SS Caserta
| Company type | Ocean liner |
|---|---|
| Industry | Maritime transport |
| Predecessor | SS Maritzburg |
| Founded | 1904 |
| Fate | Dismantled in 1928 |
| Headquarters | Newcastle upon Tyne , England |
| Products | Passenger and troop transport services |
SS Caserta was an Italian ocean liner named after the city of Caserta in Italy's Campania region. Initially launched as SS Maritzburg, she underwent several renamings, becoming SS Mendoza, then SS Caserta, and finally SS Venezuela. Built in 1904 for the Bucknall Line under the name Maritzburg, the vessel was acquired by Lloyd Italiano in 1905 and renamed Mendoza. In 1914, she took on the name Caserta, and by 1918 was operating under the flag of Navigazione Generale Italiana. Throughout World War I, she served as a troop transport for United States forces crossing to France within the scope of the United States Navy's Cruiser and Transport Force. In 1923, the liner was renamed Venezuela, transferred to the company La Veloce for routes to South America, before returning to NGI management in 1924. The ship was dismantled in 1928.
Early career
Constructed in 1904 by the firm of Armstrong Whitworth—officially Sir W. G. Armstrong, Whitworth and Company—located in Newcastle upon Tyne, England,[1] the ocean liner SS Maritzburg measured Template:GRT.[2] Initially serving with the Bucknall Line, she was sold one year later to Lloyd Italiano, which rechristened her as SS Mendoza.[2]
The vessel completed a single voyage to New York in January 1908, followed by two trips in September and October of 1909.[3] Over the subsequent two years, her New York sailings began in May and continued through December annually. Starting from May 1912, Mendoza operated year-round on the New York route, sailing opposite SS Taormina.[4] The ship was renamed SS Caserta in 1914 to honor the city of Caserta, Italy,[2] maintaining her New York service alongside Taormina.[5]
Following Italy’s declaration of war against Austria-Hungary in May 1915, vessels traveling from New York to Italy frequently transported Italian immigrants returning to enlist. A representative voyage occurred on 1 November when Caserta departed New York carrying approximately 1,200 men—most identified as reservists of the Italian Army according to a report in The New York Times. [6]
Prior to arriving in New York on 1 February 1916, Caserta had been outfitted with two 3 inches (76 mm) guns mounted on her aft deckhouse manned by a crew consisting of two gunners’ mates and their assistants. The ship received escort from Italian Navy torpedo boats until reaching Gibraltar. Between Gibraltar and the Azores, gunners conducted practice drills firing at submarine-simulating targets fashioned from butter barrels affixed with sticks and painted gray, which were tossed from the bow.[7] At this stage, Caserta was Lloyd Italiano’s sole vessel servicing New York and completed two additional roundtrips before Italy entered hostilities against Germany in August 1916. The ship undertook two more transatlantic voyages that year.[8] Following Germany’s resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare on February 1, 1917, Lloyd Italiano suspended U.S. passenger operations for that year; details regarding Caserta's activities during this period remain unknown.[9]
U.S. Troopship Service
Starting in May 1918, Caserta was chartered as a troop transport for the United States and assigned to the United States Navy's Cruiser and Transport Force.
On 10 May 1918, Caserta set sail from New York on her initial convoy mission to Europe, one of five such voyages before the conclusion of World War I. She transported units of the U.S. 4th Infantry Division's 47th Infantry Regiment, whose members referred to her as a "cattle boat." The convoy included U.S. Navy transports President Lincoln, Covington, Rijndam, alongside the British troopship Dwinsk and Italian steamship Dante Alighieri. This group joined forces with a similar convoy departing Newport News, Virginia, on the same day, which comprised American transports Lenape, Pastores, Wilhelmina, Princess Matoika, Antigone, and Susquehanna, the British steamship Kursk, and Italian vessel Duca d'Aosta. The American cruiser Frederick provided escort for this combined group, marking the 35th U.S. convoy of the war. On 20 May, the convoy engaged a suspected submarine that ultimately proved to be a floating bucket; the following day, escort Frederick departed after being replaced by nine destroyers. Land was sighted at 06:30 three days later, and the convoy anchored at Brest that afternoon.
Departing Newport News on 23 June, Caserta joined a convoy including Italian steamship Duca d'Aosta, Re d'Italia, French vessel Patria, and American transports Pocahontas and Susquehanna. The escort comprised cruisers Montana, South Dakota, Huntington, along with destroyers Gregory and Fairfax. The convoy arrived in France on 5 July, and Caserta returned to Virginia with Re d'Italia on 21 July.
On 26 July, Caserta again departed for France from Newport News alongside Pocahontas, Susquehanna, and Duca d'Aosta. They rendezvoused with U.S. Navy transports Finland and Kroonland, as well as steamship Taormina, a former Lloyd Italiano linemate of Caserta, which had left New York that same day. Cruisers Pueblo and Huntington, plus destroyers Rathburne and Colhoun, escorted these transports to France, arriving on 7 August. The liner returned to the United States in late August.
