|
The Hamburg Amerika Line ordered
Admiral Von Tirpitz at the same
time as their Big Three,
Imperator, Vaterland and
Bismarck. With this ship intended
to carry immigrants from Germany to the
west coast of South America via the
Panama Canal, she was built to a size
that would reflect the amount of trade
expected on that route. Work on
Admiral Von Tirpitz fitting out
had to be suspended after the outbreak of
World War One in 1914. At one stage, the
Germans were so confident they would win
the war; they planned to convert this
ship to a royal yacht. However, the
German surrender in 1918 led to
Admiral Von Tirpitz being awarded
to the Allies as compensation for ships
they lost during the war. Work on her
completion was carried out at Hamburg
before she joined the Canadian Pacific
Railway Company July 25th 1921 under the
name Empress of China.
Before entering service, the Canadian
Pacific Line had their new ship put into
John Browns/ Clydebank to have her
interiors finished to higher standard.
She remerged from the shipyard under the
name Empress of Australia and
departed Scotland in June 1922 bound for
her homeport of Vancouver. Empress of
Australia’s maiden voyage on
her intended route from Vancouver -
Yokohama and Hong Kong began July 28th
1922. Her underpowered turbines were
replaced with Parsons turbines at
Fairfield Shipbuilding/Glasgow in 1926.
After being returned to the Canadian
Pacific line with an improved service
speed of 19 knots, they began operating
her between the Southampton - Quebec run
in summer and as a cruise ship in winter.
The British Admiralty requisitioned
Empress of Australia to serve as a
troopship during the Second World War. As
that war came to an end, the British Navy
chartered her to serve as a full time
troopship. Empress of Australia
continued in that role until her
decommissioning in 1952. She set out on
her final voyage from Liverpool to the
scrap yard at Rosyth/Scotland May 8th
1952.
|