RMS Empress of Britain (1931)

The RMS "Empress of Britain" was an ocean liner built between 1928 and 1931 by the John Brown shipyard in Scotland & owned by Canadian Pacific Steamship Company. This ship -- the second of three CP vessels to be named "Empress of Britain" [The first SS "Empress of Britain" (1906) was built for CP; and the third SS "Empress of Britain" (1956) was also built for CP.] -- provided scheduled trans-Atlantic passenger service from spring to autumn between Canada and Europe from 1931 until the outbreak of war in 1939. 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 Britain."Ship List: [http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/descriptions/ShipsE.html Description of "Empress of Britain"] ]

In her time, she was the largest, fastest, and most luxurious ship to sail between England and Canada. She was torpedoed on 28 October 1940 by U-32 and sank. At 42,348 gross tons, she was the [http://www.uboat.net/special/biggest.htm largest ship sunk by a U-boat] and the largest liner lost during the Second World War.

History

Work began on the "Empress of Britain" on November 28, 1928 when the first plates of her keel were laid at the John Brown & Co. Ltd. Clydebank, Scotand ship building yard. [Turner, Gordon: Empress of Britain (1992). Page 15, Stoddart Publishing Co. Limited, Toronto ISBN 1-55046-051-8.] She was launched on June 11, 1930 by HRH Prince of Wales, began sea trials on April 11, 1931 where she recorded a speed of 25.5 knots, and left Southampton on her maiden voyage to Quebec on May 27, 1931. [Musk, George: Canadian Pacific. 1981, pages 184 and 186, Holt Reinhard and Winston of Canada Ltd., ISBN 0-03-820291-7.] cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Empress of Britain (II) 1931 - 1940 | work = The Great Ocean Liners | publisher = | date = | url = http://www.greatoceanliners.net/empressofbritain2.html | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2008-03-02]

Design and construction

Because the ship would sail a more northerly trans-Atlantic route where ice-infested waters off the coast of Newfoundland sometimes awaited, the "Empress of Britain" was ordered with outer steel plating double the thickness at the stem and for 150 feet back at either side, up to the waterline. [Turner, Gordon: "Empress of Britain" (1992). Page 15, Stoddart Publishing Co. Ltd., Toronto ISBN 1-55046-052-8.] Technically supurb, her sea trials showed her to be “the world’s most economical steamship for fuel consumption per horsepower-hour.” [ Musk, George: "Canadian Pacific" (1981), page 186, Holt Reinhard and Winston of Canada Ltd., ISBN 0-03-820291-7.]

Described by Rob McAudley as “by far the largest and grandest liner ever built for the North Atlantic service to Canada [,] … she was one of the great ‘dream boats’, big, glorious-looking, almost overpowering and unquestionably luxurious”. [Rob McAudley: "The Liners" (1997), page 75, Motorbooks International Publishers & Wholesalers, Osceola, WI, ISBN 0-7603-0465-3.] The Empress was designed for two purposes. Her primary role was to entice passengers to sail between England and Quebec instead of the more popular Southampton - New York route. In the winter when the St. Lawrence River was frozen, the "Empress of Britain" was designed to convert to an all-first-class, luxury cruise ship, carrying 700 passengers. [Miller, William H. Jr.: "The Fabulous Interiors of the Great Ocean Liners in historic photographs" (1985). Page 72, Dover Publications (New York) ISBN 0-486-24756-2.]

For the latter role her size was kept small enough to use the Panama [When passing through the Panama canal, there was only 7.5 inches clearance between the ship and the canal lock wall. Musk, George: "Canadian Pacific" (1981), page 187, Holt Reinhard and Winston of Canada Ltd., ISBN 0-03-820291-7.] and Suez canals, though at 760.6 feet (231.84 m) and 42,348 gross tons, she was still impressively large. The "Empress of Britain" was powered by four steam turbine engines driving four propellers. The two inboard screws took two-thirds of the power, while the outboard screws took the remaining one-third. [ Musk, George: "Canadian Pacific" (1981), page 186, Holt Reinhard and Winston of Canada Ltd., ISBN 0-03-820291-7.] For cruising two of her engines were shut down, and the two outboard propellers were removed to reduce drag, since speed was not as important on a cruise. With all four propellers, her speed during sea trials was 25.271 knots, although her service speed was stated at 24 knots making her the fastest ship sailing from England to Canada. Running on just her inner propellers, her speed was measured during the sea trials at 22.595 knots. [ Turner, Gordon: "Empress of Britain" (1992). Page 49, Stoddart Publishing Co. Ltd., Toronto ISBN 1-55046-052-8.] The efficiency of this arrangement became clear once she was in service – for transatlantic service, she consumed 356 tons of oil a day, while on her 1932 cruise, consumption fell to 179 tons of oil a day. [ Turner, Gordon: "Empress of Britain" (1992). Page 95, Stoddart Publishing Co. Ltd., Toronto ISBN 1-55046-052-8.]

