SS Roma (1926)

Last updated
SS Roma.gif
SS Roma
History
Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg Italy
Name
  • 1926–1941: SS Roma
  • 1941–1949: RN Aquila
  • 1949–1952: Pontone P227
Owner
Port of registry Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg Genoa, Italy
BuilderAnsaldo Shipyards, Genoa, Italy
Launched26 February 1926
CompletedSeptember 1926
In service21 September 1926
FateSabotaged and partially sunk in 1945 by Italian Co-Belligerent Navy, raised and scrapped 1952
General characteristics
Type
Tonnage32,583  GRT
Length215.25 m (706.2 ft)
Beam25.2 m (82.7 ft)
Draft9.2 m (30.2 ft)
Propulsion8 steam turbines geared 4 shafts, 4 screws
Speed20 knots

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. [1]

Contents

History

Ocean Liner career

Following the end of World War I, many shipping companies were waiting to have enough money to build new liners. Navigazione Generale Italiana ordered two new 30,000 gross register tons transatlantic ocean liners from Ansaldo shipyard. The first ship was launched in 1926 and christened Roma. She had an entirely steel hull. Her interior was decorated in Baroque style. The ship was 32,583  GRT with signal code letters ICEV. [2]

Unlike Roma's sister ship MS Augustus, Roma was powered by eight turbines connected in couples to four shafts. Steam for the turbines was provided by 9 double-ended and 4 single-ended boilers; all in all, the ship was able to boast a maximum speed of 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph). [2] Some of the machinery was sourced from the canceled Italian Navy Francesco Caracciolo-class battleship Cristoforo Colombo. [3] Roma could carry approximately 1675 passengers in four classes (375 first, 300 second, 300 intermediate, 700 third class).

Her two funnels were repainted into the Italian Line's colors after her company merged with Lloyd Sabaudo and Cosulich Line to form the new Italian Line. In 1933 the intermediate class was replaced by the touristic one. The main deck was covered with teak.

On 30 January 1932, Roma rammed the American ocean liner President Roosevelt at New York, severely damaging President Roosevelt. [4] President Roosevelt was repaired and returned to service. The Roma continued passenger service until the Italian declaration of war in 1940, after which she was laid up until 1941. [5]

Conversion to aircraft carrier

When World War II broke out, she was laid up and later taken over by the Royal Italian Navy. She was then rebuilt and transformed into an aircraft carrier named Aquila. Her speed was increased to 30 knots after the refitting. She was however 90% complete when the Kingdom of Italy signed the 1943 armistice. [6] She was thereafter taken over by the National Republican Navy and the German occupation forces in 1943, which placed her under guard. By 1944 the German forces started to loot and partially demolish the ship, which was eventually sabotaged and partially sunk by the royalist Italian Co-Belligerent Navy.

Fearing that the Germans could seize her and scuttle her as a blockship at the entrance of Genoa's harbour, just as had happened a few months earlier to Roma 's sister ship Augustus, then already become the aircraft carrier Sparviero, the Mariassalto commando unit, made up by members of the former Decima Flottiglia MAS, launched a manned torpedo attack on the night of the 18 and 19 of April 1945, partially sinking the Aquila. [7]

After the end of the conflict, some consideration was given to her possible completion and commission, however, this was deemed anti-economical and politically problematic. [8] Her wreckage was raised and in 1949 towed to La Spezia, renamed as Pontone P227. Here, she was to be fully scrapped by 1952. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

Italian aircraft carrier <i>Cavour</i> Italian aircraft carrier

Cavour is an Italian aircraft carrier launched in 2004. She is the flagship of the Italian Navy.

SS <i>Conte di Savoia</i>

SS Conte di Savoia was an Italian ocean liner built in 1932 at the Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico, Trieste.

Italian aircraft carrier <i>Aquila</i> Italian aircraft carrier

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.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gio. Ansaldo & C.</span> Italian engineering company

Ansaldo was one of Italy's oldest and most important engineering companies, existing for 140 years from 1853 to 1993.

<i>Francesco Caracciolo</i>-class battleship Cancelled dreadnought battleship of the Italian Royal Navy

The Francesco Caracciolo-class battleships were a group of four super-dreadnought battleships designed for the Regia Marina in 1913 and ordered in 1914. The first ship of the class, Francesco Caracciolo, was laid down in late 1914; the other three ships, Cristoforo Colombo, Marcantonio Colonna, and Francesco Morosini followed in 1915. Armed with a main battery of eight 381 mm (15 in) guns and possessing a top speed of 28 knots, the four ships were intended to be the equivalent of the fast battleships like the British Queen Elizabeth class.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Navigazione Generale Italiana</span>

Navigazione Generale Italiana (NGI) was an Italian shipping company.

SS <i>Taormina</i> (1908) Transatlantic ocean liner

SS Taormina was a transatlantic ocean liner that was launched in Scotland in 1907 for an Italian shipping line. She was owned successively by Italia Società di Navigazione a Vapore, Lloyd Italiano and Navigazione Generale Italiana (NGI). Taormina was briefly chartered as a troop ship for the US Armed Forces in 1918. She was scrapped in 1929.

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.

