The Empire Lake was built by William Gray & Company Ltd., at West Hartlepool and registered there in February 1941. The ship’s gross tonnage was 2852 tons, length 310 feet, beam 44 feet. She was commissioned for the Ministry of War Transport, the managers being The Stanhope Steamship Company Ltd., at - 81, Promenade, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. The ship sailed from Liverpool in convoy on the 18th March 1943, bound for South Africa, she eventually docked in Freetown and from there on to Durban.
The Empire Lake sailed from Durban on the 8th July 1943, with a cargo of coal, bound for Aden. For the first two days the ship sailed under convoy escort before being released to make her own way. The Empire Lake was a defensively armed merchant ship, with 1/4-inch gun, 1 12-pounder, 2 Oerlikons, 2 Twin Marlins and 4 P.A.C. Rockets. The crew of thirty-nine consisted of: 31 Merchant Seaman and eight Military Gunners. Before leaving Durban, the crew were warned that there were U-Boats operating in the area. Four of the crew stood down and one deserted, they were replaced with four more men. On the 15th July, the ship was hit by two torpedoes amidships and sank very quickly. Only seven of the crew survived.
U-Boat181, was a type: IDX2.Builder: AG Weser (Bremen). Laid Down: 15.03.41, Launched: 30.12.41. Commissioned: 09.05.42.
The first Commander was Korvettenkapit Wolfgang Lüth; he sailed out of Kiel Harbor on the morning of 12 September 1942. Lüth was twenty-eight years old and holder of the Knight’s Cross. U-181 sailed south for operations in the South Atlantic. Having sunk twelve allied merchant ships, U-181 sailed into Bordeaux on the 18.01.43. On the 23.03.43, U-181 sailed south with Wolfgang Lüth again in command for further operations in the South Atlantic. Whilst at sea, U-181 received orders to sail further south around the Cape of Good Hope and into the Indian Ocean; this was to be the longest voyage ever undertaken by a submarine, lasting until 14.10.43.
Operations in the Indian Ocean were relatively easy compared to the Atlantic and provided Lüth with the opportunity to raise the gross tonnage of ships U-181 had sunk. On the 15 July 1943, a lookout sighted the Empire Lake on the German Kriegsmarine Map Quadrant position, KF91; Lüth sank the ship at 16.01 hours with two torpedoes on the port side.
The following is recorded in Lüth’s log, "Five men have been left floating on a piece of wreckage," then, cold bloodedly, "Due to the high sea and 180 mile distance from land they will probably not be saved." There were in fact seven survivors, two were on another raft.
The Empire Lake was sunk in the Indian Ocean in a position 21-27 South by 51-47 East. This position is between the Islands of Madagascar and Reunion.
Conclusion
I have been unable to trace any of the survivors. Able-Seaman George Ragless died in1987. I have traced his son Ian Ragless also Christopher Brock, son of the 1st Mate, Hiram Brock (sadly, after tracing Christopher Brock, he died in July 2001). Something special has occurred since I traced Ian Ragless. He thought it was due to my research into the Empire Lake, but it is pure coincidence. He was telephoned by a Captain Page of the Royal Navy who informed him that a French woman in Madagascar had in her possession, his father’s personal log and I am most interested to see if the log throws any light on events.
I am not unhappy to conclude my story of the Empire Lake by writing about the final events of Wolfgang Lüth. On the 1 September 1944, at the age of thirty, he was promoted to Kapitän zur See. He had been promoted to full Kapitän in order for Dönitz to personally appoint him Commandant of the Marinekriegsschule at Flensburg. He took up his position on 17 September. Lüth’s orders to the guards at the Marinekriegsschule were to challenge anyone approaching only once and ask for the password, if they received no response they were to shoot.
At 00.30, 14 May 1945, Wolfgang Lüth was returning to his quarters, he had to pass the sentries guarding the compound, it was a dark night, windy and raining. An eighteen-year old sentry heard footsteps approaching, he challenged, no response, he challenged again, no response, he fired his rifle in the direction of the approaching figure and saw the body fall. One of the other sentries came running over, they bent over the body and saw that it was Luth, he had been shot through the forehead and was dead.