RMS Empress of Britain: The Largest Ship Sunk by U-Boat in WW2
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.ค. 2024
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The RMS Empress of Britain, launched June 11, 1930, was the largest, fastest, and most luxurious ocean liner to service the Europe to Canada route. She was also one of the first liners designed to serve as a cruise ship in the winter. While she wasn't a major commercial success during her short career, she earned a small but loyal following who loved her spaciousness and beauty. But World War 2 brought the great liner a premature end, making her the largest ship ever sunk by a German u-boat.
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Sources:
Empress of Britain: Canadian Pacific's Greatest Ship by Gordon Turner: amzn.to/3iwRS8M
White Empresses and Other Canadian Pacific Liners of the 1920s & 30s by William Miller: amzn.to/3L66OHb
The Floating Inferno: The Story of the Loss of the Empress of Britain by R.J. Seamer: amzn.to/3iseEyP
Music:
LEMMiNO - Siberian / siberian
Other music provided by Epidemic Sound: www.epidemicsound.com/referra...
Chapters:
0:00 Intro: RMS Empress of Britain
1:09 Chapter 1: The World by Way of Canada
3:48 Chapter 2: Building an Empress
8:19 Chapter 3: No Detail too Small
15:28 Chapter 4: Lovely for a Moment
21:12 Chapter 5: Fire in the Sky
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I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't know much about the Empress of Britain before making this video. Now, I'm in love and... I think she puts Cunard's queens to shame. What do you think?
Definitely same opinion
Nothing puts the Queen Mary to shame. The cheek of it...
The canadian pacific lines ocean liners is sure is something
She's not quite that high up 😂, but she's definitely up there with the 2 Queens and the most famous transatlantic liners. Likewise, I believe, with all of CP's fleet. It's tough to dispute their title as the world's greatest travel system. :D
Knowing that she would mostly sail in cold northern waters it seems the public spaces were well laid out so that you didn't have to go outside for the whole voyage. Long "Malls" connected everything. It made me think of the huge indoor Malls more recently built in Canada. Smart thinking!
My parents met as young people on board this ship, so without the Empress, I wouldn't be here! They travelled around the world and on the way back from Canada the British royal family were on board. The experience shaped their lives.
My name is Zachary, and I am 4 years old. I love big steamers, and I really liked your video. Thank you for making it. My favorite ship is RMS Mauretania because she was the fastest ocean liner in the world for a really long time.
I am 2 years old and also know what the fastest ocean liner was for a long time..
As a fellow month year old I also think it is a very beautiful ship
If you're really 4, it's awesome that you've learned so much history in your short time with a functional brain. And for the trolls poking at you, it's not common but there are 4 year old's that have advanced knowledge, I was 6 when I first read Lost Liners back in the 90's in fact I still have the book.
(Edit: something didn't feel right with my math I went back and look Lost Liners wasn't released until I was 6, I was still reading full novels and history books at age 4. Actually at age 8 I was helping my aunt grade her highschool students papers.)
I got to take a big old steamer
I appreciate the time it took the parent to rule out your response.
I think that the Canadian liners have been heavily underrated, and the Empress of Britain is certainly no exception. Every story I hear about the fleet, their larger operations, or the ships themselves only make want to know even more about them. I have gained an even greater amount of admiration and respect for this particular Empress. She's earned praise that very few, if any ships I can think of ever did, and rightfully so. She spoke for herself, so I'm going to stop right there. It's such a shame that CP had terrible luck when it came to losing their ships in war (the loss of the Empress of Ireland didn't help either) and just as much so for the Empress of Britain to have her life cut short. She still had a good 10-20 years left in her, easy.
Looking forward to it. She was extraordinary & deserves to be better known. Had she sailed the Southampton-New York run she probably would've been legendary.
nahh would have been overshadowed by queen mary and elizabeth
Yep just like titanic.
