SS Empire Conveyor Empire Conveyor was a 5 , 911 GRT shelter deck cargo ship that was built in 1917 as Farnworth by Richardson , Duck and Company , Thornaby - on - Tees , England . After a sale in 1924 she was renamed Illinois . In 1926 , she was sold to France , and in 1934 to Greece and was renamed Mount Pentelikon . In 1939 , she was sold to Germany and was renamed Gloria . At the outbreak of the Second World War she was in Buenos Aires , Argentina . She tried to return to Germany but was captured by the Royal Navy , passed to the Ministry of War Transport ( MoWT ) and renamed Empire Conveyor . She served until 22 June 1940 when she was torpedo ed and sunk by off Barra Head . Description . The ship was long , with a beam of . She had a depth of and a draught of . She was assessed at 5 , 711 GRT , 3 , 589 NRT . The ship had nine corrugated furnaces with a combined grate area of heating her three single - ended 180 lb / in boilers , which had a combined heating surface of . The boilers fed a 440 NHP triple expansion steam engine that was built by Blair & Co Ltd of Stockton - on - Tees . It had cylinders of , and diameter , by stroke and could propel the ship at . History . Richardson , Duck and Company of Thornaby - on - Tees built " Farnworth " was built for R . S . Dalgleish Ltd , Newcastle upon Tyne and completed her in June 1917 . She was allocated the United Kingdom Official Number 140672 . " Farnworth " was used on routes serving the east and west coast of the United States , the Caribbean and West Indies . In 1924 , she was sold to the Harlem Steamship Co Ltd , Newcastle upon Tyne and was renamed " Illinois " . She was initially operated under the management of F Newson . Later in 1924 , management was transferred to Brown , Jenkinson & Co Ltd . In 1926 she was transferred to Compagnie Générale Transatlantique . Her port of registry was Le Havre and the Code Letters OTRW were allocated . On 17 March 1932 , " Illinois " was laid up at Roscanvel . In 1934 , " Illinois " was sold to Kulukundis Shipping Co , Piraeus , Greece and renamed " Mount Pentelikon " . She was placed under the management of Rethymnis & Kulukundis Ltd . Her port of registry was changed to Piraeus and the Code Letters SVAV were allocated . In 1939 , " Mount Pentelikon " was sold to Orion Schiffahrts GmbH , Rostock , Germany . She was operated under the management of E Behnke . The Code Letters DHBB were allocated . At the outbreak of the Second World War " Gloria " was at Buenos Aires , Argentina . She departed Buenos Aires on 6 October , bound for Hamburg . On 21 October she was captured south - east of Iceland ( ) by , escorted into Kirkwall and then taken to Leith . During the voyage into Kirkwall , three of her crew attempted to escape by lifeboat but were recaptured and taken to Methil , Scotland . " Gloria " was passed to the MoWT and renamed " Empire Conveyor " . Her port of registry was changed to London , and the Code Letters GLTN were allocated . " Empire Conveyor " regained her Official Number 140572 . She was placed under the management of H Hogarth & Sons Ltd . On 20 June 1940 , " Empire Conveyor " was torpedo ed by south west of Barra Head , Scotland at . Her radio aerials were damaged in the attack and " Empire Conveyor " was unable to call for assistance . She was spotted by a Royal Air Force Sunderland aircraft , which attacked " U - 122 " and drove her away . The crew of the Sunderland raised the alarm , and the tug was sent to her aid , escorted by and . " Empire Conveyor " sank before the ships reached her . The crew took to the lifeboats and liferafts but one of them was swamped at launch , killing the captain and two crew . Thirty - eight survivors were rescued by HMS " Campbell " and landed at Liverpool on 21 June . " Empire Conveyor " was the only ship sunk by " U - 122 " . Those lost on " Empire Conveyor " are commemorated at the Tower Hill Memorial , London .