RMS Empress of Canada (1920)
RMS Empress of Canada docked at Vancouver June 1936.
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History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | Empress of Canada |
Owner | Canadian Pacific Steamships |
Operator |
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Port of registry | 1922–1939: Canada |
Ordered | 1920 |
Builder | Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Govan |
Cost | Approximately $6,800,000 |
Yard number | 528 |
Launched | 18 August 1920[1] |
Completed | May 1922 |
Maiden voyage | 5 May 1922 |
In service | 5 May 1922 |
Out of service | 14 March 1943 |
Fate | Torpedoed and sunk 14 March 1943 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Ocean liner |
Tonnage | 21,517 GRT |
Length | |
Beam | 77.7 ft (23.7 m)[1] |
Propulsion | 6 steam turbines |
Speed | 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) |
Capacity |
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RMS Empress of Canada was an
History
In 1920,
The liner undertook her maiden voyage on 5 May 1922. Based at the port of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the first Empress of Canada was intended to provide service to the Empire of Japan, Hong Kong, and China. She was at the time the largest vessel ever engaged in trans-Pacific service.[4] Her sister ships included Empress of France and Empress of Britain.
Great Kantō earthquake
On 4 September 1923, Empress of Canada arrived at Tokyo harbour—just three days after the devastating Great Kantō earthquake struck the city. Those aboard Empress of Canada found that the Canadian ocean liner RMS Empress of Australia had been converted to a command post from which the British consul was directing relief work. Empress of Canada transported refugees – 587 Europeans, 31 Japanese, and 362 Chinese – to Kobe, Japan.[5]
On 13 October 1929, Empress of Canada ran aground off
Attack
On 5 June 1931, as the Empress of Canada sailed in the Pacific Ocean between Honolulu and Yokohama, 42-year-old Filipino passenger Graciano Bilas killed two people and wounded 29 others in a mass stabbing aboard the ship.[8] Bilas was found to be insane at the time of the crime and was committed to a psychiatric hospital.[8]
World War II
Following the outbreak of World War II in 1939, she was converted for use as a troopship. She was one of the ships in the first Australian/New Zealand convoy, designated US.1 for secrecy, destined for North Africa and at that time not yet fully converted for full troop capacity with few ships of the convoy carrying more than 25 per cent more than their normal passenger load.[9] Empress of Canada departed Wellington, New Zealand on 6 January 1940 with the New Zealand elements, joined the Australian ships and arrived in Aden on 8 February from where the convoy split with all ships heading for Suez.[9]
On 14 June 1940 the ship was part of the troop convoy US.3 consisting of the liners Andes, Aquitania, Empress of Britain, Mauretania and Queen Mary, which sailed from Australia en route to the Clyde and was met to the west of Gibraltar by a naval force led by the battlecruiser HMS Hood.
She continued to transport
See also
Notes
- SS Empress of Canada (1961) was built for CP Ships.
Citations
- ^ a b c d Pacific American Steamship Association; Shipowners Association of the Pacific Coast (1920). "European Marine Developments". Pacific Marine Review. 17 (November). San Francisco: J.S. Hines: 87–88. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ^ Johnston, Ian (June 1985). "Govan Shipyard". Ships Monthly. Archived from the original on 11 June 2008.
- ^ Pacific American Steamship Association; Shipowners Association of the Pacific Coast (1920). "Empress of Canada Tour Off". Pacific Marine Review. 17 (November). San Francisco: J.S. Hines: 111. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ^ Pacific American Steamship Association; Shipowners Association of the Pacific Coast (1922). "The Empress of Canada". Pacific Marine Review. 19 (July). San Francisco: J.S. Hines: 412–413. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ^ "All Ships Aiding Relief". The New York Times. 9 September 1923.
- ^ "Pacific liner aground". The Times. No. 45334. London. 15 October 1929. col E, p. 16.
- ^ "The Empress of Canada". The Times. No. 45335. London. 16 October 1929. col F, p. 14.
- ^ a b "The Empress of Canada Affray". The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser. 25 June 1931. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
- ^ a b Gill, G. Hermon (1957). Royal Australian Navy 1939–1942. Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 2 – Navy. Vol. 1. Canberra: Australian War Memorial. pp. 85–94. Archived from the original on 25 May 2009. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
- ^ "Dictionary of Wrecks" (PDF). wreck.fr. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 May 2017.
- ISBN 1-59114-959-2.
- ^ "400 Lives Lost in Sinking of Liner Year Ago". The San Bernardino Daily Sun. Vol. 50. San Bernardino, California. Associated Press. 19 February 1944. p. 2.
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
- IWM Interview with survivor William Birch
- IWM Interview with survivor Mike Juni