@@randomrazr this ship was just as nice as queen Elizabeth and Mary in my opinion
@@dmmice2344 ttrue but most people never heard of it sadly
My father, although not yet 30 years old, was plucked from his office to be an occasional Cruise Director on his beloved Empress - never round-the-world but on several other cruises in the '30s. I have photos of him in Quebec City and West Africa. Apart from WW2, his whole career was with Canadian Pacific, in London. His descriptions of his wonderful trips on the Empress of Britain enticed me to go to sea, so I was at sea for 10 years, culminating with the first three years of P. and O's ss Canberra's life. I was surprised to see that Empress's gross tonnage was noticeably greater than Canberra's,. My father was a good salesman so my fate later caused me to emigrate to Canada, sailing on the Empress of England. I wish my father was still alive so that we could enjoy watching this video together.
What a very handsome ship! A proper ship! If she was in service today, I’d sail on her in a instant! Glorious!
I hope ocean liners make a comeback someday. A bit like steam locomotives, quite a few are still in operation on tourist routes and usually attract a lot of passengers.
This is a wonderful work visually, historically, narratively and even musically. I knew an Empress of Britain existed in the CP fleet but had no idea she was...THE Empress. Her obscurity is bizarre because she checks so many boxes for enthusiasts like us: Big, luxurious, and fast with the added glamour factor of annual world cruises. Your bittersweet presentation suits the highs and lows of her short career. Thanks.
I'm baffled by it, she was a work of art. Thank you for the kind words!
So, should’ve she have more profits than the normandie, because, like the queen mary, the E.O.B ( Empress of Britain ) had comfortable, homely spaces, unlike the normandie’s spectacular art deco interiors
There is an interesting follow up to this story. As well as some mystery. It was suspected that she had been carrying gold when she went down, and there were a few salvage attempts done on her. In 1995, her wreck was discovered, and when the ship's species room was reached, they found no gold but a set of human remains. The remains suspected to be from an earlier, unrecorded, salvage attempt.
Yes! Thank you for adding this. I ended up cutting it from the final video because it was getting so long but I might make a separate video about it in the future. Such an interesting story.
so no gold was ever found .other then a corpse diver?
@@randomrazr apparently
@@BigOldBoats Yes, please make a separate video especially about this activity that took place on the wreckage! 🚢😁
Wreck sits in 165M up side down too,
the Type VIIA boat U-32 only survived two more days after the sinking. 9 were killed of her crew of 42 when the RN DDs Harvester and Highlander sank the boat. Empress of Britain was the largest ship ever hit by U-Boats by tonnage. The boat sank about 117,000 tons of shipping overall under two commanders. Kaleunt Jenisch was among the survivors and spent the next six & 1/2 years as a prisoner. He died in 1982.
Would you know why they attacked the disabled and empty ship? Wouldn't it have been better to attack the destroyers?
@@Dayvit78 not really an expert on their doctrines, but I can comment a little. In regard to the ship being crippled, they had no way of knowing whether the ship would sink with the damage done to it previously. Firing a "coup-de-grace" at a previously crippled ship was very common, even when it was the same boat finishing off a ship it had damaged mere hours earlier. But in regard to your second question, DDs were pretty undesirable targets for several reasons.
- They have a shallow draft, which means you have to set the torpedoes shallower, which increases the chances of torpedo failure.
- They are maneuverable. Shoot from far away, and the odds of the DD seeing or hearing your torpedo go up, which means your shot(s) are wasted and your position is revealed. Meanwhile getting close enough to take an accurate shot puts the boat at immense risk we're talking about only a few hundred yards here.
- They travel in groups. Kill one, another is immediately breathing down your neck. Too risky.
- On a strategic level: They are cheap to build. Putting the boat at risk just to sink comparatively inexpensive enemy warships was frowned upon by BDU. Often when you see a U-Boat credited with sinking an escort, it was either in self-defense, or because it just happened to be a very easy target. Even when smaller merchants were concerned, DDs were less desirable as targets. Granted, a big fleet destroyer like a Tribal or a Fletcher isn't a totally irrelevant asset to the enemy, but most escorts are not fleet DDs but Frigates, Corvettes, DDEs, and older types of DDs which really aren't worth much to the allied navies.
Remember, this was a tonnage war. You don't win the tonnage war by sinking 1,300 ton escorts, you win it by evading said escorts and sinking merchants that are as big as possible, as often as possible.