Peacetime commercial service

Following the successful completion of sea trials, the ship headed for Southampton to prepare for its maiden voyage to Quebec City. Canadian Pacific launched publicity posters which proclaimed the "Empress of Britain" as the “Five Day Atlantic Giantess”, “Canada’s Challenger” and “The World’s Wondership”. [Choco, Mark H., and Jones, David L.: "Canadian Pacific Posters" 1883-1963 (1988), Pages 44, 46 and 47, Meridian Press , Montreal, ISBN 2-920417-37-1]

The night before her maiden voyage, the Prince of Wales decided to go to Southampton to bid bon voyage. His inspection of the ship caused a short delay in departure, but at 1:12 pm on Wednesday, May 27, 1931, the "Empress of Britain" left Southampton bound for Quebec. [ Turner, Gordon: "Empress of Britain" (1992). Page 53, Stoddart Publishing Co. Ltd., Toronto ISBN 1-55046-052-8.] Once the ship was at sea, the Toronto newspaper "The Globe" ran an editorial on what the ship meant to Canadians.

“Canadian enterprise has issued a new challenge in the world of shipping by the completion and sailing of the Empress of Britain from England for Quebec. This giant Canadian Pacific liner of 42,500 tons sets a new standard for the Canadian route. Its luxurious equipment includes one entire deck for sport and recreation, another for public rooms, including a ballroom, with decorations by world-famous artists. There are apartments instead of cabins, and each is equipped with a radio receiving set for the entertainment of passengers. . . . In the later years of the last century, … there was long agitation for a ‘fast Atlantic service’. Time has brought the answer. Despite the current depression, Canada has a new ship which will reach far for traffic during the St. Lawrence season, and when winter comes will go on world cruises, carrying passengers who will ask and receive almost the last word in comfort and luxury in ocean travel. The first journey of the new Empress is a historic event in the record of Canadian advancement.” [”Canada’s New Empress”, "The Globe", Toronto, Thursday, May 28, 1931, page 4.]

In all, the Empress made nine roundtrips in 1931 between Southampton and Quebec, carrying 4,891 passengers westbound and 4,696 passengers eastbound. To begin her winter cruise, she also made a westbound trans-Atlantic trip to New York, carrying 378 passengers. Turner, Gordon: "Empress of Britain" (1992). Pages 193 and 194, Stoddart Publishing Co. Ltd., Toronto ISBN 1-55046-052-8.] On December 3, 1931, she sailed on a 128-day round the world cruise, Turner, Gordon: "Empress of Britain" (1992). Pages 193 and 194, Stoddart Publishing Co. Ltd., Toronto ISBN 1-55046-052-8.] following a route which took her to the Mediterranean, North Africa and the Holy Land, through the Suez Canal and into the Red Sea, then to India, Ceylon, Southeast Asia and the Dutch East Indies, on to China, Hong Kong and Japan, then across the Pacific to Hawaii and California before transversing the Panama Canal and back to New York. [ Rob McAudley: "The Liners" (1997), page 76, Motorbooks International Publishers & Wholesalers, Osceola, WI, ISBN 0-7603-0465-3.] The ship then did a one-way eastbound Atlantic crossing from New York to Southampton, where she entered dry dock for routine maintenance and reinstallation of her two outer propellers. This schedule was duplicated in each succeeding year until 1939, with minor adjustments.

Her captain from 1934 to 1937 was Ronald Niel Stuart, VC an Anglo-Canadian First World War veteran who was entitled to fly the Blue Ensign on ships under his command.

Canadian Pacific had hoped to convince many North American Midwesterners from both Canada and the United States to travel by train to Quebec City as opposed to New York City. This routing gave passengers an extra day and a half of smooth sailing in the shorter, sheltered St. Lawrence River transatlantic route, which Canadian Pacific advertised as “39 per cent less ocean”. [ Musk, George: "Canadian Pacific" (1981), page 184, Holt Reinhard and Winston of Canada Ltd., ISBN 0-03-820291-7.] While initially successful, the novelty wore off. According to William H. Miller from his book "The Great Luxury Liners: 1927-1954", the "Empress" was one of the least profitable liners from the 1930s.

