History | |
---|---|
Name |
|
Namesake | Emperor Augustus |
Operator |
|
Port of registry | Genoa Italy |
Builder | Ansaldo Shipyard |
Launched | 13 December 1926 |
Christened | December 1926 |
Maiden voyage | 10 November 1927 |
Out of service | Laid up from 1940 to 1942 |
Fate | Scuttled as a blockship in 1944, then raised in 1947 and scrapped in 1951 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Combined ocean liner/cruise ship |
Tonnage | 32,650 GRT |
Length | 215.25 |
Beam | 25.20 m |
Decks | 9 decks |
Installed power | 28,000 hp |
Propulsion | 4 Savoja MAN Mixed/Dual Cycle diesel engines; four propellers. |
Speed | 20 knots (37.4 km/h) |
Capacity | 1,675 passengers |
MS Augustus was a combined ocean liner and cruise ship built in 1926 for the Navigazione Generale Italiana (NGI). Augustus operated mostly on the Europe to South and North America routes, on the former being one of, if not the largest and fastest liner to sail on regular crossings. [1]
At the time of its construction, the Augustus was the largest motor ship in the world, and remains to this day the largest quadruple-screw, diesel-powered ocean liner ever built. The ship was later transferred, together with her steam turbine-powered sister ship SS Roma to the new Italian Line after the merger of the Navigazione Generale Italiana with the Lloyd Sabaudo and the Cosulich Line. [2]
During World War 2 the Augustus was converted into an aircraft carrier by the Regia Marina and first renamed Falco, and at a later time, Sparviero, while the Roma became the aircraft carrier Aquila. Neither of them ever entered combat service under these new roles. In 1944, both ships were taken over by the occupying German troops, but on 25 September of that same year Augustus was scuttled as a blockship at the entrance to the port of Genoa. After the war, she was raised in 1947 and ultimately scrapped in 1951. [3]
Following the end of World War I, many shipping companies were planning to build new liners once they had enough money. Navigazione Generale Italiana decided to build two new liners of over 30,000 gross registered tons for post war service. The first ship was Roma which was launched in 1926. The second ship was launched in December 1926 at the Ansaldo Shipyard and was christened Augustus by Edda Mussolini (daughter of dictator Benito Mussolini). She was fitted out and made her maiden voyage on 10 November 1927. Her interior was decorated in the Baroque style. She was the largest diesel-engined passenger ship of her time, whereas her sister was equipped with geared steam turbines. The Augustus was c. 215 meters long and was designed to carry 1,675 passengers.
She operated on the South American service, one of the fastest and largest liners to do so, while her sister ran the North Atlantic service. The Augustus could reportedly reach South America from Italy in five days at an average speed of 22 knots. In 1932, Navigazione Generale Italiana was forced by Mussolini to merge with other Italian shipping companies to form the Italia Line. Because of this, the funnels of the Augustus were repainted in Italia Line colours. In 1933, she began to carry out 129-day world cruises after the Wall Street Crash of 1929. She carried many passengers from New York to a number of ports around the world and back to New York in 129 days. The Augustus continued passenger service until 1940. [4]
At the outbreak of World War II the Augustus and the Roma were laid up but both ships were subsequently taken over by the Italian Navy. Like her sister, the Augustus was converted into an aircraft carrier and renamed Falco and later Sparviero. Before work could be completed, the Kingdom of Italy signed an armistice in 1943, and both ships were shortly thereafter captured by the neoestablished National Republican Navy of the Italian Social Republic, a German puppet state. In 1944, both ships were taken over by the German troops, but on 5 October of that year Augustus was scuttled in order to blockade Genoa's harbour from the Allies. After the war, she was raised in 1947 and scrapped in 1951.
The Regia Marina (RM) or Royal Italian Navy was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic, the Regia Marina changed its name to Marina Militare.
Aquila was an Italian aircraft carrier converted from the transatlantic passenger liner SS Roma. During World War II, Work on Aquila began in late 1941 at the Ansaldo shipyard in Genoa and continued for the next two years. With the signing of the Italian armistice on 8 September 1943, however, all work was halted and the vessel remained unfinished. She was captured by the National Republican Navy of the Italian Social Republic and the German occupation forces in 1943, but in 1945 she was partially sunk by a commando attack of Mariassalto, an Italian royalist assault unit of the Co-Belligerent Navy of the Kingdom of Italy, made up by members of the former Decima Flottiglia MAS. Aquila was eventually refloated and scrapped in 1952.
