RMS Empress of Canada (1929)

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Career

Name:	Empress of Canada Duchess of Richmond
Namesake:	Duchess of Richmond
Operator:	Canadian Pacific Steamships Ltd
Route:	Canada to UK
Builder:	John Brown & Co., Glasgow
Launched:	18 June 1928
Maiden voyage:	15 March 1929
Renamed:	1947
Refit:	1946/1947
Fate:	caught fire and capsized, then scrapped
General characteristics
Type:	passenger liner troopship during Second World War
Tonnage:	20,022
Length:	601 ft
Beam:	75.2 ft
Speed:	18 knots
Capacity:	As built 580 cabin, 480 tourist and 510 3rd class passengers

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

RMS Empress of Canada was an ocean liner built in 1928-1929 for Canadian Pacific Steamships by John Brown & Co. at Glasgow, Scotland, until 1947 she was the SS Duchess of Richmond. 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 Canada.^[1]

1 History
2 Notes
3 References
4 External links

[edit] History

Sister ship to the SS Duchess of York, SS Duchess of Bedford and SS Duchess of Atholl, she was built as the Duchess of Richmond at Glasgow, in March of 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. During World War II she was used as a troopship and after surviving the War, in 1947 she was refitted as a luxury liner with the new name Empress of Canada and returned to service on her original Canada to England route.

On January 25, 1953 the Empress of Canada caught fire and capsized at Gladstone Dock, Liverpool. Re-floated, the following spring she was taken to La Spezia, Italy where she was scrapped.