SS Empire Dell was a 7,065 GRT CAM ship that was built in 1941 by Lithgows Ltd, Port Glasgow, United Kingdom for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT).

[4] Empire Dell was allocated the United Kingdom Official Number 167004 and Code Letters BCMD.

[6] she then sailed to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, arriving on 2 August.

Empire Dell was transferred to Convoy SC 40,[7] which had departed from Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia on 10 August and arrived at Liverpool on 29 August.

[10] She left the convoy at the Belfast Lough on 3 November to join Convoy BB 97,[5] which departed on 6 November and arrived at Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire the next day.

She left four days later and sailed to Cardiff, Glamorgan, arriving on 13 November.

[13] She departed from Gibraltar on 29 December for Huelva, Spain, arriving the next day.

[5] Empire Dell departed from Huelva on 7 January 1942 for Gibraltar, arriving the same day.

[17] At around 02:00 (German time) on 12 May, Empire Dell was hit by a torpedo fired by U-124, which was under the command of Kapitänleutnant Johann Mohr.