SS Rex

SS Rex

Company type	Ocean liner
Industry	Shipping
Founded	August 1, 1931 (1931-08-01) in Genoa, Kingdom of Italy
Defunct	September 8, 1944 (1944-09-08)
Fate	Bombed by Allied forces and capsized on 8 September 1944; partially scrapped on site in 1950
Headquarters	Genoa , Kingdom of Italy
Area served	Transatlantic and Mediterranean routes
Products	Passenger ocean liner service
Owner	Italian Line (Italia Flotta Riunite)
Parent	Navigazione Generale Italiana (originally)

Italian Ocean Liner

SS Rex was an Italian ocean liner launched in 1931. The vessel held the westbound Blue Riband from 1933 until 1935, achieving the fastest average speed for a regularly scheduled transatlantic passenger service. Initially constructed for the Navigazione Generale Italiana (NGI) under the name SS Guglielmo Marconi', a state-mandated merger with the Lloyd Sabaudo line resulted in the ship operating under the newly formed Italia Flotta Riunite (Italian Line).

The Rex served on transatlantic routes from Italy alongside its sister ship, Conte di Savoia, until the onset of the Second World War. For eight years, it provided commercial service across the Mediterranean Sea. However, following Italy’s entry into the conflict in June 1940, the liner was placed in reserve to ensure its preservation. On 8 September 1944, near Koper, aircraft from the Royal Air Force attacked Rex, striking it with cannon fire and launching 123 rockets. The ship caught fire along its entire length, capsized onto its port side, and burned for four days before sinking in shallow waters. Partial dismantling of the wreck occurred on site in 1950.

Ship Image	SS Rex in 1933
File:Italian liner Rex.jpg

Ship Details
Country: Kingdom of Italy
Flag: Civil ensign of Kingdom of Italy
Name: Rex
Owner: Italian Line
Registry: Genoa, Italy
Builder: G. Ansaldo & Co., Sestri Ponente, Genoa, Italy
Launched: 1 August 1931
Maiden Voyage: 27 September 1932
Fate: Bombed by Allied forces and capsized on 8 September 1944; partially scrapped on site in 1950

Characteristics
Type: Ocean liner
Gross Tonnage: 51,062 GRT
Displacement: 45,800 tons
Length: Overall: 880 ft (268 m) Waterline: 831.25 ft (253.4 m)
Beam: 96 ft 9 in (29.5 m)
Draft: 33 ft (10 m)
Depth at Promenade Deck: 79 ft 9 in (24.3 m)
Propulsion: Four geared steam turbines driving quadruple screws
Power Output: Designed for 120,000 shp
Speed: Design speed: 27 knots Maximum speed: over 28 knots
Passenger Capacity: Total: 2,042 passengers First class: 408 Second class: 358 Tourist class: 410 Third class: 866

History

File:SS Rex 1st Class Main Staircase.jpg

Grand staircase in first class

File:Italia, flotte riunite, rex e conte di savoia, la classe turistica, genova 1932.jpg

Promotional flyer for the Tourist Class of Conte di Savoia and Rex, 1932

After North German Lloyd secured the Blue Riband with its pair of ocean liners, Bremen and Europa, Italy aimed to claim the same honor with Rex. In a highly competitive environment among shipping companies, the Italian Line launched a comprehensive marketing campaign highlighting its two largest vessels, Rex and Conte di Savoia. Initially, the owners planned to name Rex in tribute to Italian innovator Guglielmo Marconi, renowned for developing radio telegraphy.

Both liners earned the nickname "The Riviera afloat." To enhance this theme, sand was spread in the outdoor pools to simulate a beach atmosphere, complemented by brightly colored umbrellas. While Rex embraced a classical interior design, diverging from the prevailing Art Deco or "Liner Style" popularized by the French Line's Ile de France in 1927, her counterpart Conte di Savoia combined this modern aesthetic with some classic elements, such as its First Class Social Room known as "Colonial Hall". The exterior styling of Rex followed the precedent set by Germany’s Bremen and Europa, featuring an elongated hull with a moderately raked bow and two functional funnels painted in the Italian flag’s red, white, and green stripes. However, she retained a traditional overhanging counter stern (fantail) similar to liners like Olympic and Aquitania.

