Empire Byron was a 6,645 GRT cargo ship which was built in 1941 for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT).

Empire Byron was torpedoed and sunk on 5 July 1942 by German submarine U-703 while a member of Convoy PQ 17.

[3] Empire Byron was operated under the management of Haldin & Philipps Ltd.[3] She was a member of a number of convoys during the Second World War.

[6] Convoy QP 9 departed the Kola Inlet, Soviet Union on 21 March 1942 and arrived at Reykjavík on 3 April.

On 4 July, Empire Byron was hit by a torpedo dropped by a Heinkel He 111 of II/KG 26 and was damaged, straggling behind the convoy.

[9] The ship's captain, John Wharton MBE,[9] and the 3rd Radio Officer, R Phillips, were each awarded a Lloyd's War Medal for Bravery at Sea for their actions in the sinking of Empire Byron.