RMS Empress of Canada (1928)

SS Duchess of Richmond was an ocean liner built in 1928 for Canadian Pacific Steamships by John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Scotland. In 1947 she was renamed SS Empress of Canada.

For other ships with the same name, see RMS Empress of Canada.

Empress of Canada arrives in Montreal, 1947.
History
Name
  • 1928–1947: Duchess of Richmond
  • 1947–1953: Empress of Canada
NamesakeDuchess of Richmond
Operator Canadian Pacific Steamships Ltd
Port of registryLondon,  United Kingdom
RouteLiverpool to Quebec and Montreal (Apr-Nov), Liverpool to Saint John (Nov-Apr)
BuilderJohn Brown & Company, Clydebank
Yard number523[1]
Launched18 June 1928
Maiden voyage15 March 1929
Refit1946/1947
Fate
  • Caught fire and capsized on 25 January 1953
  • Scrapped in La Spezia in 1954
General characteristics
Type
  • Passenger liner
  • Troopship during Second World War
Tonnage20,022 (1947, 20,325)
Length601 ft (183 m)
Beam75 ft 3 in (22.94 m)
PropulsionGeared turbines, twin screw propellers
Speed18 knots
CapacityAs built 580 cabin, 480 tourist and 510 3rd class passengers, 1947, 400 1st class, 300 tourist
Crew510

Duchess of Richmond

Duchess of Richmond was one of the several Canadian Pacific liners which were known as the "Drunken Duchesses" for their "lively performance in heavy seas."[2] She was built as a sister ship to SS Duchess of York, SS Duchess of Bedford and SS Duchess of Atholl.

In March 1929 the 20,022-ton ocean liner began transatlantic summer service from Montreal Canada to Liverpool in the United Kingdom with winter service out of the port of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. On 27 April 1929, she ran aground at Saint John. Her passengers were taken off, and she was refloated the next day.[3][4]

Troopship
The merchant ship SS Duchess of Richmond disembarking soldiers at Algiers, November 1942.

,

During World War II, Duchess of Richmond was requisitioned as a troopship, and also played a role in transporting the Tizard Mission, which brought secret military equipment and designs from Britain to the United States. On 6 September 1940, she delivered the Mission, including highly secret and important equipment such as the cavity magnetron, to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The Mission then went onward by land to the United States. She also transported men to the fighting in North Africa, stopping briefly in Algiers to disembark troops on 14 November 1942.[5]

Empress
Empress of Canada at the Port of Montreal, July 1947.

War losses reduced the Canadian Pacific fleet considerably and post-war only the Liverpool to Montreal service was resumed. The two surviving cabin class Duchesses were upgraded to "Empress" status and refitted with accommodation for 400 1st class and 300 tourist passengers (down from the pre-war three class total of 1,570). In May 1946, Duchess of Richmond arrived at the Govan yard of Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering for her overhaul and refit. Upon completion she was renamed Empress of Canada on 12 July 1947 and sailed on Canadian Pacific's first post-war Liverpool–Montreal sailing four days later.

On 25 January 1953 Empress of Canada caught fire and heeled over against the dock wall at Gladstone Dock, Liverpool. Re-floated after being righted by parbuckling,[6] the following spring she was taken to La Spezia, Italy where she was scrapped. The difficulty of her recovery has been likened to that of the ocean liner SS Normandie in New York Harbor in 1942 and the United States Navy battleship USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor in 1943.[6]

Citations
  1. "1160631". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
  2. Buchan, William. (1982) John Buchan: a Memoir, p. 224.
  3. "Casualty reports". The Times. No. 45189. London. 29 April 1929. col G, p. 25.
  4. "Casualty reports". The Times. No. 45190. London. 30 April 1929. col C, p. 28.
  5. Netherlands Navy: "Mystery photos". Archived 2 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  6. Liverpool Ships. "The Canadian Pacific Liner EMPRESS OF CANADA was destroyed by fire in the Gladstone Dock at Liverpool on 25th January, 1953". Liverpool Ships. Archived from the original on 15 August 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2013.

References
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