RMS Empress of Canada (1922)
| 300px Empress of Canada | |
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | 1922-1943: RMS Empress of Canada |
| Owner: | 1922-1943: Canadian Pacific Steamships |
| Operator: |
1922-1939: Canadian Pacific Steamships 1939-1943: British Admiralty |
| Port of registry: | 1922-1939: Canada |
| Ordered: | 1920 |
| Builder: | Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Govan, Scotland |
| Maiden voyage: | 5 May 1922 |
| Fate: | 13 March 1943 -- sunk off coast of Africa |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Ocean liner |
| Tonnage: | 21,517 tons |
| Length: | 653 ft |
RMS Empress of Canada was an ocean liner built in 1920 for the Canadian Pacific Steamships (CP) by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company at Govan on the Clyde in Scotland. This ship -- the first of two CP vessels to be named Empress of Canada[1] -- regularly traversed the trans-Pacific route between the west coast of Canada and the Far East until 1939. This Empress was distinguished by the Royal Mail Ship (RMS) prefix in front of her name while in commercial service with Canadian Pacific.
History
In 1920, Canadian Pacific Steamships ordered a new ship to be built by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company at Govan near Glasgow in Scotland.[2] This Empress was a 21,517 ton, 653 foot ocean liner. She undertook her maiden voyage on 5 May 1922. Based at the port of Vancouver, British Columbia, the first Empress of Canada was intended to provided service to Japan, Hong Kong, and China. Her sister ships included Empress of France and Empress of Britain.
Great Kantō earthquake
On 34 September 1923, the Empress of Canada arrived at Tokyo harbor -- just three days after the devastating Great Kantō Earthquake struck the city. She found that the Empress of Australia had been converted to a command post from which the British consul was directing relief work; and the Empress of Canada transported refugees to Kobe -- 587 Europeans, 31 Japanese, and 362 Chinese.[3]
World War II
Following the outbreak of World War II in 1939, she was converted for use as a troopship. She carried ANZAC troops from New Zealand and from Australia to the war zones in Europe.
The return voyage from Europe was not less dangerous than the trip north had been. On 13 March 1943, while en route from Durban, South Africa to Takoradi carrying Italian prisoners of war along with Polish and Greek refugees,[4] the SS Empress of Canada was torpedoed and sunk by the Italian submarine Leonardo Da Vinci approximately 400 miles (640 km) south of Cape Palmas off the coast of Africa. Of the approximate 1800 people on board, 392 died. Nearly half of the fatalities reported were Italian prisoners.[5]
Notes
- ↑ The second SS Empress of Canada (1961) was built for CP.
- ↑ Johnston, Ian. "Govan Shipyard" in Ships Monthly. June 1985.
- ↑ "All Ships Aiding Relief," New York Times. 9 September 1923.
- ↑ Dictionary of Wrecks
- ↑ Jordan, Roger: The World's Merchant Fleets, 1939: The Particulars And Wartime Fates of 6,000 Ships. Naval Institute Press, 2006. Page 110. ISBN 1591149592
See also
External links
- The Role of the CP Ships in World War II
- New York Public Library Digital Gallery:
- NYPL ID 97714, unknown photographer: Empress, starboard view
- NYPL ID 97713, unknown photographer: Empress, portside view
Coordinates: 1°13′0″S 9°57′0″W / 1.216667°S 9.95°W
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