@@Dayvit78 no, typically the u-boats were used primarily to sink merchant ships. Destroyers were very dangerous targets for submarines due to submarine-hunting being one of their primary missions.
Thank you for the information. I wasn't aware that the main focus of Germany's famed u boats was to attack civilians. That tarnishes the aura of their superiority in naval battle. Until enough destroyers and support ships were involved and the convoys begun they were shooting fish in a barrel. With no possible retaliation. Hardly praiseworthy. Glad to hear The Empress of Britain was avenged.
the Reichsmarine did the same thing in the Great War and the United States Navy did the same thing to Japan. Sinking merchant shipping is simply how you conduct war against an island nation. it's no more or less inhuman than the RAF's terror bombings or the US nuclear strikes. war sucks.
Been hoping for one, you did a fantastic job!!! ..My grandfather sailed on her in the good years, and then The Empress of Scotland after the war as he worked for the Canadian government of the time...would tell me about how beautiful they were when I was a child, which helped kick-start my love of the liners!
Thank you!
Small detail: RailROAD is American, RailWAY is Canadian.
*As a Canadian I love this piece of history!*
*A truly beautifully crafted documentary, you are an amazing creator!*
This one makes me sad. Thank you Empress. Your contributions are not forgotten
I love that they had such artists create so much of her interior spaces and furnishings
Bradley, thank you! Another awesome video that was well researched and well produced. Your videos are getting better and better as time goes by. You certainly have a talent and a skill. Although my personal favorite is the original QE, I have always been in awe of the Empress of Britain. Her gigantic stacks give her the impression of an enormous ship. She truly was beautiful on the inside and bold and powerful looking on the outside. Thanks again for all the hard work. Nicely done.
Really appreciate the kind words, thank you!
Some of the most beautiful interior spaces I've never seen. Well done. Thank you for sharing. I really enjoy your content.
Thank you so much for watching!
There are fantastic photos and posters of this liner in the Empress Hotel in Victoria BC. Other than this, the Empress is mostly unknown. Thanks for the video.
"Holy crap," haha! I love your little flashes of humor. What a gorgeous ship.
Yes!
The "Chinese Lounge" was epic.
Few liners could approach her spectacular interiors.
Even I was blown away when I saw them. Not too over the top, yet at the same time, right up there with some of the greatest interiors that a ship has ever had. Absolute beauty, and I have no doubt that if CP were still operating ships today that they would be wildly successful in the cruise market. :D
Great video! I knew nothing about the ship before this. Keep up the good work :)
Thank you! Glad to hear you enjoyed! :)
Side note: The Beautiful and Damned is F. Scott Fizgerald’s second novel - his thrid was The Great Gatsby. It’s a good read with a story very similar to that of the Empress of Britiain. Nice title, and nice video!
Brilliant as always, BoB! I'd love to draw this ship some day.
Top-notch content. :)
~MIke
Thank you, Mike! Can't wait to see that drawing :)
Beautifully done Brad! Great video, really enjoyed it. Yes, there is very little content about this wonderful ship. The only book I know of published about her is "The Empress of Britain - Britain's Finest Liner" published by Clive Harvey in 2004. Its interesting to note that CP's postwar Empress of Britain of 1956 was a much smaller ship at 26,000 GRT and had a short life as well (due to declining passenger numbers).
Thank you! Glad to hear you liked it!
I have a leather suitcase with an Empress of Britain tag from 1939 that I really cherish. Such a beautiful ship, thanks for this video!
A beautiful ship indeed, exterior and interiors. A wonderful few words by a lady who saved up enough to do the full world cruise on her visiting all those exotic ports (when ports were indeed very interesting in themselves with all the freighters and tramp steamers with steam tugs blowing their steam whistles giving out their orders etc, as well as the smell of coal spices and much more). And it seemed that she saved hard to make the voyage which to me tells me that she would have greatly appreciated this spectacular voyage. I can only imagine how amazing it would have been. Thank you for your excellent video as an appreciative ship spotter.
Really appreciate the kind words!
