RMS Empress of Russia
Encyclopedia
The RMS Empress of Russia was an ocean liner
Ocean liner
An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...
built in 1912-1913 by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company at Govan
Govan
Govan is a district and former burgh now part of southwest City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Kelvin and the district of Partick....
on the Clyde
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
for Canadian Pacific steamships (CP). This ship regularly traversed the trans-Pacific route between Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the Far East. This Empress was distinguished by the Royal Mail Ship
Royal Mail Ship
Royal Mail Ship , usually seen in its abbreviated form RMS, a designation which dates back to 1840, is the ship prefix used for seagoing vessels that carry mail under contract by Royal Mail...
(RMS) prefix in front of her name because the British government and Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
(CPR) had decades earlier reached agreement on a contract for subsidized mail service between Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
via Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
History
The ship was built by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company at Govan near GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
in Scotland. The SS Empress of Russia was launched on 28 August 1912. She left Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
on 1 April 1913 on her maiden voyage via Suez
Suez
Suez is a seaport city in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez , near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boundaries as Suez governorate. It has three harbors, Adabya, Ain Sokhna and Port Tawfiq, and extensive port facilities...
to Hong Kong and Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
. Thereafter, she regularly sailed back and forth along the Hong Kong - Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
- Nagasaki - Kobe
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
- Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
- Vancouver route. In 1913, she broke the record for the fastest trans-Pacific crossing which was formerly held by RMS Empress of Japan
RMS Empress of Japan (1891)
RMS Empress of Japan, also known as the "Queen of the Pacific", was an ocean liner built in 1890-1891 by Naval Construction & Armament Co., Barrow, England for Canadian Pacific Steamships...
; but her sister ship, the RMS Empress of Asia broke that record in May 1914, crossing the Pacific in nine days, two hours, and fifteen minutes. The popularity of the short route from Vancouver to the Orient was so great that these two additional CP Empress ocean liners were necessary.
The 16,810-ton vessel had a length of 570 feet (173.7 m), and her beam was 68 feet (20.7 m). The ship had three funnels, two masts, quadruple screws and an average speed of 19-knots. The ocean liner provided accommodation for 284 first-class passengers and for 100 second class passengers. There was also room for up to 800 steerage-class passengers. This was the first liner to have a straight stern like a warship; and the advantages of this type of stern were revealed in terms of speed, vibration, steering and seagoing qualities.
World War I
The Empress was requisitioned by the British Admiralty twice during the First World WarWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Initially, the ship was refitted as an Armed Merchant Cruiser; she was attached to a squadron blockading German merchant shipping in Philippine waters. Later, she was transferred to the Indian Ocean.
Battle of Cocos
The Battle of Cocos took place on 9 November 1914 during the First World War off the Cocos Islands, in the north east Indian Ocean. The German light cruiser attacked the British cable station on Direction Island and was engaged several hours later by the Australian light cruiser...
, Sydney had engaged the German cruiser , forcing the raider to beach herself on North Keeling Island
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
The Territory of the Cocos Islands, also called Cocos Islands and Keeling Islands, is a territory of Australia, located in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Christmas Island and approximately midway between Australia and Sri Lanka....
to avoid sinking. Some 230 of the Emden survivors were transferred from the Sydney to the Empress for transport to Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
. At this point, the Empress was sailing in a convoy of troop ships carrying 30,000 ANZACs from Albany, Australia to Suez and Europe.
In one incident, the guns of the Empress were brought to bear on Hodeidah
Al Hudaydah
Al Hudaydah is the fourth largest city in Yemen with a population of 400,000 people, and the centre of Al Hudaydah Governorate.-Overview:...
in what is modern Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
. Bluntly, the Turks were told that if British and French counsels, who had been kidnapped, were not brought back, the port city would be demolished.
Shortly afterwards, the Empress was released by the Admiralty for a return to civilian service. The ship was refitted at Hong Kong, and the Empress of Russia returned to its familiar trans-Pacific route in February 1916. Amongst those sailing with the Empress in this period was Sumner Welles
Sumner Welles
Benjamin Sumner Welles was an American government official and diplomat in the Foreign Service. He was a major foreign policy adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and served as Under Secretary of State from 1937 to 1943, during FDR's presidency.-Early life:Benjamin Sumner Welles was born in...
, who was to become one of President Franklin Roosevelt's
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
foreign policy advisers.
The Empress 's last wartime voyage began from Liverpool on 12 January 1919. She sailed to Le Havre where Chinese labor battalions boarded the Empress for the return voyage via Suez to Hong Kong. From the Far East, she sailed across the Pacific to Vancouver for re-fitting.
