Leander was a 989 GRT coaster that was built in 1925 by Atlas WerkeAG, Hamburg, Germany. The British Royal Navy captured her in November 1939 and impressed her into service as Empire Crusader. She was bombed and sunk in 1940.
Leander was built for Neptun Line, Bremen.[1] On 18 February 1931, she caught fire off Domesnaes, Latvia and was abandoned by her crew.[5]
When World War II broke out, she was in port at Vigo, Spain. Unable to get food,[6] she attempted to reach Germany disguised as a Soviet merchant ship.[7] On 9 November the British destroyerHMS Isis captured her off Vigo.[1] Her captain attempted to scuttleLeander, but was forcibly prevented from doing so by the rest of her crew.[7]Leander was escorted into Falmouth, Cornwall, arriving on 13 November.[1]
Leander was declared to be a prize of war. She was passed to the MoWT and renamed Empire Crusader. She was assessed as 1,042 GRT.[1] She appears to have entered service for the British in March 1940. Empire Crusader sailed in British coastal waters, mostly between Plymouth, Devon and Seaham or Sunderland, County Durham.[8]
^ abcdefMitchell, W.H.; Sawyer, L.A. (1995). The Empire Ships. London, New York, Hamburg, Hong Kong: Lloyd's of London Press Ltd. p. not cited. ISBN1-85044-275-4.