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 was the second of three CP vessels named " Empress of Britain " — provided scheduled trans - Atlantic passenger service from spring to autumn between Canada and Europe from 1931 until 1939 . In her time , she was the largest , fastest , and most luxurious ship between England and Canada . She was torpedoed on 28 October 1940 by and sank . At 42 , 348 gross tons , she was the largest liner lost during the Second World War and the largest ship sunk by a U - boat . History . Work began on the " Empress of Britain " on 28 November 1928 when the plates of her keel were laid at John Brown & Co , Clydebank , Scotland . She was launched on 11 June 1930 by HRH Prince of Wales . This was the first time that launching ceremonies in Britain were broadcast by radio to Canada and the United States . The ship began sea trials on 11 April 1931 where she recorded , and left Southampton on her maiden voyage to Quebec on 27 May 1931 . Design and construction . As the ship would sail a more northerly trans - Atlantic route where ice - infested waters off Newfoundland sometimes awaited , the " Empress of Britain " was ordered with outer steel plating double the thickness at the stem and for back at either side , up to the waterline . Her sea trials showed her to be “ the world ’ s most economical steamship for fuel consumption per horsepower - hour . ” Her primary role was to entice passengers between England and Quebec instead of the more popular Southampton – New York . The ship was designed to carry 1 , 195 passengers ( 465 first class , 260 tourist class and 470 third class ) . The " Empress " was the first passenger liner designed specifically to become a cruise ship in winter when the St . Lawrence River was frozen . The " Empress of Britain " was annually converted into an all - first - class , luxury cruise ship , carrying 700 passengers . For the latter role her size was kept small enough to use the Panama and Suez canals , though at 760 . 6 feet ( 231 . 84 m ) and 42 , 348 gross tons , she was still large . When passing through Panama , there was only between the ship and the canal lock wall . The " Empress of Britain " was powered by four steam turbine engines driving four propellers . The two inboard propellers took two - thirds of the power , the outboard propellers one - third . For cruising two engines were shut down , and the two outboard propellers removed to reduce drag , since speed was not as important on a cruise . With four propellers , her speed during trials was , although her service speed was stated at making her the fastest ship from England to Canada . Running on inner propellers , her speed was measured during trials at . The efficiency of this arrangement became clear in service – for transatlantic service , she consumed 356 tons of oil a day , while on her 1932 cruise , consumption fell to 179 . To serve as a beacon at night during emergencies the three funnels on the Empress of Britain were illuminated with powerful flood lights . From the air the funnels could be spotted 50 miles away and ships could spot the illuminated funnels 30 miles distance . Peacetime commercial service . Following sea trials , the ship headed for Southampton to prepare for her maiden voyage to Quebec City . Canadian Pacific posters proclaimed the “ Five Day Atlantic Giantess ” , “ Canada ’ s Challenger ” and “ The World ’ s Wondership ” . The night before her maiden voyage , the Prince of Wales decided to go to Southampton to bid bon voyage . His inspection of the ship caused a short delay but at 1 : 12pm on Wednesday , 27 May 1931 " Empress of Britain " left Southampton for Quebec . Once at sea , the Toronto newspaper " The Globe " ran an editorial on what the ship meant to Canadians . “ Canadian enterprise has issued a new challenge in the world of shipping by the completion and sailing of the Empress of Britain from England for Quebec . This giant Canadian Pacific liner of 42 , 500 tons sets a new standard for the Canadian route . Its luxurious equipment includes one entire deck for sport and recreation , another for public rooms , including a ballroom , with decorations by world - famous artists . There are apartments instead of cabins , and each is equipped with a radio receiving set for the entertainment of passengers . . . . In the later years of the last century , … there was long agitation for a ‘ fast Atlantic service ’ . Time has brought the answer . Despite the current depression , Canada has a new ship which will reach far for traffic during the St . Lawrence season , and when winter comes will go on world cruises , carrying passengers who will ask and receive almost the last word in comfort and luxury in ocean travel . The first journey of the new Empress is a historic event in the record of Canadian advancement . ” The Empress made nine roundtrips in 1931 between Southampton and Quebec , carrying 4 , 891 passengers westbound and 4 , 696 eastbound . To begin her winter cruise , she made a westbound trans - Atlantic trip to New York , carrying 378 . On 3 December 1931 , she sailed on a 128 - day round - the - world cruise , to the Mediterranean , North Africa and the Holy Land , through the Suez Canal and into the Red Sea , then to India , Ceylon , Southeast Asia and the Dutch East Indies , on to China , Hong Kong and Japan , then across the Pacific to Hawaii and California before transversing the Panama Canal back to New York . The ship then made a one - way Atlantic crossing from New York to Southampton , where she entered dry dock for maintenance and reinstallation of her outer propellers . Until 1939 , this schedule was duplicated with minor adjustments each year except 1933 . Her captain from 1934 to 1937 was Ronald Niel Stuart , VC , a First World War veteran entitled to fly the Blue Ensign . Canadian Pacific hoped to convince Midwesterners from Canada and