Ship History

	HISTORY


RETURN TO THE HOMEPAGE S.S. REX 1932
In the late 1920s and early 1930s the main Italian operators on the "Sunny Southern Route" to North America from the Mediterranean to New York ordered their own giant ocean liners. Navigazione Generale Italiana (NGI) and Lloyd Sabaudo each ordered a single large express ships - the Rex and the Conte di Savoia. However Mussolini ordered the merger of the major Italian shipping lines into Italia Flotte Riunite (later known as Italia Line). Thus the two intended rivals became fleetmates. Design and Construction (1930 - 1932): The Navigazione Generale Italiana (NGI) contribution was the Rex. She was an elegant and well proportioned liner. Taking advantage of the warmer climate of the more southernly route across the North Atlantic, she featured outdoor swimming pools set within lido areas on the upper decks. She was built by G. Ansaldo, Sestri Ponente, Genoa in Italy. Italian Line era (1932 - 1940): On the 27th September 1932 the Rex sailed on her maiden voyage from Genoa to New York via Naples and Gibraltar. However an engine defect developed and she was delayed by three days at Gibraltar while repairs were carried out. The Rex achieved a record time for the Atlantic crossing during a westbound voyage in 1933. She covered the 3,181 nautical miles from Gibraltar to Ambrose in 4 days, 13 hours, 58 minutes, for an average speed of 28.92 knots. Although she fully deserved her place of honour on the roll of the Blue Riband holders, she held the title all too briefly and she is not perhaps remembered as one of the classic Atlantic greyhounds. However both ships were commercially successful and very popular. She continued in service on the transatlantic route until the outbreak of the Second World War. The Final Years (1940 - 1947): Unfortunately Italy sided with Germany but despite this both the Rex and the Conte di Savoia continued their transatlantic crossings until 1940. The Rex was thought to be too large and vulnerable to be risked as a troopship or for any use during the Second World War and so was sent to be laid up at Pola, Bari and later at Capodistria near Trieste on the Adriatic Coast. In 1943 the Italians surrendered and the Rex passed into German hands. In 1944, the Germans intended to blockade the harbour at Trieste. To prevent entering and exiting of the harbour they had chosen a massive object - the Rex. The Rex had to be immovable, and therefore it was decided to sink her in the harbour entrance. The Allies of course wanted to prevent this blockade, and sent out British bombers to sink the Rex before she arrived to the spot. The British bombers arrived in time before the Germans, and completed their sad task. One of the British pilots remembers: "She still looked big and beautiful actually, and it seemed sad that one had to sink something of that sort. But at the same time this was war, the war had been going on for five years. And during the war you can’t really question the target and say that ship is too beautiful to sink... and so if we were told to sink it, then we would do our best to sink it." Thus the Rex was destroyed by Allied bombers on the 8th September 1944 during the Second World War. After the end of the war in 1947 she was broken up where she lay. A sad end to a lovely ship.