List of Empire ships (R)

[1] They were acquired from a number of sources: many were built for the government; others obtained from the United States; still others were captured or seized from enemy powers.

Empire Rabaul was a 7,307 Gross register tonnage (GRT) cargo ship which was built by John Readhead & Sons Ltd, South Shields.

[3] Empire Rain was a 7,290 GRT cargo ship which was built by John Readhead & Sons Ltd, South Shields.

[6] Empire Raleigh was a 7,240 GRT cargo ship which was built by William Doxford & Sons Ltd, Sunderland.

He was 'convicted at Central Criminal Court on 5 February 1946 of conspiring to assist the enemy and sentenced to 7 years of penal servitude.

[13] Empire Rapier was a 7,177 GRT (11,650 tons displacement) Type C1-S-AY1 cargo ship which was built by Consolidated Steel Corp, Wilmington, California.

[14] Empire Raven was a 6,100 GRT (9,400 DWT) refrigerated cargo ship which was built by Moore Shipbuilding Co, Oakland, California.

[15] Louis Adamic wrote an account of life on the ship in 1922 in his Dynamite: The Story of Class Violence in America (published in 1931), which in turn inspired Bertold Brecht's poem "Abbau des Schiffes Oskawa durch die Mannschaft", published in his 1939 collection Svendborger Gedichte.

[18] Empire Razorbill was a 5,117 GRT (7,500 DWT) cargo ship which was built by American International Shipbuilding, Hog Island, Pennsylvania.

[8] Empire Record was a 2,902 GRT cargo ship which was built by William Gray & Co Ltd, West Hartlepool.

[20] Empire Redshank was a 6,615 GRT (9,600 DWT) cargo ship which was built by Federal Shipbuilding Co, Kearney, New Jersey.

[21] Empire Regent was a 9,904 GRT cargo liner which was built by Furness Shipbuilding Co Ltd, Haverton Hill-on-Tees.

[17] Empire Reindeer was a 6,259 GRT (9,600 DWT) cargo ship which was built by the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Kearney, New Jersey.

[22] Empire Reserve was a 5,693 GRT tanker which was built by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd, Newcastle upon Tyne.

[25] Empire Reynolds was an 8,128 GRT tanker which was built in 1942 by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd, Newcastle upon Tyne.

[26] Empire Rhodes was a 7,050 GRT cargo ship which was built by Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Ltd, Dundee.

[30] Empire Rider was a 964 GRT (1,100 DWT) coaster which was built by Scott & Sons, Bowling, West Dunbartonshire.

[36] Empire Rival was a 7,045 GRT cargo ship which was built by William Gray & Co Ltd, West Hartlepool.

In September, following the D-Day Normandy Landings on 6 June 1944, the Empire Rival loaded troops and armored cars belonging to the 52nd Lowland Division at London Docks.

In July 1947 she embarked some of the Jewish refugees from SS Exodus at Haifa and took them to Port de Bouc, France where they refused to disembark.

Empire Rival remained in port from 29 July until 22 August, with the refugees under armed guard by the 6th Airborne Division.

[25] Empire Roach was a 716 GRT coaster which was built by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd, Newcastle upon Tyne.

Operated under the management of Townsend Brothers Ltd until 1965, then Ellerman's Westcott & Laurence Line Ltd. Sold in 1968 to Progressive Trading Agency Ltd, Malta.

[22] Empire Robin was a 5,756 GRT (8,800 DWT) cargo ship which was built by Columbia River Shipbuilding, Portland, Oregon.

Sold in 1959 to D Lijnzaad Transport-en-Handel, Rotterdam and renamed Amalie B. Scrapped in August 1960 at Hamburg, West Germany.

[45] Empire Rother was a 1,940 GRT cargo ship which was built by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd, Newcastle upon Tyne.

Operated under the management of William Cory & Sons Ltd. Sold in 1949 to Quebec North Shore Paper Co, Montreal and renamed Manicouagun.

Completed in 1922 as Lochgoil for Royal Mail Lines Ltd. Damaged by a mine on 6 October 1939 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) from the Scarweather Light Vessel, Bristol Channel.

Collided on 24 January 1945 with SS Twickenham Ferry 10 nautical miles (19 km) off Dover, Kent (51°03′N 01°32′E / 51.050°N 1.533°E / 51.050; 1.533) and sank.

[50] Empire Ruskin was a 7,037 GRT cargo ship which was built by John Readhead & Sons Ltd, South Shields.