Empire Dawn was a 7,241 GRT cargo ship that was built in 1940 by William Doxford & Sons Ltd, Sunderland, Co Durham, United Kingdom for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT).

Entering service in April 1941, she served until 11 September 1942 when she was sunk by the German raider Michel.

[7] She left the convoy at Loch Ewe on 23 April and sailed to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, arriving on 9 May.

[6] Empire Dawn was a member of Convoy HX 129, which departed from Halifax on 27 May and arrived at Liverpool, Lancashire on 12 June.

[12] Over the next four months, Empire Dawn sailed to Cape Town, South Africa, Aden, Suez, Egypt, Mombasa, Kenya, Dar es Salaam, Tanganyika and Beira, Mozambique before arriving back at Cape Town on 14 November.

[6] She then joined Convoy ON 71, which departed from Liverpool on 26 February and arrived at dispersed at sea on 8 March.

[15] On 11 September, Empire Dawn was attacked by the German raider Michel west of Cape Town, South Africa.

[5] Although Empire Dawn indicated that she had surrendered, and the crew were abandoning ship, the shelling continued.

They were transferred to Uckermark,[15] and later Charlotte Schliemann which took them to Singapore, where they were handed over to the Japanese as prisoners of war.

Michel's captain Helmuth von Ruckteschell was found not guilty on this charge at his trial held at the Curio Haus in Hamburg, Allied-occupied Germany, from 5–21 May 1947.