RMS ''Empress of Japan'' 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 1929–1930 by

Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company The Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited, was a Scottish shipbuilding company in the Govan area on the Clyde in Glasgow. Fairfields, as it is often known, was a major warship builder, turning out many vessels for the Royal Na ...

Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric: ''Gwovan''; Scots language, Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of southwest Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the sout ...

on the Clyde 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 United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

for

Canadian Pacific Steamships CP Ships was a large Canadian shipping company established in the 19th century. From the late 1880s until after World War II, the company was Canada's largest operator of Atlantic and Pacific steamships. Many immigrants travelled on CP ships fr ...

(CP). This ship was the second of two CP vessels to be named ''Empress of Japan'' – 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.'' In 1957, the

Hamburg Atlantic Line Hamburg Atlantic Line ( German: ''Hamburg Atlantik Linie'') was an ocean liner and cruise ship operating company established in Hamburg, West Germany in 1958 by Axel Bitsch Christensen and Vernicos Eugenides, the latter being the adopted son of ...

purchased the ship and re-named her TS ''Hanseatic''.Miller, William H. (1995). ''The Pictorial Encyclopedia of Ocean Liners, 1860–1994,'' p. 46.

Concept and construction

By the 1920s the

Canadian Pacific The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

conglomerate had established a sea/rail connection between

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

. The company's

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

s would carry passengers from

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, the same company's

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

carried passengers across the

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

n continent to

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 ...

, where passengers boarded another Canadian Pacific ship that would carry them across the Pacific to Asia. This was at the time the fastest way to reach the Far East from Europe. In the late 1920s Canadian Pacific decided to modernize their Pacific and Atlantic fleets, with the aim of reducing the journey time between Europe and the Far East by two days. The new liner intended for the transpacific service was envisioned at approximately 25,000 gross register tons, in length and capable of carrying 1173 passengers in four classes. Construction of the vessel was awarded to Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company at Govan near

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 ...

in Scotland. She was launched on 17 December 1929 and named ''Empress of Japan''. Originally Canadian Pacific had planned on constructing a sister ship for her for the Pacific service, but due to the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

the second ship was left unrealized. Instead, the company decided to concentrate their resources on ''Empress of Britain'', a larger version of ''Empress of Japan'' under construction for their trans-Atlantic service. ''Empress of Britain'' was approximately larger than ''Empress of Japan''. Empressjapan

Service history

1930–1942: ''Empress of Japan''

''Empress of Japan'' carried out her sea trial successfully in May 1930, achieving a top speed of ; 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 The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

, 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 George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional Baseball in the United States, baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nickna ...

, who sailed to Japan for a barnstorming tour in October 1934. 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 name of the ship needed to be changed. In 1942, she was renamed ''Empress of Scotland''.

1948–1957: ''Empress of Scotland''

Following the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, ''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. In 1951 she carried Princess Elizabeth (later

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

) and

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...

returning from their tour of Canada. They departed from St John's Canada and travelled to

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 ...

. 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.

1958–1966: ''Hanseatic''

Following her sale to

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 1350 passengers in comfortable luxury on the Hamburg-New York route. On 8 September 1966, the ship caught fire at

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. The fire developed in the engine room and gutted five decks. On 28 September, the ship was towed to

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 ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

for inspection. Deemed beyond economic repair, she was scrapped shortly thereafter.

Notes

References

* Dawson, Philip. (2005). ''The Liner: Retrospective and Renaissance.'' London: Conway Maritime Press.
OCLC 224483967
* Johnston, Ian. "Govan Shipyard" i

June 1985. * Miller, William H. (1988). ''Great Ship and Ocean Liners from 1954 to 1986: a Photographic Survey.'' Mineola, New York:

Dover Publications Dover Publications, also known as Dover Books, is an American book publisher founded in 1941 by Hayward and Blanche Cirker. It primarily reissues books that are out of print from their original publishers. These are often, but not always, book ...

.
OCLC 16523042
* __________. (1995). ''The Pictorial Encyclopedia of Ocean Liners, 1860–1994.'' Mineola, New York: Dover Publications.

External links

Film of the Empress of Japan entering Esquimalt Harbour in the late 1930s
{{DEFAULTSORT:Empress of Japan (1929) 1929 ships Ships built on the River Clyde Ships of CP Ships Steamships of the United Kingdom Ocean liners of the United Kingdom Troop ships of the United Kingdom Steamships of Germany Troopships of Canada Ocean liners of Canada Maritime incidents in 1966 Ocean liners