the United States to travel by train to Quebec City as opposed to New York City . This gave an extra day and a half of smooth sailing in the shorter , sheltered St Lawrence River transatlantic route , which Canadian Pacific advertised as “ 39 per cent less ocean ” . While initially successful , the novelty wore off ; and the " Empress " proved to be one of the least profitable liners from the 1930s . In June , 1939 , the " Empress of Britain " sailed from Halifax to Conception Bay , St Johns , Newfoundland and then eastbound to Southampton with her smallest passenger list : 40 people : King George VI , Queen Elizabeth and 13 ladies and lords in waiting , and 22 household staff , plus a photographer and two reporters . The royal couple and their entourage were comfortably settled in a string of suites . After this voyage , the " Empress " returned to regular transatlantic service , but through summer 1939 , war loomed . On 2 September 1939 , one day before Britain declared war ( seven days before Canada entered the war ) , the Empress sailed on her last voyage for Canadian Pacific , with the largest passenger list . Filled beyond capacity , and with temporary berths in the squash court and other spaces , the " Empress of Britain " zig - zagged across the Atlantic , arriving in Quebec on 8 September 1939 . War service . Upon arrival , she was painted grey and laid up awaiting orders . Those came on 25 November 1939 , when she was requisitioned as a troop transport . First , she did four transatlantic trips bringing troops from Canada to England . Then she was sent to Wellington , New Zealand , returning to Scotland in June , 1940 as part of the “ million dollar convoy ” of seven luxury liners — " Empress of Britain " , " Empress of Canada " , " Empress of Japan " , " Queen Mary " , " Aquitania " , " Mauretania " and " Andes " . In August , 1940 , she transported troops to Suez ( via Cape Town ) , returning with 224 military personnel and civilians , plus a crew of 419 . Sinking . At around 9 : 20am on 26 October 1940 , travelling about 70 miles northwest of Ireland along the west coast , the " Empress of Britain " was spotted by a German Focke - Wulf C 200 Condor long - range bomber , commanded by Oberleutnant Bernhard Jope . Jope ’ s bomber strafed the Empress three times and hit her twice with 250 kg bomb s . Only after Jope returned to base in northern France was it discovered which ship he had attacked . A telex was sent to German Supreme Headquarters . Realising the significance , a reconnaissance plane went to verify ; and the German news agency reported that the " Empress of Britain " had been sunk : Despite the ferocity of Jope ' s attack and the fires , there were few casualties . However , bombs started a fire that began to overwhelm the ship . At 9 : 50am , Captain Sapworth gave the order to abandon . The fire was concentrated in the midsection , causing passengers to head for the bow and stern and hampering launching of the lifeboats . Most of the 416 crew , 2 gunners , and 205 passengers were picked up by the destroyer s and , and the anti - submarine trawler . A skeleton crew remained aboard . The fire left the ship unable to move under her own power , but she was not sinking and the hull appeared intact despite a slight list . At 9 : 30am on 27 October , a party from went on board and attached tow ropes . The oceangoing tugs and had arrived and took the hulk under tow . Escorted by " Broke " and , and with cover from Short Sunderland flying boats during daylight , the salvage convoy made for land at . The , commanded by Hans Jenisch , had been told and headed in that direction . He had to dive due to the flying boats , but that night , using hydrophones ( passive sonar ) , located the ships and closed on them . The destroyers were zigzagging and " U - 32 " positioned herself between them and the " Empress of Britain " , from where she fired two torpedoes . The first detonated prematurely , but the second hit , causing a massive explosion . It appears that the crews of the destroyers thought the explosion was caused by the fires aboard the liner reaching her fuel tanks . Jenisch manoeuvred " U - 32 " and fired a third torpedo which impacted just aft of the earlier one . The " Empress of Britain " began to fill with water and list heavily . The tugs slipped the tow lines and at 2 . 05am on 28 October , " Empress of Britain " sank northwest of Bloody Foreland , County Donegal ( off Ireland at 55 - 16N 09 - 50W ) . Gold and salvage . It was suspected that she had been carrying gold . The United Kingdom was at the time attempting to ship gold to North America in order to improve its credit . South Africa was a gold producer , and the " Empress " had recently berthed in Cape Town . Most of the consignments of gold were transported from Cape Town to Sydney , Australia , and from there to America ; there were not enough suitable ships and the gold was frequently held up in Sydney . It is possible that , as a result of this delay , the " Empress " was transporting gold from South Africa to England , where it could then be moved to America . On 8 January 1949 , the " Daily Mail " reported that a salvage attempt was to be made in the summer of that year . There were no follow - ups , and the story contained errors . In 1985 , a potential salvager received a letter from the Department of Transport Shipping Policy Unit saying gold on board had been recovered . In 1995 , salvagers found the " Empress " upside - down in of water . Using saturation diving , they found that the fire had destroyed most of the decks , leaving a largely empty shell rising from the sea floor . The bullion room was still intact . Inside was a skeleton but no gold . It is suspected the gold was unloaded when the " Empress " was on fire and its passengers evacuated . The body inside the bullion room may have been someone involved in salvage .