SS Rex was an Italian ocean liner launched in 1931. She held the westbound Blue Riband between 1933 and 1935. Originally built for the Navigazione Generale Italiana (NGI) as SS Guglielmo Marconi, its state-ordered merger with the Lloyd Sabaudo line meant that the ship sailed for the newly created Italia Flotta Riunite.
Italian Line and from 1992 Italia Line, whose official name was Italia di Navigazione S.p.A., was a passenger shipping line that operated regular transatlantic services between Italy and the United States, and Italy and South America. During the late 1960s the company turned to running cruises, and from 1981 it became a global freight operator.
SS Giulio Cesare was initially a liner of the Navigazione Generale Italiana, which was later operated by the Italian Line. The ship was used to transport first class, second class, and tourist-class passengers.
SS Conte Rosso was an Italian transatlantic ocean liner that was built in Scotland in 1921–22, became a troop ship in the 1930s and was sunk by HMS Upholder in 1941.
The SS König Albert was a German Barbarossa class ocean liner owned by the Norddeutscher Lloyd Line. Interned in Italy at the outbreak of World War I, she was seized by the Italian Government in 1915 and converted to a hospital ship. Sold into merchant service in 1920, she was used as a transport for the Italian Navy, before being scrapped in 1926.
Navigazione Generale Italiana (NGI) was an Italian shipping company.
The Cosulich Line, formally the Cosulich Società Triestina di Navigazione, is a steamship line that was based in Trieste, Italy. The company had been founded in 1889 by Antonio F. Cosulich's son as a family business. In 1903 as Unione Austriaca di Navigazione, more commonly called the Austro-American or Austro-Americana Line, when Trieste was under the rule of Austria-Hungary. After the first World War, the company became an Italian-based shipping company. In 1932 the company was forced to merge with the Lloyd Sabaudo and the Navigazione Generale Italiana, to form the Italian Line.
SS Caserta was an Italian ocean liner named for the city of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. She was previously known as SS Maritzburg and SS Mendoza, and was later renamed SS Venezuela. Launched in 1904 as Maritzburg for the Bucknall Line, the ship was sold to Lloyd Italiano in 1905 and renamed Mendoza. Renamed Caserta in 1914, she was placed under the Navigazione Generale Italiana banner in 1918. During World War I she was employed as a troopship carrying United States troops to France as part of the United States Navy Cruiser and Transport Force. In 1923, she was renamed Venezuela and transferred to La Veloce for South American service, but reverted to NGI control in 1924. She was scrapped in 1928.
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SS Roma was an ocean liner built for the Italian shipping company Navigazione Generale Italiana of Genoa by Ansaldo shipyard in Sestri Ponente. She was the sister ship to MS Augustus. The ship was later transferred to the new Italian Line after the merger of Navigazione Generale Italiana. When Second World War broke out, she was acquired by the Navy for Conversion to aircraft carrier name Aquila. She was taken over by the National Republican Navy of the Italian Social Republic and German occupation forces in 1943, but was partially sunk in 1945 by a commando attack of Mariassalto, an Italian royalist assault unit of the Co-Belligerent Navy of the Kingdom of Italy, made up by members of the former Decima Flottiglia MAS. Roma was raised and scrapped by 1952.
Sparviero was an Italian aircraft carrier designed and built during World War II of the Regia Marina. She was originally the ocean liner MS Augustus built in 1926 for Navigazione Generale Italiana, but was transferred to the new Italian Line after the merger of Navigazione Generale Italiana with the Lloyd Sabaudo and the Cosulich Line. The conversion was started in 1942 originally under the name Falco but was never completed, and the ship was never delivered to the Regia Marina. She began to be scrapped in 1947, a process completed by 1951.
SS Duilio was the first Italian super ocean liner and one of the largest Italian merchant ships until 1925. She measured 24,281 gross register tons and was the sister of the SS Giulio Cesare, which was launched in 1921. She was constructed for the Italian shipping company “Navigazione Generale Italiana” based in Genoa and constructed by Ansaldo Shipyard owned by Sestri Ponente. She was sunk on 10 July 1944.
Sparviero has been the name of at least four ships of the Italian Navy and may refer to:
Falco has been the name of at least three ships of the Italian Navy and may refer to:
MS Augustus may refer to two Italian ocean liners that have been named after the Roman emperor Augustus:
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