Notable Point · 10:37-11:22

HMS Black Swan rescues Empire Star survivors

Two lifeboat recoveries after the loss of Empire Star show the life-saving work performed by an escort after a merchant sinking.

Notes

In October 1941, HMS Black Swan found a lifeboat from the sunk merchant ship Empire Star and took aboard thirty-four survivors. She later recovered another twenty-seven people from a second boat, bringing the day's total to sixty-one. The episode shifts attention from submarine kills to the rescue work that followed a merchant loss. An escort's value included recovery and survival alongside protecting a convoy from attack.