RMS Empress of Australia

RMS "Empress of Australia" was an ocean liner built in 1913-1919 by Vulcan AG shipyard in Stettin (now Szczecin, Poland) for the Hamburg America Line. She was refitted for Canadian Pacific Steamships; and the ship -- the third of three CP vessels to be named "Empress of China" [The first SS "Empress of China" (1891) was built for CP to sail the trans-Pacific route; and the second SS "Empress of China" (1908) was built for NDL, pruchased by CP in 1921, then re-named.] -- was renamed yet again in 1922 as the "Empress of Australia." This "Empress" was distinguished by the Royal Mail Ship (RMS) prefix in front of her name while in commercial service with Canadian Pacific. When not carrying mail, the ship would have been identified as SS "Empress of Australia."Ship List: [http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/descriptions/ShipsE.html Description of "Empress of Australia"] ]

In trans-Pacific service, the ship garnered fame for her part in rescue efforts at Tokyo following the Great Kanto earthquake of 1923.

In trans-Atlantic service, she earned distinction in 1927 by bringing the Prince of Wales from England to the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in Canada. She was honored to serve as Royal Yacht during the Royal tour of Canada in 1939.

History

The ship was originally built for the Hamburg America Line by Vulcan AG shipyard, Stettin (now Szczecin, Poland), in 1912, as yard number 333.

Tirpitz 1919

The partially completed hull was launched on December 20, 1913. During this period, the builder's intentions had been to name the completed ship the SS "Admiral von Tirpitz". Later, the prospective name of the ship was shortened to the SS "Tirpitz", but final outfitting was held up during World War I.

In 1916, Kaiser Wilhelm II ordered her to be completed as his royal yacht, in which he intended to receive the allied navel fleets when they surrendered. Her first trip, however, was to sail from Hamburg to Hull on December 1, 1919. She was then used as a troop ship under P & O Line management.

SS" Empresses of China
In 1921 she was sold to the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, who then renamed her the SS "Empress of China". [http://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=FA0615FA385F177B93C3A9178ED85F468585F9 40-year-old Ship Makes Last Trip; "Empress of Australia", Luxury Liner and Troop Carrier, on Way to Scrap Heap,"] "New York Times." May 1, 1952.] The "Empress" was enhanced with a number of modifications, including conversion to oil firing instead of coal.

In 1921, Canadian Pacific added two German-built vessels to the "Empress" fleet; and initially, both were confusingly re-named "Empress of China." A quick explanation will help distinguish these the quite different ships which each sailed with the same name.

* The first SS "Empress of China" was a 5,905-ton vessel launched in 1891 from Barrow, England. She was wrecked on a reef at Tokyo Bay in 1911, and subsequently scrapped in 1912.White Empress fleet: [http://www.angelfire.com/pe2/pjs1/eos22.html 20 ships, descriptions] ]

* The second SS "Empress of China" was a 17,500-ton vessel launched in 1907 from Gestemunde, Germany as the SS "Prince Freidrich Wilhelm" for the Norddeutscher Lloyd Line. The ship was purchased in 1921 by Canadian Pacific and then immediately, the ship was re-named "Empress of China" for a short time. Later in that same year, the ship was re-named yet again as the "Empress of India." Subsequent names for this vessel were: the SS "Montlaurier" (1922); and the SS "Montnairn" (1925). The ship was scrapped 1929. [see above] ]

* The third "Empress of China" was a 21,860-ton vessel launched in 1913 from Stettin, Germany, as the SS "Tirpitz" for Hamburg-America Line. The ship was purchased in 1921 by Canadian Pacific from War Reparations Commission and curiously, this ship was immediately renamed the "Empress of China". Then next year, in 1922, the ship was re-named "Empress of Australia" after re-fitting at Clydebank. The ship was ultimately scrapped in 1952. [see above] ]

In other words, this vessel from Stettin was the third of three ships named "Empress of China."

"Empress of Australia" in 1922

She was refitted by John Brown & Company, Clydebank, and renamed again to RMS "Empress of Australia" in August of 1921. By 1922 she sailed from Greenock to the Pacific via Panama. After 20 voyages across the Pacific, Canadian Pacific were forced to deal with her poor performance and chose to re-engine and re-boiler the ship. She sailed to Govan Fairfield at Glasgow, arriving September 9, 1926. The vastly complex work was made more difficult by her divided uptakes, offering no central space to remove machinery. Old boilers were sliced up and removed in pieces, the whole job lasting many months and cost over half a million pounds.

When completed she was virtually a new ship, now driven by Parsons turbines with six double-ended boilers. On trials the ship made convert|20.34|kn|km/h and required 50 tons a day less oil. Three classes of passenger accommodations were incorporated in the final layout; in total, 1,500 passengers could be carried in luxurious interior appointments, the ship having been fitted out to a very high specification. The dinning room was in the French Regency style. There was a spacious Lounge designed in the Empire style, which included a dance floor. The writing room was fitted in the style of Louis XVI, with tinted walls and mahogany furniture, as was the smoke room which had oak panelled walls. There was also a swimming pool and fully equipped gymnasium.