I always thought the big girls looked better with a yacht stern, like Big Lucy. Very good video, easy to hear, well organized, and factual. thanks, good work.
This always seemed to me as an interesting liner but I did not know much about it. Good job
Thanks! Yeah, I had no idea she has such an interesting career
The wreck of the Empress of Britain lies in 500 feet (152 meters) of water and is accessible to divers equipped for saturation diving. A salvage operation to retrieve gold was attempted in 1949, but little word on the success was given. By 1995, the wreck was relocated and the ship found capsized, her upper decks destroyed apparently by the fire.
You did a fantastic job going over the Empress of Britain, especially all of the detail concerning her layout and interior spaces! She was truly a magnificent and lesser known vessel that deserved far more attention for the marvel that she was!
If I might level one criticism, the line concerning the Chinese Lounge feels out of place. I prefer if my history is taken from the perspective of the time, and shouldn't contain particular criticisms from modern sensibilities. I feel it takes away from the presentation and does not correctly reflect the impact people of the time would have had.
I do enjoy your videos, and want to continue enjoying the excellent historical research you have presented for us. Thank you for the efforts and for sharing your work!
Okay... as a Canadian I'm PROUD this sailed for my country, this boat was BEAUTIFUL.
Yes, you’re so right! I love this ship. As a Russian I wish we had more accomplished ocean liners but it is what it is I suppose.
What an absolute beauty of a ship with all that craftmanship and sumptuous furnishings it must have been a singular joy to be a passenger on a world cruise, a real gem but what a shabby, sad end. Thanks for the upload
Thank you for reminding us of this ship that had positive impacts on many people.
Glad that came across. I was so struck by how much the few people who got a chance to sail on her seemed to love her and I really wanted to convey that.
Thank you so much for this wonderful story of such a beautiful ship. Thanks
wonderfull job on this magnificint liner. we can only hope history doesnt repeat in our current day. love your channel!
Thank you!
Thank you for making this video. Being from Canada, I didn't know much about this beautiful ship. I think I may have a new ocean liner to revere. One that I can call my own. ❤
Thank you!
Holy smokes, I discovered your channel a couple of days ago and it's incredible. Really well done videos on some wonderful old liners. Keep up the incredible work; you deserve ten times the subscribers!
This is my favourite ship and I’m so sad that it had such a short career with the most potential
"There is no need for me to say anything; the Empress has said it for herself" - Captain Wood . what a legend.
One of the best and one of my favorite liners. To that you have added exceptionally well done video and narrative! I can barely wait for more!
Thank you!
I absolutely LOVE this channel!! I started off a titanic enthusiast and I was led to this channel and have been binging ever since!! This is all brilliant!
I love the descriptions of her public rooms. Such detail is always alluring.
What a fantastic journey across the pond, down the St. Lawrence, through the Canadian wilderness, then across the Pacific to the Orient!
Nice to see a Canadian ship featured; and one as beautiful as the 'Empress of Britain'. I hadn't seen photos of the interiors before; only renderings. Wasn't there a winter garden, as well, with aviaries in it? Or am I confusing the 'Empress' with the 'Normandie'?
Regardless, one point re history: When Britain declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939, that didn't bring Canada into war (it was already an independent country by then), meaning the 'Empress of Britain' wouldn't become an enemy vessel to the Germans on that date. You don't explicitly say it did. But, from the descriptions of the captain's actions, it's implied Canada had been drawn into the war because Britain said so. On the advice of Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, George VI, king of Canada, declared war on Hitler on 10 September 1939.
On that note, thanks for not calling either Prince Edward, King George VI, or Queen Elizabeth "British" or prefacing their names with "Britain's". As mentioned, Canada was a sovereign nation after 1931, when its crown split from the UK's, even though the same _person_ wore both.
The Empress of Britain was actually owned by Canadian Pacific's British subsidiary company, Canadian Pacific Steamships Ltd. Both British registered, and crewed, making her a vessel of the British Merchant Navy. She would have, very sadly, been deemed a legitimate enemy target by the German high command, on the declaration of war.
Beautiful video! Thanks so much for sharing this story.