Italian aircraft carrier <i>Sparviero</i> Ocean liner repurposed for military use

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 <i>Duilio</i>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannone navale da 381/40</span> Naval gun, coast-defense gun, railroad gun

The Cannone navale da 381/40 was an Italian naval gun intended to equip the dreadnought battleships of the Francesco Caracciolo class. The ships were cancelled in 1916 and their guns were diverted to other uses. Four of the seven turned over to the Esercito Italiano became railroad guns, six were used as coast-defense guns and the rest were used on monitors to provide naval gunfire support for the Army. Most of the monitors were disarmed after World War I and their guns were transferred to coast-defense batteries which were used throughout World War II.

Italian monitor <i>Faà di Bruno</i> Italian monitor

Faà di Bruno was an Italian monitor built during World War I. Completed in 1917, the ship played a small role in the 11th Battle of the Isonzo later that year. She was decommissioned in 1924, but returned to service as the floating battery GM 194 at the beginning of World War II and was towed to Genoa and where she spent the rest of the war. The ship had her guns disabled when the Royal Navy bombarded Genoa in 1941. GM 194 was captured by the Germans after the Italian Armistice in 1943 and was turned over to the puppet Repubblica Sociale Italiana that they installed afterward. She was scuttled at the end of the war and subsequently scrapped.

SS Bosnia was an Italian cargo liner built in the 1890s that was shelled and sunk by a German submarine in the Mediterranean during World War I.

Italian ironclad <i>Principe Amedeo</i> Ironclad warship of the Italian Royal Navy

Principe Amedeo was an ironclad warship built by the Italian Regia Marina in the 1860s and 1870s. She was the lead ship of the Principe Amedeo class, alongside her sister ship Palestro. Principe Amedeo was laid down in 1865, launched in 1872, and completed in late 1874. She was armed with a battery of six 254 mm (10 in) guns and one 279 mm (11 in) gun. The last sail-rigged ironclad of the Italian fleet, she had a single steam engine that was capable of propelling the ship at a speed of slightly over 12 knots.

Italian ironclad <i>Roma</i> Ironclad warship of the Italian Royal Navy

Roma was an ironclad warship built for the Italian Regia Marina in the 1860s; she was the lead ship of the Roma-class ironclads. Armed with a main battery of five 254 mm (10 in) and twelve 203 mm (8 in) guns in a broadside arrangement, Roma was obsolescent by the time she entered service. As a result, her career was limited. In 1880, she took part in an international naval demonstration off Ragusa to enforce the Treaty of Berlin. In November 1881, she collided with the ironclad Principe Amedeo in a storm in Naples, but she was not damaged. Roma was reduced to a guard ship in 1890 and then to a depot ship in 1895. In July 1896, she was scuttled to save the ship from a fire caused by a lightning strike. She was thereafter raised and broken up for scrap.

Italian ironclad <i>Conte Verde</i> Ironclad warship of the Italian Royal Navy

Conte Verde was the third of three Principe di Carignano-class ironclads built for the Italian Regia Marina, though she differed in several respects from her sisters. Unlike the other two members of her class, she did not receive complete iron armor, instead relying on partial plating at her bow and stern. She was laid down in February 1863, she was launched in July 1867, and she was completed in December 1871. Conte Verde was a broadside ironclad armed with a battery of four 203-millimetre (8 in) guns and eighteen 164-millimeter (6.5 in) guns. Her career was limited, owing to the emergence of more modern ironclads and a severe reduction in the Italian naval budget following their defeat at the Battle of Lissa in 1866. She was discarded in 1880 and sold to ship breakers to help pay for new ironclads then under construction.

SS <i>Ashkhabad</i>

SS Ashkhabad was a merchant ship of the Soviet Union sunk in 1942. She had been built as a British merchant ship in 1917 in Glasgow, Scotland as War Hostage. Over the next three decades she passed through a number of owners and had several different names; Milazzo (1919–1924), Aldersgate (1924–1925), Mistley Hall (1925–1934), Kutais (1934–1935), Dneprostroi (1935–1938) and finally Ashkhabad from 1938 to 1942. Originally designed as a freighter, she was at several points converted to a tanker to carry fuel oil. At the time of her loss the four hundred foot tanker was owned by the Soviet Union's Sovtorgflot organisation. She was torpedoed on 29 April 1942, and then sunk as a hazard to navigation on 3 May 1942. The wreck is now a popular dive site.

Aquila was 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:

References

  1. Portaerei Italiane 1936-1945. Italy: Delta Editrice. 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  2. 1 2 Lloyd's Register of Shipping 1934–35 (PDF). New York: Lloyd's Register of Shipping. 1935. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  3. Ordovini, Petronio; et al., p. 332
  4. "Casualty reports". The Times. No. 46045. London. 1 February 1932. col F, p. 19.
  5. Portaerei Italiane 1936-1945. Italy: Delta Editrice. 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  6. Portaerei Italiane 1936-1845. Italy: Delta Editrice. 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  7. Portaerei Italiane 1936-1945. Italy: Delta Editrice. 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  8. Portaerei Italiane 1936-1945. Italy: Delta Editrice. 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  9. Portaerei Italiane 1936-1945. Italy: Delta Editrice. 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2023.

Bibliography