Completed first among her sister ships, Rex was christened on 1 August 1931 in a ceremony attended by King Victor Emmanuel III and Queen Elena. She surpassed Conte di Savoia in both size and speed. Her maiden voyage in September 1932, departing from Genoa with Premier Benito Mussolini's farewell and carrying numerous international dignitaries, aimed to set a new speed record but was marred by severe mechanical failures near Gibraltar. Repairs delayed her for three days; many passengers opted to disembark and continue their journey aboard Germany’s Europa. Upon arrival in New York, Rex was already docked but required extensive repairs before returning to Europe. She completed her first west-to-east crossing on 26 October 1932 in six and a half days.

In August 1933, Rex fulfilled her designers’ ambitions by capturing the Blue Riband on the westbound transatlantic route from Bremen, completing the crossing in four days and thirteen hours at an average speed of 28.92 knots (53.56 km/h; 33.28 mph). This achievement stood until 1935 when it was overtaken by the French Line's Normandie.

On 12 May 1938, three B-17 bombers from the U.S. Army Air Corps famously intercepted Rex approximately 620 nautical miles (1,150 km; 710 mi) from shore in a well-publicized demonstration of American air power.

World War II

File:IWM C4622 Rex under attack.jpg

A Beaufighter from No. 272 Squadron RAF ascending after assaulting Rex, (8 September 1944)

File:Royal Air Force Operations in Malta, Gibraltar and the Mediterranean, 1940-1945. C4699.jpg

Rex capsized and ablaze two days post-RAF assault

At the onset of World War II, both Rex and Conte di Savoia continued Mediterranean cruises seemingly unaffected by northern hostilities. Ultimately among the last liners operating commercially during wartime, their voyages ended in spring 1940 as they were withdrawn to Italian ports for protection; Rex was initially laid up at Genoa but following bombing raids on the city, she was relocated to Trieste. To prevent German forces from utilizing her to block harbor access, she was moved near Pula, where she remained for some time.

On 6 September 1944, an RAF pilot observed Rex being towed south of Trieste, noting she exhibited a slight list.

Two days later, on 8 September 1944, twelve Bristol Beaufighter aircraft from No. 272 Squadron RAF attacked her in the Bay of Koper near Trieste. They were escorted by nine North American P-51 Mustang fighters from the USAAF's 52nd Fighter Group. The assault inflicted severe damage; she was aflame and listing after being hit by 59 RP-3 rockets along with numerous 20 mm cannon shells. A subsequent attack later that day by twelve additional Beaufighters from No. 39 Squadron RAF and No. 16 Squadron of the South African Air Force caused her to capsize and sink in shallow waters.

Post-war

In 1946, representatives of the Italian steamship company proposed salvaging and restoring Rex. However, since she had sunk within a harbor section assigned to Yugoslavia, recovery efforts were blocked. Approximately one-third of the vessel remains submerged off Slovenia’s coast in the Gulf of Koper; this includes structural elements such as the double bottom, boilers, and engines. During the 1950s, local authorities salvaged much of the remaining wreckage for scrap iron—at that time considered Slovenia’s largest "iron mine." Following Zone B of the Free Territory of Trieste’s annexation to Yugoslavia in 1954, an anchor purportedly from Rex has been exhibited in Ljubljana’s Congress Square as a symbol opposing fascist expansionism. However, this anchor does not match the dreadnought style originally fitted on Rex.

The transatlantic speed record set by Rex marked a pinnacle in Italy’s cultural rise during that era and remains a source of national pride and inspiration. Reflecting this legacy, Peroni Brewery named its premium beer Peroni Nastro Azzurro ("Blue Ribbon") in 1963 to commemorate the liner’s achievement.

In popular culture

The vessel appeared prominently in Federico Fellini’s 1973 film Amarcord, where it is depicted as "the greatest creation ever built by the [Italian] regime."

External links

• Classic Liners of Long Ago
• The Myth and Legend dedicated to Rex (sl,it,de)
• Information on Rex at "Great Ships"
• Illustrated overview of Rex and Conte di Savoia, Shipping Wonders of the World (1937), pages 1341–1345

Template:S-ach