World War: Empress Down

The Canadian Government last week mourned the loss of 140 officers & men in the 1,375-ton destroyer Margaree, commissioned only two months ago, which collided with a merchant ship in convoy returning from Great Britain. Same day as this news broke, the British Admiralty confirmed a more stunning loss to Canada.

The 42,348-ton luxury liner Empress of Britain, flagship of the Canadian Pacific fleet, tenth largest of the world’s liners, was attacked by a German bombing plane 60 miles off the northwest coast of Ireland. Despite heroic action by the Empress’ anti-aircraft crew, a heavy bomb struck the ship, set her afire. Captain Charles Howard Sapworth, who was decorated last year after he brought King George & Queen Elizabeth back from Canada in the Empress, maneuvered his ship so that the flames were kept from the forecastle until, after five hours, her passengers & crew could be taken aboard British warships. The Empress carried 643 persons, “mostly military families and a small number of military personnel.” When a checkup of survivors was made at British ports, only 45 were missing.

Meantime the blazing Empress, her belly billowing smoke, paint sizzling off her like strips of bacon, was taken in tow. Up slipped a German submarine and finished her off with two torpedoes.

Since the British overhauled and the Germans scuttled at sea the 32,000-ton Columbus (TIME, Jan. 1), the Empress of Britain was by far the largest ship sunk in World War II. For Germany she was a huge and tasty morsel to top off a feast of British tonnage which U-boats and bombers have lately claimed in the sea lanes north and west of Ireland. Last fortnight’s claim of 327,000 tons in one week was upped to 490,000 tons in ten days, a good portion by Nazi bombers such as harpooned the Empress. The disappearance of heavy long-range bombers from Britain except over Liverpool and other west-coast ports revealed the latest Nazi stratagem—to add planes to U-boats in heavy autumn offensive against Britain’s oversea supply lines.