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EMPRESS OF JAPAN
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The most luxurious passenger vessel ever built for the Pacific passenger service was the Clyde-built Empress of Japan
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The liner was constructed at Fairfield's in Govan for the Canadian Pacific line, which had named all its vessels Empress since its founding in the 1880's
The 27,000 tonne ship was launched in 1929 and the following year made her maiden voyage from Liverpool to Quebec.
She joined the Empresses of Asia, Russia and Canada on the passenger service between the Pacific and western Canada, and on her first trip broke the speed record.
In the Second World War she became a troop ship.
When Japan entered the war in December 1941, she was renamed Empress of Scotland the following year.
In 1948, she underwent a two-year refit, before taking on the north Atlantic service between Liverpool, Quebec and Greenock.
During the winter she cruised to the Caribbean and South Africa but in 1957 she was removed from service as she was no longer profitable.
Sold the following year to the new Hamburg Atlantic line, she was renamed the Hanseatic and sailed between Europe and New York.
She was scrapped in 1966 after a fire.