In June, 1939, the "Empress of Britain" sailed from Halifax to Conception Bay, St. Johns, Newfoundland and then eastbound to Southampton with her smallest ever passenger list. The list recorded just 40 people: King George VI, Queen Elizabeth and 13 ladies and lords in waiting, and 22 household staff, plus a photographer and two reporters. [ Turner, Gordon: "Empress of Britain" (1992). Page 175, Stoddart Publishing Co. Ltd., Toronto ISBN 1-55046-052-8.] She returned to regular transatlantic service, but through the summer of 1939, the clouds of war gathered. On September 2, 1939, one day before Canada and Britain declared war, the Empress sailed on her last voyage for Canadian Pacific, and with the largest-ever passenger list. Filled beyond capacity, and with temporary berths in the squash court and other spaces, the "Empress of Britain" zig-zagged across the Atlantic, arriving in Quebec on September 8, 1939. [ Musk, George: "Canadian Pacific" (1981), page 190, Holt Reinhard and Winston of Canada Ltd., ISBN 0-03-820291-7.] [ Turner, Gordon: Empress of Britain (1992). Pages 175 and 177, Stoddart Publishing Co. Ltd., Toronto ISBN 1-55046-052-8.]

War service

Upon arrival in Quebec, she was painted grey and laid up awaiting orders. Those came on November 25, 1939, when she was requisitioned for use as a troop transport. First, she did four transatlantic trips bringing troops from Canada to England. Then she was sent to Wellington, New Zealand, returning to Scotland in June, 1940 as part of the “million dollar convoy” of seven luxury liners. ["Empress of Britain", "Empress of Canada", "Empress of Japan", "Queen Mary", "Aquitania", "Mauritania" and "Andes". Musk, George: "Canadian Pacific" (1981), page 140, Holt Reinhard and Winston of Canada Ltd., ISBN 0-03-820291-7.] In August, 1940, she transported troops to Suez (via Cape Town), returning with 224 military personnel and civilians, plus a crew of 419. [ Turner, Gordon: "Empress of Britain" (1992). Pages 179 to 183, Stoddart Publishing Co. Ltd., Toronto ISBN 1-55046-052-8.]

Sinking

She never made port.

At around 9:20 AM on October 26, 1940, while traveling along the west coast of Ireland, the "Empress of Britain" was spotted by a German Focke-Wulf C 200 Condor long-range bomber, commanded by Oberleutnant Bernhard Jope. Jope’s bomber strafed the Empress three times and hit her twice with 250 kg bombs.

It was only after Jope had returned to his home base in northern France that it was discovered which ship he had attacked. A telex reporting the attack was sent to German Supreme Headquarters. Realising the significance of the attack, a reconnaissance plane was sent out to verify it and having done so, the official German news agency reported that the "Empress of Britain" had been sunk, stating "The Empress of Britain was successfully attacked by German bombers on Saturday morning within the waters of Northern Ireland. The ship was badly hit and began to sink at once. The crew took to their boats."

Despite the ferocity of Jope's attack and the subsequent fires, there were relatively few casualties. However, the bombs had started a raging fire that could not be contained, and began to over take the whole ship. At 9:50 AM, Captain Sapworth gave the order to abandon ship. The fire was concentrated in the midsection of the ship, causing the passengers to head for the bow and stern and hampering launching of the lifeboats. Later that afternoon, the destroyers HMS "Echo" and "Empress" arrived. By then, the ship had been evacuated. Of the 643 people onboard, only 45 remained unaccounted for, and only 32 of those were crew members.

The fire had left the ship severely damaged and unable to move under her own power, but she was not sinking and the hull appeared to be intact despite having a slight list. It was therefore decided to attempt to save her and 9:30 AM on 27 October a party from HMS "Broke" went on board and attached tow ropes. The oceangoing tugs "Marauder" and "Thames" had meanwhile arrived on the scene and took the hulk under tow, escorted by "Broke" and HMS "Sardonyx".

The ocean going tugs Marauder and Thames had arrived, and had the task of towing the gutted hulk of the once magnificent Empress. Slowly under the care of the tugs, she began to move, with the Broke and Sardonyx standing by as escorts. The magnificent Empress of Britain although ripped apart by explosions and gutted by fire, was not dead yet. Under the tender care of the salvage tugs and the watchful eye of her escorting destroyers she could yet, with luck, make port. A ship of her capacity was a valuable asset during those dark days of the Second World War; she could be rebuilt and she needed to be rebuilt.

