 SSRex in 1933 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Italy | |
| Name | Rex |
| Owner | Italian Line |
| Port of registry | Genoa, Italy |
| Builder | G. Ansaldo & Co. of Sestri Ponente,Genoa, Italy |
| Launched | 1 August 1931 |
| Maiden voyage | 27 September 1932 |
| Fate | Bombed by Allied bombers and capsized on 8 September 1944 and broken up in situ in 1950 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Ocean liner |
| Tonnage | 51,062 GRT |
| Displacement | 45,800 tons |
| Length | |
| Beam | 96 ft 9 in (29.49 m) |
| Draught | 33 ft (10 m) |
| Depth | 79 ft 9 in (24.31 m) at promenade deck |
| Installed power | 4 sets of geared steam turbines producing 120,000 shp (89,000 kW) (design power) |
| Propulsion | Quadruple propellers |
| Speed |
|
| Capacity |
|
SSRex was an Italianocean linerlaunched in 1931.[1] She held the westboundBlue Riband between 1933 and 1935, for apassenger liner in regular service crossing the Atlantic Ocean with the record highestaverage speed. Originally built for theNavigazione Generale Italiana (NGI) asSSGuglielmo Marconi, its state-ordered merger with theLloyd Sabaudo line meant that the ship sailed for the newly createdItalia Flotta Riunite (Italian Line).
Rex operated transatlantic crossings from Italy with its running mate,Conte di Savoia prior to the outbreak of theSecond World War.Rex maintained a commercial service in theMediterranean Sea for eight years, but when Italy entered the war in June 1940Rex waslaid up for safe-keeping. On 8 September 1944, offKoper,Rex was hit by cannon fire and 123 rockets launched byRoyal Air Force aircraft, caught fire from bow to stern. She rolled onto the port side, burned for four days, and sank in shallow water. The ship was partiallybroken up in situ in 1950.
FollowingNorth German Lloyd's successful capture of theBlue Riband with itsBremen andEuropa duo of ocean liners,Rex was intended to be Italy's effort to do the same. Amid intense competition from other shipping companies, the Italian Line carried out an extensive publicity campaign for its two largest passenger ships,Rex andConte di Savoia. Originally, theRex's owners intended to name her after Italian engineerGuglielmo Marconi, who pioneered theradio telegraph.[2]
Both ships were dubbed "The Riviera afloat". To carry the theme even further, sand was scattered in the outdoor swimming pools, creating a beach-like effect highlighted by multicolored umbrellas.[3]Rex was decorated in a classical style while the norm of the time was theArt Deco or the so-called "Liner Style" that had been premiered onboard theFrench Line'sIle de France in 1927,Rex'srunning mateConte Di Savoia followed this rule, but also had rooms with classic style like her First Class Social Room also known as "Colonial Hall" . The ship's exterior design had followed the trend set by Germany'sBremen andEuropa.Rex sported a long hull with a moderatelyraked bow and two workingfunnels with the colours of theItalian flag (red, white and green stripes), but still featured the old-type overhanging counter stern (also known as a fantail) found on such liners asOlympic andAquitania.
Rex was the first to be completed and was christened on 1 August 1931, in the presence ofKing Victor Emmanuel III andQueen Elena. She was both larger and faster thanConte di Savoia. Her attempt of a record-breaking maiden voyage was unsuccessful. She sailed fromGenoa in September 1932, after a send-off from PremierBenito Mussolini, with a passenger list of international celebrities. While approachingGibraltar, serious mechanical difficulties arose. Repairs took three days. Half her passengers requested to leave, preferring to reach Germany's coasts and takeEuropa; arriving inNew York they foundRex already at dock. Lengthy repairs were required in New York before returning to Europe.[4] She arrived in Genoa on 26 October 1932, making her first west-to-east crossing in six and a half days.[5]
In August 1933,Rex fulfilled the promises of her designers and captured the Blue Riband on its westbound crossing from theBremen with a time of four days and thirteen hours, with an average speed of 28.92 knots (53.56 km/h; 33.28 mph).[6] This record would last until 1935 when it was captured by the French Line'sNormandie.
On 12 May 1938, in a demonstration of U.S. air power, threeB-17 bombers of theU.S. Army Air CorpsinterceptedRex 620 nautical miles (1,100 km) at sea in a highly publicized event.[7]
Following the outbreak of war, bothRex andConte di Savoia continued regular Mediterranean cruises as if totally unaffected by events to the north. In the end, Italian liners proved to be among the final ships trading on a commercial basis. Their voyages ceased in the spring of 1940 and they were returned to Italian ports for safekeeping, withRex laid up at Genoa, but after the city was bombed, the Italian Line decided to move it toTrieste. To prevent German forces from using the liner to blockade the harbour entrance,Rex was moved nearPula, where she lay for some time.
On 6 September 1944,Rex was spotted under tow south of Trieste, by aRoyal Air Force (RAF) pilot, and showed a slightlist.[8]
On 8 September 1944, she was attacked in the Bay of Koper, south of Trieste by twelveBristol Beaufighter aircraft of272 Squadron RAF, escorted by nineNorth American P-51 Mustang aircraft assigned to the52nd Fighter Group,USAAF. She was listing and on fire after being struck by 59RP-3 rockets and numerous 20 mm cannon-shells. A second attack, later that day, by twelve more Beaufighters of39 Squadron RAF and16 Squadron,South African Air Force, resulted in her overturning and sinking in shallow water.[9]
In 1946, officials of the Italian steamship line proposed to salvageRex and recommission it. However, the liner had been sunk in a portion of the harbor allocated toYugoslavia, which blocked any recovery. The remains ofRex - about one-third of the ship, includingdouble bottom, boilers, and engines - are located off theSlovenian coast in the Gulf ofKoper. The rest was scavenged for scrap iron in the 1950s by the local government; it was said that the ship was the largest Slovenian "iron mine" at the time.[10] Since 1954, after the formal annexation of Zone B of theFree Territory of Trieste to Yugoslavia, an anchor claimed to be fromRex has been on display inCongress Square of the Slovenian capitalLjubljana to symbolize the defeat of fascist expansionism. Though claimed to be from the liner, this anchor is not of the dreadnought style thatRex had.[citation needed]
The transatlantic crossing record ofRex heralded a peak in Italy's cultural emergence; a lasting source of inspiration and national pride. In 1963Peroni Nastro Azzurro was named for the "Blue Ribbon" (Nastro Azzurro) whichRex won.[11]
The ship was featured in the 1973 filmAmarcord, representing the "greatest thing the [Italian] regime ever built."[12]
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Holder of theBlue Riband (Westbound) 1933 – 1935 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by None | Holder of theHales Trophy August 1935 – October 1935 | Succeeded by |
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in September 1944 | |
|---|---|
| Shipwrecks |
|
| Other incidents |
|
45°32′56″N13°41′31″E / 45.54889°N 13.69194°E /45.54889; 13.69194
