her return journey . The convoy had only a single escort to start with , the sloop . The convoy was located by a wolfpack of U - boat s from 16 October , and they quickly overwhelmed the convoy , sinking many of the ships . " Empire Miniver " was torpedoed and sunk by " U - 99 " at 22 : 06 hours on 18 October , while some west by south of Barra Head . Out of a total complement of 38 , three crew members were lost . The master and 34 crew members were picked up by and were landed at Greenock on 20 October . Including " Empire Miniver " , 20 ships — over half of the ships in Convoy SC - 7 — were sunk by 8 different U - boats .