That was beautiful man I didn't know anything about this ship except her name and that she was a Canadian picific liner related to the empress of Ireland this video was really great and informative and a sincere tribute well done
Glad I'm not the only one! Happy to hear you enjoyed it!
Nicely done lad. A fitting tribute to RMS Empress. Thanks for posting and be safe 🙏
Outstanding presentation and a fine addition to commercial naval narratives. Bravo!
Just so moving and beautiful! Fantastic content, thank you so very much.
Nice choice!
She bears a family resemblance to that other John Brown-built 3-stacker...except for those immense funnels!
It's too bad there aren't more colour images of her. She was quite a striking sight.
As a Mariner, I was surprised that I hadn’t heard of this before, especially given my Father was junior officer with Furness Withy, when the war started. He served with the Merchant for the full years, and was when I was born Mate, or Chief Officer, but by the time I was at Pep School, he was Master. Your presentation was very well done - interestingly, I caught a glimpse of the Blue Ensign flying at the stern, being an RMS ship she was entitled to use this instead of the normal Red Ensign carried by British registered Merchant Marine Vessel.
Stunning ship and an excellent video detailing her history and her elegant accommodations.
Thank you for your very informative & enjoyable video on the Empress of Britain - another "John Brown" classic liner!
Hi, so glad you are covering the Canada-Europe lines as well! A fascinating video and I learnt so much. What an era and what a beautiful ship 😍👏
She was indeed a beautiful ship. Both inside and out.
No matter how many shipwreck stories I see it's always Soo heartbreaking! 😪🙏💔
My Uncle Fred sailed on her from Wellington NZ as one of the first NZ army groups to head for UK. He disembarked in Scotland in June 1940.
Canada’s Normandie
I wonder if she still would’ve been around today, maybe as a museum ship, had that tow been successful and she survived the war. What a sad demise.
Great video!
An apt way to describe her: my mind also went straight to Normandie the second I saw her ballroom. :D
I'd certainly hope that she'd somehow survive to this day, unlikely as it would be.
@@Kaidhicksii Both had their careers cut short prematurely, both were renowned liners in their day (and up to today), both were extravagantly decorated. A lot of aspects reminded me of Normandie, including the ballroom!
Thank you for these videos. They’re a highlight for me whenever you upload them. Your style, your pacing, and your voice make them a treat. This was no different. I do love me some Empress.
As an aside, if you read this, have you thought about making a video on Normandies less known precursor the L’Atlantique?
Whatever topic the future holds I’m looking forward to it however. Thought I’d mention her if you hadn’t heard of her.
Mr Boats - Your presentations are done so thoughtfully and paint tragedies with great dignity and real compassion and respect. The way You capture the thoughts and feelings of an era is just so enjoyable to see and I wish You the best in all Your endeavours. Thanks for the fantastic productions 🤝
Wonderfully told story of a truly beautiful vessel , I am happy that I found your channel , Thanks , Mark Battista
You're doing a great job. Keep it up as I foresee your channel having a bright future.
Excellent job, man! Couldn't have been better. March 31, 2022, St. Joseph, MO, USA.
I didn't know this great lady and it's one of the most beautiful ocean liners. Thank you for making this.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for making this video. I had never heard of this ship before. It is good to know of her story. Best wishes
Lovely video , yet another great ship along with her crew we now know about , history is full of unsung hero's and forgotten great ships that this video has now highlighted for the world again.
Well done! Love your voice, and as usual your research and photos are A+
loving the vids!! such great quality and info! love me some ships!!
Great video, never knew about this lovely lady until now. She was a beauty! Shame we lost her so soon and suddenly.
My goodness. Your videos are just wonderful.
WOW !! What a terrific story ! I didn’t know much about Empress of Britain before watching this video. She was truly a wonderful and beautiful liner inside and out!! Video is professionally scripted and narrated!!! The world is sadly the poorer for the loss of the great liners ! How I would have loved to travel on these grand marvels ! Thank You for your outstanding ocean liner channel!! THE BEST ON TH-cam!!
Thank you so much! I didn't know much about her before making this video and was just so blown away by her beauty and fascinating career.
