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Concept
RMS Empress of Australia (1919)
Summary
RMS Empress of Australia was an ocean liner built in 1913–1919 by Vulcan AG shipyard in Stettin, Germany (now Szczecin, Poland) for the Hamburg America Line. She was refitted for Canadian Pacific Steamships; and the ship – the third of three CP vessels to be named Empress of China – was renamed yet again in 1922 as Empress of Australia.
In trans-Pacific service, the ship garnered fame for her part in rescue efforts at Tokyo following the Great Kantō earthquake of 1923.
In trans-Atlantic service, she earned distinction in 1927 by bringing the Prince of Wales from England to the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in Canada. She was honoured to serve as Royal Yacht during the Royal tour of Canada in 1939.
The ship was originally built for the Hamburg America Line by Vulcan AG shipyard, Stettin, Germany (now Szczecin, Poland), in 1912, as yard number 333.
The partly completed hull was launched on 20 December 1913. During this period, it was the intention of the Hamburg America Line to name the completed ship the SS Admiral von Tirpitz in honour of Alfred von Tirpitz.
This choice of name was odd, as Admiral von Tirpitz, who had done much to improve Germany’s navy, had anti-British sentiments and views. Albert Ballin did not share them, and he feared that a war between the two nations might be at hand. This may be why the ship’s name was shortened to just Tirpitz in February 1914. Her final outfitting was held up due to the outbreak of World War I.
In 1916, Kaiser Wilhelm II ordered her to be completed as his royal yacht, in which he envisioned receiving the allied naval fleets when they surrendered. Her first trip, however, was under seizure as a war prize when she sailed from Hamburg to Hull on 1 December 1919. She was then used as a troop ship under P & O Line management.
Tirpitz was one of two German-built vessels purchased by Canadian Pacific Railway in 1921 which were both confusingly re-named ; the first vessel having briefly carried the name Empress of China before being renamed RMS Empress of India in advance of CPR's acquisition of the Tirpitz.
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