The German submarine U-32 commanded by Hans Jenisch had been informed by radio of the location of the stricken vessel and headed in that direction. He was at first unable to do anything but dive due to the presence of a patrolling aircraft, but later surfaced and that night, using hydrophones (passive sonar), located the ships and closed on them. The destroyers were maintaining zigzag courses and U-32 positioned herself between them and the "Empress of Britain", from where she fired two torpedoes. The first detonated prematurely, but the second one hit the "Empress of Britain", causing a massive explosion. It appears that the crews of the destroyers initially thought that the explosion was caused by the fires aboard the liner reaching her fuel tanks. Jenisch manoeuvred U-32 into position and fired a third torpedo which impacted just aft of the earlier one.

The "Empress of Britain" began to fill with water and list heavily. The tugs slipped the tow lines and at 2.05 am on 28th October, the "Empress of Britain" sank northwest of Bloody Foreland, County Donegal (off Ireland at 55-16N 09-50W). [Naval Museum of Manitoba: [http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://members.tripod.com/~merchantships/cprole/dofyorkmusk.jpg&imgrefurl=http://members.tripod.com/~merchantships/cprships2.html&h=146&w=394&sz=11&hl=en&start=28&tbnid=bzFU4osdeRbI2M:&tbnh=46&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3DSS%2BDuchess%2Bof%2BYork%26start%3D20%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN "Canadian-owned (British-registered) Merchant Ship Losses."] ]

Gold and salvage

It was suspected that the "Empress of Britain" had been carrying gold when she sank. At the time, the United Kingdom was trying to ship gold to North America to improve its credit. South Africa was a major gold producer, and the "Empress" had stopped in Cape Town, South Africa before heading to England. Most of the gold went from Cape Town to Sydney, Australia, and then to America, but there were not enough suitable ships to move that gold, and it was getting stuck in Sydney. Therefore, it was theorized that the "Empress" may have been used to take gold from South Africa to England were it could then be moved to America.

On January 8, 1949, the "Daily Mail" published a story about a salvage attempt that was going to be made that summer. There were no follow-ups, and the story contained several errors. In 1985, a potential salvager got a letter from the Department of Transport Shipping Policy Unit saying that there was gold on board, but that it had been recovered.

In 1995, a group of salvagers found the "Empress of Britain" lying upside-down in 500 feet of water. Using saturation diving, they entered the wreck and found that the fire had destroyed most of the decks, leaving a largely empty shell rising from the sea floor. The ship’s bullion room, however, was still intact. Inside was a skeleton, but no gold. It is now suspected that the gold was unloaded during the period of time when the "Empress of Britain" was on fire and its passengers were evacuated. The body found inside the bullion room may have been from someone involved in this period of emergency salvage. [cite book | last = Pickford | first = Nigel | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Lost Treasure Ships of the Twentieth Century | publisher = National Geographic | year = 1999 | location = | pages = | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 0792274725]

See also

* Treasure hunting (marine)
* List of shipwrecks in 1940
* CP Ships

References

Further reading

* Choco, Mark H., and Jones, David L.: Canadian Pacific Posters 1883-1963 (1988). Meridian Press, Montreal, ISBN 2-920417-37-1
* Harvey, Clive "RMS Empress Of Britain: Britain's Finest Liner", Tempus Publishing, Limited (February, 2005) ISBN 0-7524-3169-2
* McAudley, Rob: The Liners (1997). Motorbooks International Publishers & Wholesalers, Osceola, WI, ISBN 0-7603-0465-3.
* Miller, William H. Jr.: The Fabulous Interiors of the Great Ocean Liners in historic photographs (1985). Dover Publications (New York) ISBN 0-486-24756-2.
* Musk, George. (1981). [http://books.google.com/books?id=iWoTAAAAYAAJ&q=ss+empress+of+britain&dq=ss+empress+of+britain&lr=&pgis=1 "Canadian Pacific: The Story of the Famous Shipping Line."] Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles. 10-ISBN 0-715-37968-2
* Seamer, Robert "The Floating Inferno", Patrick Stephens Limited (1990) ISBN 1-85260-324-0
* Turner, Gordon: Empress of Britain (1992). Stoddart Publishing Co. Ltd., Toronto ISBN 1-55046-052-8
*

External links

* [http://www.greatships.net/empressbritain2.html Information about the Empress of Britain]
* [http://www.theclydebankstory.com/image.php?inum=TCSM00035&t=1&urltp=story_TCSC03.php Theclydebankstory: RMS Empress of Britain, 1930]
* [http://www.theclydebankstory.com/image.php?inum=TCSM00036 Theclydebankstory: Launch of RMS Empress of Britain]
* [http://www.oceanlinermuseum.co.uk/EmpressofBritain.html Oceanlinermuseum: Empress of Britain 1930]