This ship remained a coal-burner after the Great War, even though many liners at that time were being converted to oil.
Between the wars
Between the wars, the Empress resumed regular trans-Pacific crossings. Her first post-war voyage began on 10 April 1919; and the pre-war route was somewhat modified on this trip. On this occasion, she sailed from Vancouver to ManilaManila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
outward bound; and she stopped at Vladivostok
Vladivostok
The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
on the return voyage to North America from the Far East to pick up Canadian soldiers who had served at part of the Canadian Siberian Expeditionary Force
Canadian Siberian Expeditionary Force
The Canadian Siberian Expeditionary Force was a Canadian military force sent to Vladivostok, Russia during the Russian Revolution to bolster the allied presence. Composed of 4,192 soldiers and authorised in August 1918, the force returned to Canada between April and June 1919...
during the Russian Revolution. In this period, the Empress transported Philippine Senator Manuel L. Quezon
Manuel L. Quezon
Manuel Luis Quezón y Molina served as president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 to 1944. He was the first Filipino to head a government of the Philippines...
on his return to Manila from the first Independence Mission to the U.S. Congress in 1919.
These trans-Pacific sailings continued up through December 1940.
The routine nature of her schedule did nothing to diminish public interest in the comings and goings of the Empress of Russia. For example, the New York Times regularly published news of mail ships sailings. In an era when airplanes carrying mail was still relatively novel, for example, the newspaper published a regular "Shipping and Mails" column. In a 1938 edition, the Times reported:
During this peacetime period, she completed 310 crossings. Amongst the famous passengers who traveled on the Empress, were Chinese Nationalist leaders Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen was a Chinese doctor, revolutionary and political leader. As the foremost pioneer of Nationalist China, Sun is frequently referred to as the "Father of the Nation" , a view agreed upon by both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China...
and Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
, who sailed from Hong Kong to Shanghai in 1922; and American humorist Will Rogers
Will Rogers
William "Will" Penn Adair Rogers was an American cowboy, comedian, humorist, social commentator, vaudeville performer, film actor, and one of the world's best-known celebrities in the 1920s and 1930s....
who sailed to Japan in late-November 1932.
World War II
The Empress was again commissioned by the British Admiralty as a troop transport. Initially, she carried Australian and New Zealand Air Force recruits to Canada for flight school training. In March 1941, she was refitted at dockyards on the River ClydeRiver Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
in Scotland.
The Captain of the Empress in 1941-42 would only realize many years later that he had had a VIP aboard—a young Midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
Philip Mountbatten
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch....
(later to become Duke of Edinburgh
Duke of Edinburgh
The Duke of Edinburgh is a British royal title, named after the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, which has been conferred upon members of the British royal family only four times times since its creation in 1726...
) is remembered for having helped stoke the boilers in 1941.
The Empress was involved in the North Africa landings in 1943. In October 1943, she made a special trip to Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
to exchange prisoners of war. This was followed by seven trips to Reykjavík
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
for the RAF.
In early 1944, she was used as an accommodation ship at Rosyth
Rosyth
Rosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 12,790....
for Russian crews who were to take over a number of British warships. In June, she was moved to Spithead
Spithead
Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds, except those from the southeast...
where she was used as a depot ship for tugs after the D-Day landings.
In October 1944, she sailed to Gareloch where she was laid up until June 1945. Work was begun on the refitting the Empress for service transporting Canadian troops from Europe to North America; However, she was gutted by fire on 8 September 1945 at Barrow
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
. The extensive damage caused the ship to be scrapped; and she was broken up by T. W. Ward & Sons.
See also
- CP ShipsCP ShipsCP Ships was a large Canadian container shipping company, prior to being taken over by Hapag Lloyd in late 2005. CP Ships had its head office in the City of Westminster in London and later in the City Place Gatwick development on the property of London Gatwick Airport in Crawley, West Sussex.The...
- List of ocean liners
- List of ships in British Columbia
External links
- Ships List: Description of Empress of Russia
- Simplon: photograph of RMS Empress of Russia
- BBC - WW2 People's War: Troop transport Empress of Russia in 1942
- BBC - WW2 People's War: accompanying Empress of Russia to Iceland in 1944
- Australian National Maritime Museum Library ships pictures index: Empress of Russia, p. 10
- Canadian Pacific Archives: Empress of Russia, Photo NS. 13944, 1925