RMS Empress of Japan (1929) — BrandWiki

RMS Empress of Japan (1929)

Overview

*1930–1942: RMS Empress of Japan *1942–1957: RMS Empress of Scotland *1957–1966: TS Hanseatic

owner	1930–1957: Canadian Pacific house flag.svg Canadian Pacific Line 1957–1966: Hamburg Atlantic house flag.svg Hamburg Atlantic Line
operator	1930–1957: Canadian Pacific house flag.svg Canadian Pacific Line 1957–1958: rebuilt *1958–1966: Hamburg Atlantic house flag.svg Hamburg Atlantic Line
registry	1930–1957: London, 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 1957–1966: Hamburg, West Germany
builder	Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Govan
yard number	634
launched	17 December 1929
completed	June 1930
in service	1930
out of service	1966
identification	Official Number: 161430
fate	Destroyed by fire at New York City harbour, 7 September 1966. Subsequently scrapped in Hamburg

RMS Empress of Japan was an ocean liner built in 1929–1930 by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company at Govan on the Clyde in Scotland for Canadian Pacific Steamships (CP). This ship was the second of two CP vessels to be named Empress of Japan[1] – regularly traversed the trans-Pacific route between the west coast of Canada and the Far East until 1942.

In 1942, she was renamed RMS Empress of Scotland – the second of two CP vessels to be named Empress of Scotland.[2] In 1957, the Hamburg Atlantic Line purchased the ship and re-named her TS Hanseatic.[3]

Concept and construction

By the 1920s the Canadian Pacific conglomerate had established a sea/rail connection between Europe

Service history

1930–1942: Empress of Japan

Empress of Japan carried out her sea trial successfully in May 1930, achieving a top speed of 23 knots; and on 8 June 1930, she was delivered to Vancouver for service on the trans-Pacific route. In this period, she was the fastest ocean liner on the Pacific, able to complete a one-way crossing in just nine days.

She would continue sailing the Vancouver – Yokohama – Kobe – Shanghai – Hong Kong route for the rest of the decade. Amongst her celebrity passengers were a number of American baseball all-stars, including Babe Ruth, who sailed to Japan for a barnstorming tour in October 1934.[7]

The outbreak of war in Europe caused Empress of Japan to be re-fitted for wartime service.

Following the Japanese attacks on the Empire outposts in the Far East in December 1941, the Empress of Japan was the last ship to successfully evacuate civilians from Singapore, leaving the dock on 30 January 1942 and arriving in Durban about 10 days later. Later in the same year, she was renamed Empress of Scotland.[8]

1948–1957: Empress of Scotland

Following the end of World War II, Empress of Scotland was needed to meet the newly developing demands for trans-Atlantic passenger service. In the period between 1948 and 1950, she was rebuilt at Fairfield in Glasgow. These modifications were necessary to better meet weather conditions on the colder Atlantic route. This extensive re-fitting included a radical reconfiguration of her cabins from the original four classes to just two – first and tourist.[9] In 1951 she carried Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh returning from their tour of Canada. They departed from St John's Canada and travelled to Liverpool. The Canadian Pacific Empress of Scotland completed her last trans-Atlantic crossing in 1957; and she was temporarily laid up in Belfast until being sold.[10]

1958–1966: Hanseatic

Following her sale to Hamburg Atlantic Line in 1958, the ship was radically rebuilt to meet the expanding market for trans-Atlantic passenger service. The ship's rear funnel was removed, her remaining funnels and superstructure were rebuilt and her passenger accommodation was re-configured. The vessel emerged as the TS Hanseatic. The renamed and re-flagged ship was designed to carry as many 1,350 passengers in comfortable luxury on the Hamburg-New York route.[11] On 8 September 1966, the ship caught fire at New York. The fire developed in the engine room and gutted five decks.[12] On 28 September, the ship was towed to Hamburg, West Germany for inspection. Deemed beyond economic repair, she was scrapped shortly thereafter.[13]