RMS Empress of Scotland (1906) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

RMS Empress of Scotland was the later name of an ocean liner
Ocean liner
An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...

built in 1905-1906 by Vulcan AG shipyard
Stettiner Vulcan AG
Aktien-Gesellschaft Vulcan Stettin was a German shipbuilding and locomotive builder company, located in Stettin . AG Vulcan Stettin played a significant role in both World Wars, building U-boats and warships for the Kaiserliche Marine...

in Stettin
Szczecin
Szczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....

(now Szczecin, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

) for the Hamburg America Line
Hamburg America Line
The Hamburg Amerikanische Packetfahrt Actien Gesellschaft was a transatlantic shipping enterprise established in Hamburg, Germany during...

. The ship was launched as the SS Kaiserin Auguste Victoria; she regularly sailed between Hamburg

Hamburg

-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

and New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

until the outbreak of war in Europe in 1914. At the end of hostilities, re-flagged the USS Kaiserin Auguste Victoria, she transported American troops from Europe to the United States. For a brief time Cunard

Cunard Line

Cunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...

sailed the re-flagged ship between Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

and New York.

The ship was refitted for Canadian Pacific Steamships (CP) and in 1921, she was renamed the Empress of Scotland—the first of two CP ships to bear that name. This Empress was distinguished by the Royal Mail Ship

Royal Mail Ship

Royal Mail Ship , usually seen in its abbreviated form RMS, a designation which dates back to 1840, is the ship prefix used for seagoing vessels that carry mail under contract by Royal Mail...

(RMS) prefix in front of her name while in commercial service with Canadian Pacific.

History

The SS Kaiserin Auguste Victoria was built by AG Vulcan Stettin in Stettin on the Baltic in 1905-1906. The new ship was ordered by the expanding Hamburg America Line

Hamburg America Line

The Hamburg Amerikanische Packetfahrt Actien Gesellschaft was a transatlantic shipping enterprise established in Hamburg, Germany during...

. At 24,000 plus tons she was the largest passenger liner in the world from 1905 to 1907 until the advent of Cunard's Lusitania

RMS Lusitania

RMS Lusitania was a British ocean liner designed by Leonard Peskett and built by John Brown and Company of Clydebank, Scotland. The ship entered passenger service with the Cunard Line on 26 August 1907 and continued on the line's heavily-traveled passenger service between Liverpool, England and New...

German ship

When the keel was laid down as "Ship #264," this vessel was intended to be named the SS Europa; she was to have been a sister ship to the SS Amerika which was being built by Harland and Wolff

Harland and Wolff

Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries is a Northern Irish heavy industrial company, specialising in shipbuilding and offshore construction, located in Belfast, Northern Ireland....

in Belfast during the same period. At the time of her launching on 29 August 1905, her only peer in size was the slightly smaller Amerika which had been launched days earlier.

German Empress Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein permitted the vessel to be named after her and participated in the launching ceremonies.

The 24,581-ton vessel had a length of 677.5 feet, and her beam was 77.3 feet. She had two funnels, four masts, twin propellers, and an average speed of 18 knots. The ocean liner provided accommodation for 472 first-class passengers and for 174 second class passengers. There was room for 212 third-class passengers and for 1,608 fourth-class passengers.

The SS Kaiserin Auguste Victoria left Hamburg on 10 May 1906 on her maiden voyage to Dover, Cherbourg, and New York under the command of Captain Hans Ruser. Thereafter, she regularly sailed the route between Hamburg and New York. In 1910 the ship was to be used in experiments for the world's first ship-to-shore airplane flights by pilot John McCurdy

John Alexander Douglas McCurdy

John Alexander Douglas McCurdy was a Canadian aviation pioneer and the 19th Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia from 1947 to 1952. -Early years:...

. A special platform was built on the Kaiserin Auguste Victoria to provide a runway for McCurdy's plane. McCurdy abandoned the attempt when rival pilot Eugene Ely flew off a naval warship in Virginia in November 1910. The Kaiserin Auguste Victoria then returned to sailing on her regular schedule. A similar experiment using airplanes launched at sea to carry mail was carried out on the SS Bremen

SS Bremen (1929)

The SS Bremen was a German-built ocean liner constructed for the Norddeutscher Lloyd line to work the transatlantic sea route. The Bremen was notable for her bulbous bow construction, high-speed engines, and low, streamlined profile. At the time of her construction, she and her sister ship were...

twenty years later. In June 1914, the Kaiserin August Victoria made her last voyage under a German flag, sailing from Hamburg to Southampton, Cherbourg, and New York, and returning to Hamburg.

During World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, the Kaiserin Auguste Victoria stayed in the port of Hamburg in August 1914. In March 1919, she was surrendered to Britain.

American ship

The ship was chartered by the United States Shipping Board, and the U.S.S. Kaiserin Auguste Victoria carried American troops from Europe to America. The ship made five crossings between France and the United States, bringing troops home from the war. This temporary U.S. Navy vessel flew the American flag as American troops were repatriated.

British ship

On 14 February 1920, the ship was decommissioned and chartered to Cunard

Cunard Line

, sailing under a British flag. The SS Kaiserin Auguste Victoria sailed between Liverpool and New York although her life with Cunard would be very short lived.

Canadian ship

On 13 May 1921, the ship was sold to Canadian Pacific; she was re-named the Empress of Scotland. The new Empress was refitted to carry 459 first-class passengers, 478 second-class passengers, and 960 third-class passengers. The ship was converted to fuel oil at the same time.

On 22 January 1922, the Empress of Scotland embarked on her first voyage from Southampton to New York. On 22 April 1922, she made her second trans-Atlantic voyage, sailing the Southampton-Cherbourg-Quebec route.

On 14 June 1922 she transferred to the Hamburg-Southampton-Cherbourg-Quebec service. In 1923, she was involved in a collision with the SS Bonus at Hamburg.

In 1926, the Empress was refitted again, this time with accommodations for first-class, second-class, tourist-class, and third-class passengers. In 1927, another refit resulted in first-class, tourist-class, and third-class accommodations.

On 11 October 1930, the Empress of Scotland made her last voyage from Southampton to Cherbourg and Quebec.

When the new Empress of Britain

RMS Empress of Britain (1931)

The RMS Empress of Britain was an ocean liner built between 1928 and 1931 by John Brown shipyard in Scotland and owned by Canadian Pacific Steamship Company. This ship — second of three CP vessels named Empress of Britain — provided scheduled trans-Atlantic passenger service from spring to autumn...

came into service in 1931, the Empress of Scotland was sold for scrap. The ship was gutted by a fire at the ship-breakers yard at Blyth

Blyth, Northumberland

Blyth is a town and civil parish in southeast Northumberland, England. It lies on the coast, to the south of the River Blyth and is approximately 21 kilometres northeast of Newcastle upon Tyne...

. It broke in two and sank. Later the yard raised the pieces, which were then scrapped. By 1933 she was finally gone.

External links

The Ships List: Passenger ships web site
Simplon Postcards: Canadian Pacific postcard images
New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...

Digital Gallery:
- NYPL ID 97716, unknown photographer: Empress, starboard view
SS Kaiserin Auguste Victoria on The Great Ocean Liners