I love this ship one of my favourite Ocean Liners
I have a recommendation how about RMS Homeric
Wow, what a ship!
I'm not really even all that interested in big old boats l just like really well produced, researched and narrated documentaries. If this guy ever made videos about how paint dries I'd probably enjoy them as well.
Excellent presentation, well done
Great video. @ 7:21 I have never seen the piles of chain used to stop the ship after launch. Very cool.
Thank you, such a wonderful ship
Excellent work.
Thanks!
👍👍👍👊😎
The music in the beginning….really digging it
It's a great story, about a great ship.
I'm very much enjoying your channel.
Very interesting. The piece out of the memoir of that passenger who was on a cruise on her in the mid 30s was lovely to hear. I found a vintage souvenir metal model of her which sits on my binocular case by the window overlooking the straits leading out of the Mouth of the Clyde where I live in Scotland on the Isle of Arran. It's nice to imagine the original Queen Mary taking her trial runs here all those years ago. Best wishes.
I love your channel and as one of the many Canadians that have already posted, I love that you have created a video on a Canadian Pacific ship (other than the Empress of Ireland).
And Mary Pickford was Canadian, I might add!
Remarkable sea faring history. Thank you.
Lovely ship and splendid interiors.
Lovely and informative video about this great ship!
Many thanks!
Just found your channel through the beautifully made Olympic video. No idea how I missed this for so long, I'm always on the hunt for good ocean liner content.
Thanks man, subscribed long time ago. Nice video again!
Love this video format
Another wonderful video! Many thanks!!!
Thank you too!
So well done!
Incredible tribute
Great video, I didn't no much about the CP ships other than from my father who sailed on the CP liner Empress of Australia, when serving with the Royal Marines during the 2nd World War.
Canadian Pacific always treated their passengers with above-average service. I recall in the '70s flying on Canadian Pacific as well as traveling on their trains and was amazed that their meals were served on bone china and their cutlery was silver which made Canadian National seem like a third-rate diner. Never had that service on any airline or railway since. Such a shame this great company is only catering to freight services today.
Thank you , I never knew the ship came to a sad end, i have only looked into the Empress of Ireland, history and her sad sinking
Another fantastic video!!!
Many thanks for yet another great video.
Thank you!!
In 1963 my siblings sailed in her successor also with the same name, from Montreal. I recall it had an impressive and large main room. We stayed that night at a turreted suite at CP's Chateau Frontenac and saw her sail majestically past in an unusual mint green hull with what appeared to be a black and orange funnel. Canadian Pacific: the 1st "all inclusive" travel company.
hello….i cross from europe with the empress of briton….december 1963……
Certainly one that has been lost to the pages of history, like the RMS Lancastria in the evacuation of the Second British Expeditionary force from St-Nazaire, and the German liner Wilhelm Gustloff lost in Operation Hannibal
I read about the Lancastria in my copy of The Story of Cunard's 175 Years. Rough story that was. :/
@@Kaidhicksii Did they talk about the sinking and the news blackout Churchill imposed on it?
@@georgewnewman3201 The sinking they did, though not a word about Churchill. I'm just learning of that now, although I can't say I'm surprised.
On a slightly different topic, that being the sinking of the Laconia, I must take my hat off to the crew of the U-Boat which sunk her. Ignoring what they did, I was pleasantly surprised to see that they took on the survivors which were mostly women and children and got other U-Boats to show up and help, so they could escort them to the French. Would've been nicer if they didn't sink the ship to begin with, but gotta give credit where it's due.
My Father was an engineer on both the Empress of Britain and The Lancastria, and was badly injured in the bombing but lived until 1977.
The following is a list with joining dates of all the ships he worked on. Apart from The Aquitainia, they were mostly bombed or torpedoed at some point in the war.
144301 Berengaria 22/09/37
162582 Empress of Britain 16/10/37
145300 Empress of Australia 9/07/38
141870 SS Bayano 9/08/38
135583 Aquitania 25/03/39
145943 The Lancastria 18/05/39
@@GundogJake Great name!
So beautiful; a fantastic video
That's one hell of an endorsement at the end; "Heaven ain't got a patch on this ship."