SS Duilio

SS Duilio

Company type	Ocean liner
Industry	Shipping
Founded	1916
Founder	Navigazione Generale Italiana
Defunct	10 July 1944
Fate	Sunk during Allied air raid
Headquarters	Genoa , Italy
Products	Passenger transport

SS Duilio was an Italian ocean liner and ranked among the largest Italian commercial vessels until 1925. With a gross register tonnage of 24,281, she was the sister ship to the SS Giulio Cesare, launched in 1921. Built for the Genoa-based shipping firm Navigazione Generale Italiana, her construction took place at the Ansaldo Shipyard in Sestri Ponente. The vessel met her demise on 10 July 1944.

Passenger service

The keel of SS Duilio was laid in 1914, and she was launched on 9 January 1916 at the Ansaldo Yard; however, completion was delayed until 1923. Her inaugural voyage departed on 29 October 1923, sailing from Naples to New York City. The ship's safety features surpassed contemporary regulations, including having 17 watertight compartments instead of the 12 mandated by the First International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS). This design allowed her to remain afloat even if four compartments were flooded. Among the pioneering Italian steamships, Duilio was equipped with a comprehensive anti-rolling system.

Initially powered by coal-fired steam engines for service between Naples and New York City, Duilio was reassigned to the Genoa–Buenos Aires route on 24 July 1928. Subsequently, she underwent modifications at Pristava to enable naphtha fuel combustion and operated on the Italian Line’s South African route alongside her sister ship Giulio Cesare. In 1933, she was chartered by Lloyd Triestino and officially transferred to their ownership in 1936.

Second World War

The vessel was taken out of service in 1940. During the Second World War in 1942, SS Duilio was temporarily leased to the International Red Cross. In 1943, she was once more laid up at the port of Trieste, moored alongside SS Giulio Cesare. On 10 July 1944, both Duilio and Giulio Cesare were sunk during an air raid conducted by Allied forces. The remains of Duilio were later recovered and dismantled in 1948.

Sources

• Ansaldo, ANSALDO SHIPS, Publishing Edindustria, Rome 1960