EMPRESS OF
SCOTLAND
(ex
EMPRESS OF
JAPAN
)
Built by the Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Co., Govan in
1930. Yard No.
634.
Official Number: 161430
Signal Letters: G M L V
Gross Tonnage: 26,313, Nett:
14,486.
Length: 644·0ft. Breadth:
83·8ft.
Owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway Co. (Canadian Pacific Steamships
– Managers)
6 steam turbines, single-reduction gearing to twin screws. Speed: 21
knots, maximum 23.
Of all the passenger liners that have ever operated
across the North Pacific, the Empress
of Japan of 1930, the second vessel to carry this name in
the Canadian Pacific fleet, was undoubtedly the finest, the
largest and the fastest.
She was built at the
Fairfield
yard at Govan at a cost of about £1·5 million. The ship’s
twin screws were driven by Parsons’ single-reduction geared
turbines. Six Yarrow oil-fired water tube boilers supplied
steam at 425 lb.psi and 725° superheat. The main engines
developed 30,000shp on five boilers (leaving one in reserve)
for a normal 21 knots; 33,000shp was maximum for 23 knots. The
third funnel was a dummy but served as a ventilator for the
engine room and the first and second-class galleys.
When the Empress
of Japan entered service she could carry 268 first-class
passengers; 131 interchangeable; 164 second-class; 100
third-class and 510 steerage. For cargo she had space for
212,000 cu.ft of general; 33,000 cu.ft for insulated, and
59,000 cu.ft. in her silk rooms.
The
Empress of Japan
as she appeared on the Pacific services in the 1930s
photo:
Shipbuilding and Shipping Record
The Empress of
Japan was launched on 17th December 1929 and
was completed in June 1930. She ran her trials in the Firth of
Clyde and achieved a maximum speed of 23 knots on the
Skelmorlie Mile. On 8th June she was delivered to
Canadian Pacific, a truly magnificent ship, beautifully
proportioned, graceful, and yet with a look of tremendous
power.
On 14th June 1930 the Empress
of Japan left Liverpool on her maiden voyage to
Quebec
, returning to
Southampton
. On her return passage she averaged 21 knots on 26,100shp.
Her fuel consumption was 168·8 tons per day. On 12th
July she left Southampton for Hong Kong via
Suez
, and from Hong Kong she commenced her trans-Pacific service
to Vancouver via
Shanghai
,
Kobe
and
Yokohama
, joining her running mates the Empress
of Canada, Empress
of Asia and Empress
of Russia.
Normally there would have been a balancing pair of
sister ships, but the world depression was affecting policy,
and with the advent of its new trans-Atlantic flagship, the Empress
of Britain of 1931, Canadian Pacific Steamships had enough
on its plate.
The Empress of
Australia had left the Pacific route in August 1927,
returning to the
Fairfield
yard to be re-engined. She had not been a success on the
Pacific due to her slow speed of about 17 knots maximum, but
she had made a great name for herself
by her rescue work following the
Yokohama
earthquake. Following re-engining she was transferred to the
Atlantic
.
Along with the Empress
of Canada of 1922, the Empress
of Japan had sufficient speed to include a call en route
at
Honolulu
, lengthening the passage by a considerable amount and
bringing the new ship into direct competition with the
American and Japanese liners on the Pacific.
The Empress of
Japan lost little time in capturing the speed record for
the trans-Pacific passage in both directions. In October 1930
she averaged 21·02 knots from Yokohama to Race Rocks,
Vancouver, completing the passage in 8 days, 6 hours and 27
minutes, beating the Empress
of Canada’s previous record by 4½ hours. In 1931 she
reduced this time to 7 days 8 hours and 27 minutes. The
largest and fastest ship on the Pacific, the Empress of Japan was for eight years extremely popular and before
the end of 1939 she had completed 58 round voyages.
On 26th November 1939 the Empress
of Japan was requisitioned for service as a troopship. She
had been in
Shanghai
when was war declared, and after a crossing to
Honolulu
and
Vancouver
she sailed to
Esquimalt
where a certain amount of work was carried out to fit her for
trooping. Her hull and superstructure were painted grey and
she then left for
Sydney
, arriving on 22nd December.
Shortly afterwards she sailed for
Suez
with a contingent of Australian troops. Returning to
Melbourne
, she sailed again with troops to
Suez
in the company of the Queen
Mary, Aquitania,
Mauretania, Empress of
Britain
and Empress of
Canada. In 1941 the Empress
of Japan completed trooping voyages from
Glasgow
to the Cape and
Singapore
, returning to the
UK
via
Panama
; 35,000 miles in 141 days.