Beginning her next crossing on 30 August, Caserta sailed from Newport News with USS America and Duca d'Aosta, joining a New York group consisting of Kroonland, Susquehanna, Harrisburg, and Plattsburg. Escorts for this convoy included cruisers Frederick and destroyer Colhoun.
At 20:00 on 7 October, Caserta embarked from New York on her fifth Navy mission carrying 1,577 personnel, including segments of the Twenty-ninth Engineers. She linked up with convoys from Newport News composed of Kroonland, British steamship Euripides, USS Tenadores, Susquehanna, America, and British troopship Czar. Convoy protection was provided by cruisers Seattle and Rochester, along with destroyers USS Murray (DD-97) and Fairfax. This group reached France on 20 October, with Caserta returning to New York by 9 November.
Following the Armistice with Germany, Caserta was utilized for repatriating American soldiers. In February 1919, she transported approximately 1,500 troops back to the United States, including the entire 63rd Artillery of the Coastal Artillery Corps. Private John Brown of this unit documented his voyage aboard Caserta. Departing Marseille on the evening of 6 February, the ship anchored at Gibraltar three days later awaiting coal supplies for the return journey. After four days' delay there and further postponements near the Azores due to Atlantic storms, the voyage continued. The onboard meals mainly consisted of pasta dishes served twice daily—spaghetti, macaroni, or noodles—with occasional variations like chicken served on Washington's Birthday (22 February). Nicknamed by troops as the "Macaroni Barge," the liner finally docked in New York on 27 February. Among those aboard was Private Robert W. Louden of Albuquerque, New Mexico—a Spanish–American War and Mexican Expedition veteran wounded twice in France—who was noted as one of the oldest American soldiers to serve in World War I. Also traveling was Sultan, a former German messenger dog adopted by two U.S. Army captains after being found in an abandoned trench near Verdun. On 6 March, Caserta departed for Gibraltar and Italy.
The liner undertook at least one further troop transport voyage when she sailed from Marseille back to New York on 22 April. Arriving in New York on 8 May with around 1,500 soldiers aboard, passengers included nearly 550 members from the 7th, 50th ("Dutch Girl"), 650th, and 658th Aero Squadrons; notably, the 50th Aero Squadron had located the Lost Battalion in October 1918.
Later career
Following her return to standard passenger operations in 1919, Caserta sailed under the flag of Navigazione Generale Italiana (NGI). NGI, which had held a majority stake in Lloyd Italiano, fully assumed control in 1918. In July of that year, Caserta recommenced voyages to New York, maintaining this route—with occasional stops at Philadelphia—until late 1921.
In 1923, the vessel was rechristened as Venezuela and reassigned to La Veloce Navigazione Italiana a Vapore, known simply as La Veloce, to operate between Italy and South America. The liner returned to NGI's fleet in 1924 and was ultimately dismantled in 1928.
Notes
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedISI - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedTSL-LI - ↑ Immigration Information Bureau, pp. 130, 138.
- ↑ Immigration Information Bureau, pp. 146, 161, 170
- ↑ Immigration Information Bureau, p. 179.
- ↑ "New Yorkers were on Ancona" (PDF). The New York Times. 11 November 1915. p. 2. Retrieved 25 June 2008.
- ↑ "Liner Caserta armed" (PDF). The New York Times. 2 February 1916. p. 2. Retrieved 25 June 2008.
- ↑ Immigration Information Bureau, p. 189.
- ↑ Immigration Information Bureau, pp. 191–92.
References
- Black, William Murray; U.S. Army Engineer School (1919). Pamphlet on the Evolution of the Art of Fortification. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. OCLC 6287280.
- Brown, John (c. 1920). The Diary of a Buck: The Personal Record of Private John Brown, His Wanderings with the Sixty-third Artillery, C.A.C., A.E.F., 1918–1919, Including Names and Addresses of Officers and Enlisted Men (convenience copy online). s.l.: s.n. OCLC 6984135. Retrieved 25 June 2008.
- Crowell, Benedict; Robert Forrest Wilson (1921). The Road to France: The Transportation of Troops and Military Supplies, 1917–1918. How America Went to War: An Account From Official Sources of the Nation's War Activities, 1917–1920. New Haven: Yale University Press. OCLC 18696066.
- Template:Gleaves
- Immigration Information Bureau (1987) [1931]. Morton Allan directory of European passenger steamship arrivals for the years 1890 to 1930 at the Port of New York and for the years 1904 to 1926 at the ports of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Baltimore. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-8063-0830-2. OCLC 16464579.
- Morse, Daniel Parmelee (1920). The history of the 50th aero squadron. New York: Blanchard Press. OCLC 2660896.
- Pollard, James E. (1919). The Forty-Seventh Infantry: A History, 1917–1918, 1919. Saginaw, Michigan: Press of Seeman & Peters. OCLC 3067517.
External links
Media related to SS Caserta at Wikimedia Commons
