SS Empire Rest

Empire Rest
History
United Kingdom
Name	SS Empire Rest
Owner	Ministry of War Transport
Operator	Ellerman City Line
Ordered	9 December 1942
Builder	Ferguson Brothers (Port Glasgow) Ltd., Port Glasgow
Laid down	1943
Launched	19 June 1944, as Rayleigh Castle
Completed	26 October 1944, as Empire Rest
In service	November 1944
Out of service	July 1948
Identification	Official number: 169516 Call sign: GJCW
Fate	Sold for scrap, 1951
General characteristics
Class and type	Castle-class corvette, converted to convoy rescue ship
Tonnage	1,333 GRT
Length	252 ft (76.8 m)
Beam	36 ft (11 m)
Draught	13 ft 5 in (4.1 m)
Installed power	2 × Admiralty 3-drum boilers 2,880 ihp (2,148 kW)
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 triple-expansion steam engines
Speed	16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph)
Armament	1 × single 12 pdr (3 in (76 mm)) AA gun 5 × single 20 mm (0.8 in) AA guns

SS Empire Rest was a convoy rescue ship built for the Royal Navy during World War II, originally laid down as the Castle-class corvette Rayleigh Castle. Post-war she served as a transport ship until 1948, was sold in 1951, and scrapped in 1952.^[1]