RMS ''Empress of Japan'' was an

ocean liner An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of 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). Ca ...

built in 1929–1930 by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company at

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

on the

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

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 (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , 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 Canadi ...

conglomerate had established a sea/rail connection between

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

. 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 northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, the same company's

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

carried passengers across the

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

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 ...

, 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 ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

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 (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

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 definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, 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 Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

, 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''.

1942–1957: ''Empress of Scotland''

Following the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, ''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. 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 accommodations were 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 City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

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

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

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, books ...

.
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