From near disaster to great distinction

On Saturday, September 1, 1923, at 11:55 am, the "Empress of Australia" was making ready to depart from the docks at Yokohama, Japan. Several hundred people were on the docks, catching streamers and confetti from the passengers lining the rails, and waving their farewells. Tugs were about to ease the ship away from the dock when, without warning the 23,000 ton liner was flung violently from side to side. The earth trembled under several violent shocks and sections of the dock collapsed under the feet of the panic stricken crowds. The land and remaining dock structure began to roll in wave like motions as high as six to eight feet. In minutes the worst shocks were over, but after-shocks, some quite heavy, continued for some time, while winds rose to convert|70|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on. From the city a heavy rumbling sound could be heard as hundreds of buildings collapsed into rubble. This was the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, devastating Tokyo and Yokohama and the entire Kantō region of central Honshū. This was one of the worst earthquake disasters in recorded history.

The "Empress of Australia" was in a very dangerous position. Crowded with passengers, she was still alongside the remains of the dock, with a freighter moored close behind so she could not clear without the aid of tugs. Meantime, the "Lyons Maru", moored to the east, had lost her cable and drifted across the harbor, colliding with the "Empress" at her stern. She then hit amidships, shattering a lighter loaded with lumber that had drifted alongside. This small vessel acted as a buffer between the two large ships and prevented serious damage. Tugs had disappeared in the confusion and fires were started on the docks and were spreading rapidly. Available crew and passengers were put to work hosing down the ship to put out sparks and embers that were falling on the decks. Ropes and ladders were lowered over the side so that people trapped on the dock could climb aboard. Captain Robinson then tried to push the freighter moored astern with his ship, to allow enough room to maneuver away from the flaming docks. The "Empress" was able to carefully move the nearby freighter, the "Steel Navigator"; and then the "Empress" slowly pulled away.

When the "Empress" moved forward, her port propeller fouled in the anchor cable of the freighter. Fortunately the liner was now about convert|60|ft|m away from the flames, and the winds had shifted, blowing the fires away from the ship. By 3pm the fires had died down and the wind dropped off to a light breeze; the ship was immobile but safe for the moment. In the distance vast fires could be seen in the city. The ship's lifeboats were lowered and manned by members of the crew and passenger volunteers, who formed rescue parties to help those ashore, working through the night.

The next morning, the ship was again in danger from a large mass of burning oil that was moving across the harbor. The "Empress" could not steer because of the damaged propeller, but was able to avoid the oil fire long enough to get assistance from the tanker "Iris". Her captain agreed to tow the bow of the "Empress" around, and she was then able to move out to sea and a safer anchorage. When taking a count on Sunday, there were over 2000 refugees on board.

On Monday, the RMS "Empress of Canada" arrived on her regular schedule; and she was able to provide the "Empress of Australia" with more stores. Then the "Empress of Canada" transported a large number of refugees on to Kobe, where the Japanese government had set up a relief center.

On September 4th, the Imperial Japanese Navy's second "Fusō"-class battleship "Yamashiro" arrived at the harbor. The "Empress of Australia" had been unable to proceed due to the fact that she had a fouled propeller. Arrangements were made for a diver from the "Yamashiro' to inspect the damage and effect repairs. The cable was unwound and the machinery was tested; and the fouled propeller was found to have suffered no damage.

The "Empress" was now free to leave, but at the request of the British Consul, she remained as long as needed for continued relief work. Each morning, for the next several days, the "Empress" re-entered the devastated harbor and sent her boats ashore manned by a combination of crew, local residents, and passenger volunteers. Refugees were brought aboard, transferred from the ship to other vessels, or taken to Kobe. To aid the victims, the ships officers and most of the passengers donated everything they could spare. She finally departed Yokohama on September 12, 1923, returning to her routine duties; but her services were not forgotten. Captain Robinson received numerous awards in recognition of his actions, including the CBE, and award of the Lloyds Silver Medal.

A group of passengers and refugees who were aboard during the disaster commissioned a bronze tablet and presented it to the ship in recognition of the relief efforts. When the "Empress of Australia" was scrapped in 1952, the bronze tablet was rescued and presented to Captain Robinson, then aged 82, in a special ceremony in Vancouver.

Atlantic crossing and royal patronage

On September 12, 1923, the "Empress of Australia" returned to her routine duties. In August, three years later, the "Empress " departed from Hong Kong, after her twenty first and final Pacific voyage.

