RMS ''Empress of France'', formerly SS ''Alsatian'' was an

ocean liner An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). The ...

built in 1913-1914 by

William Beardmore and Company William Beardmore and Company was a British engineering and shipbuilding Conglomerate (company), conglomerate based in Glasgow and the surrounding Clydeside area. It was active from 1886 to the mid-1930s and at its peak employed about 40,000 peo ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

for

Allan Line The Allan Shipping Line was started in 1819, by Captain Alexander Allan of Saltcoats, Ayrshire, trading and transporting between Scotland and Montreal, a route which quickly became synonymous with the Allan Line. By the 1830s the company had of ...

.Ship List
Description of ''Empress of France''
In total, the ship's service history encompasses 99 trans-Atlantic voyages, 5 trans-Pacific voyages, and 8 other cruises in addition to her war service.

Service

This ship was the first North Atlantic liner with a cruiser stern. The vessel was built by William Beardmore & Co Ltd. at

. She was an 18,481 gross register tonnage ship, length 571.4 ft x beam , two funnels, two masts, four propellers and a speed of 18 knots. Her initial configuration provided accommodation for 287 1st class, 504 2nd class and 848 3rd class passengers. The ocean liner was initially launched as SS ''Alsatian'' on 22 March 1912. She sailed from

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

on her maiden voyage to

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John () is a port#seaport, seaport city located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is Canada's oldest Municipal corporation, incorporated city, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign ...

for the Allan Line on 17 January 1914. On 22 May 1914, set out on her first trans-Atlantic crossing from Liverpool to

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. Her last voyage that summer began on 17 July 1914; and when she returned to Europe, the nascent war in Europe brought a close to this truncated peacetime period of the ship's history.

World War I

During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, ''Alsatian'' was converted into an

Armed Merchant Cruiser An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...

, with an initial armament of eight 4.7-inch (120-mm) guns, although she was later re-armed with eight 6-inch (152-mm) guns and two 6-pounder (57-mm) anti-aircraft guns.Dittmar and Colledge 1972, p. 119. Following conversion, she joined the

10th Cruiser Squadron The 10th Cruiser Squadron, also known as Cruiser Force B was a formation of cruisers of the British Royal Navy from 1913 to 1917 and then again from 1940 to 1946. First formation The squadron was established in July 1913 and allocated to the ...

patrolling off the

Shetland Islands Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the Uni ...

as part of the

Northern Patrol The Northern Patrol, also known as Cruiser Force B and the Northern Patrol Force, was a naval force of the Royal Navy during the world wars. The Northern Patrol was part of the British "distant" Blockade of Germany (1914–1919). Its main task wa ...

maintaining the

blockade of Germany Blockade of Germany may refer to: *Blockade of Germany (1914–1919) The Blockade of Germany, or the Blockade of Europe, occurred from 1914 to 1919. The prolonged naval blockade was conducted by the Allies of World War I, Allies during and afte ...

. HMS ''Alsatian'' became flagship for Rear-Admiral Sir Dudley de Chair. Later, ''Alsatian'' served as flagship for Vice-Admiral Sir Reginald Tupper. During the war years, she became one of the first ships to be fitted with the new wireless direction-finding apparatus. After the squadron was retired in 1917, she was re-fitted for peacetime service.

Between the wars

At war's end, the ship was added to the fleet of Canadian Pacific Ocean Services Ltd. (CP), which absorbed the entire Allan Line fleet. On 28 September 1918, ''Alsatian'' began her first voyage from Liverpool to Canada as a newly flagged ship of the Canadian Pacific fleet. After a second, trans-Atlantic voyage, ''Alsatian'' was taken out of service for refitting at Glasgow. The ship was renamed ''Empress of France'' on 4 April 1919. The first voyage as ''Empress of France'' began on 26 September 1919. She sailed from Liverpool to Quebec. On 3 May 1922, her regular route was changed; and she sailed between

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...

and Quebec. On 31 May 1922, the route was modified yet again; and she sailed between Hamburg, Southampton, Cherbourg and Quebec. ''Empress of France'' was one of four ocean liners to circumnavigate the world in 1923. In 1924, the ship was converted from coal to oil fuel. In July 1926, her interiors were re-configured as 1st-class, 2nd-class, tourist-class and 3rd-class accommodations. In January 1927, the interior was again re-configured as 1st-class, tourist-class and 3rd-class.

Voyages

On 9 September 1927, ''Empress of France'' set out on what was to be her final

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

- Southampton - Cherbourg - Quebec voyage. On 8 September 1928, she sailed on final Southampton - Cherbourg - Quebec voyage before being transferred to the Pacific. On 31 October 1928, she sailed from Southampton for

Suez Suez (, , , ) is a Port#Seaport, seaport city with a population of about 800,000 in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez on the Red Sea, near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal. It is the capital and largest c ...

, Hong Kong and

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

. Subsequently sailed on the Pacific until 17 October 1929 when she left Hong Kong en route to Liverpool. On 2 September 1931, ''Empress of France'' set out for what was to be her final voyage from Southampton to Cherbourg and Quebec; and in then she was laid up in the Clyde. ''Empress of France'' was scrapped at

Dalmuir Dalmuir (; ) is an area northwest of Glasgow, Scotland, on the western side of Clydebank, and part of West Dunbartonshire Council Area. The name is a lowland Scots language, Scots derivation of the Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic meaning Big Field. ...

on 20 October 1934. Some of its interior timber panelling was used in the extension (completed in 1937) of St John the Baptist's Catholic Church in

Padiham Padiham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Calder, Lancashire, River Calder, in the Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, Lancashire, England. It is located north west of Burnley, and north ea ...

, Lancashire. GladyScottImmigrationCard1920

Notable passengers

* 1923 :* :*

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

:* Sir Harold and Lady Boulton

References

Bibliography

* * * * Tate, E. Mowbray. (1986)
''Transpacific Steam: The Story of Steam Navigation from the Pacific Coast of North America to the Far East and the Antipodes, 1867-1941.''
New York: Cornwall Books. (cloth)

External links

* Ships List

*

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...

Digital Gallery: NYPL ID 92535, unknown photographer
''Empress'', portside view

Prince of Wales descending steps on return from Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Empress of France 1913 ships Ships built on the River Clyde Steamships of the United Kingdom Ocean liners of the United Kingdom World War I Auxiliary cruisers of the Royal Navy Ships of CP Ships Ships of the Allan Line Steamships of Canada Ocean liners of Canada