Canadian Pacific decided to transfer the "Empress of Australia" to Atlantic service. She sailed from Southampton for Quebec City on her first voyage on June 25, 1927, with the Prince of Wales and Prince George, the Duke of York. The Royal princes and Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin were bound for Diamond Jubilee celebrations in Canada. [ [http://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=F30B11FB3A5D17738DDDA90B94DF405B878EF1D3 "Princes on Ship Reach Quebec; The Empress of Australia Anchors at Ancient City After Midnight. City is Gay with Flags; Visitors From All Parts of the Dominion and America Have Flocked There,"] "New York Times." July 30, 1927.] In this new Atlantic route, she was teamed with who other ships -- the "Empress of Scotland" (originally the SS "Kaiserin Auguste Victoria") and the "Empress of France".

In 1928, the "Empress of Australia" began to cruise in the off season and to sail on round the world voyages.

After the "Empress of France" was withdrawn from the service, the "Empress of Australia" and the "Empress of Scotland" carried on a two-ship service with white hulls with dark blue ribbon and green boot topping.

In 1938, she went to Harland & Wolff at Southampton for an overhaul, returning for the 1939 season.

After three Atlantic crossings she was chosen to act as the Royal Yacht for King George VI and the Queen Elizabeth for their Royal tour of Canada in 1939, sailing from Portsmouth May 6, 1939 and arriving in Quebec on May 17, 1939, two days late due to dense fog on the Atlantic.

She continued on the Quebec run until the outbreak of World War II; and the "Empress" was modified to play her part in the war effort.

Wartime service

The "Empress" was sent to Southampton, where she was to be converted into a troopship; painted in grey, fitted with a three-inch (76 mm) gun and with a carrying capacity of 5,000. It was in this role that she would remain for the next 13 years. The "Empress of Australia" left on her first wartime voyage to Ceylon and Bombay on September 28, 1939. Following this task, the ship then went across the Atlantic to Halifax, from where she joined a large convoy carrying Canadian soldiers to the battlefields of Europe.

During the entire war, the "Empress of Australia" enjoyed very good luck. In 1941, it was widely reported that she'd been torpedoed off the coast of Africa, but she survived that brush with disaster. [ [http://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=FB0B1EF73D5E167B93CAAB178AD85F458485F9 "Empress of Australia" Torpedoed; Liner Is 'Down by Bow' Off Africa; British Liner which was Torpedoed off Dakar,"] "New York Times." January 28, 1941.] She was only seriously damaged once, when she was holed by the Orient Line's 14,982 ton "Ormonde" during the North Africa campaign in January 1943. Her final wartime voyage was from Hong Kong with ex-prisoners of war and internees.

After World War II the "Empress of Australia" worked world wide as a troop ship in every theater of war, including carrying military personnel to Pusan during the Korean War.

In 1946 while anchoring off Liverpool her anchor tangled with that of a cargo liner "Debrett"; the two ships collided and seven tugs were needed to separate them. In December of that year, she was re-fitted for peace-time trooping, offering more comfortable accommodations for the troops; however she was never repainted and remained in the wartime grey color scheme. She continued to carry troops up to another overhaul in Liverpool in 1951. The following year -- after her 70th trooping voyage -- she was sold. She sailed from the Mersey to Inverkeithing, May 8, 1952, where the long-serving vessel was scrapped. [see above] ]

Technical

Power plant and propulsion system

* Engines: Two sets of steam turbines; 20,000 shaft horsepower (15 MW); by Fairfield Co., Glasgow.
* Boilers: 6 DE and 6 SE boilers, 220 lbf/in² (1.52 MPa) steam pressure; 600 degrees Fahrenheit of super heated steam. Oil fuel, forced draught to furnaces.

Notes

References

* Hammer, Joshua. (2006). [http://books.google.com/books?id=6O8VyhDbUPgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Tokyo+1923&lr=&source=gbs_summary_r "Yokohama Burning: The Deadly 1923 Earthquake and Fire that Helped Forge the Path to World War II."] New York: Simon & Schuster. 10-ISBN 0-743-26465-7; 13-ISBN 978-0-743-26465-5 (cloth)
* Robinson, Samuel. (1924). [http://www.amazon.com/Official-report-Capt-Robinson-R-N-R/dp/B0008BKF9C "Official report of Capt. S. Robinson, R.N.R.,: Commander of the Canadian Pacific S.S. "Empress of Australia", on the Japanese earthquake, the fire and subsequent relief operations."]
* Tate, E. Mowbray. (1986). [http://books.google.com/books?id=OuUvlfcIGRQC&dq=samuel+robinson+steamship&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 "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. 10-ISBN 0-845-34792-6; 13-ISBN 978-0-845-34792-8 (cloth)

ee also

* CP Ships
* List of ocean liners
* List of ships in British Columbia
* Samuel Robinson -- captain of "Empress of Australia", September 1, 1923
* Ronald Neil Stuart -- staff captain of "Empress of Australia", 1927
* SS Empress of China

External links

* [http://smmlonline.com/articles/empressaustralia/empressaustralia.html SS Empress of Australia]
* New York Public Library Digital Gallery: NYPL ID 734521F: [http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?734521F "Empress of Australia" in New York harbor] , 1931 phtograph.