The future Rex was ordered from the Ansaldo Shipyards in Genoa. At the same time, the Lloyd Sabaudo Line, NGI's competitor in the transatlantic business, announced plans for a slightly smaller, slower vessel. The Italian King Victor Emmanuel III and Queen Elena
attended the naming and launch of the Rex, on August 1, 1931.
The royal couple was pleased that the name Rex was selected.
In fact, the However, Rex was destined not to sail for the
NGI Line, at least not directly. In January 1932, with inducement
coming from the depression, Mussolini merged the three Italian shipping
lines in order to eliminate competition, cut costs, and better coordinate
sailing schedules. As a result, the Cosulich, Lloyd Sabaudo, and
Navigazione Generale Italiana became the Italian Line, or
"Italia". Thus the Rex was painted in the new On September 27, 1932, the Rex departed on her maiden voyage from Genoa. She had a full passenger list of international celebrities including New York mayor Jimmy Walker. However, while approaching Gibraltar, she had some serious engine problems. The Italian Line reported that the ship would be repaired within hours, but as it turned out, the problems were serious enough to require a three day stopover at Gibraltar. As a result, many of the first-class passengers walked, including Mayor Walker, who traveled to Cherbourg, and took the Europa for home. The Rex eventually continued on her maiden voyage, but not without further engine problems. In New York, her maiden eastbound sailing was cancelled, and she was forced to wait for parts brought in on subsequent inbound Italian liners. The Blue Riband had to wait.
The Rex was found to be a most beautiful ship, particularly noted for her outdoor swimming pools and lido areas. Her owners worked at stressing the "sunny southern route" to Europe, and it seemed to work, with multicolored umbrellas on the decks, sand scattered about the pool areas for a beach-like effect, reminiscent of the French and Italian Rivieras. Most printed advertisements for the Rex showed people in swimsuits lounging on deck. However, the "sunny southern route" was not as successful as hoped, and so the Rex was left to rely more on ethnic passengers, including westbound immigrants.
Reports hinted that the Rex would be converted to an aircraft carrier, similar to the plans for the Roma and Augustus, or to be used as a troop ship. However, the Nazi forces planned to use her as a blockade at the harbor of Venice, deliberately sinking her to hinder the allies. But nothing came to pass. On September 8, 1944, the Rex, anchored off Trieste, was sighted by Royal Air Force bombers, and was hit by 123 rockets. She burst into flames her entire length, and on the following day, capsized and sank in the shallow waters that she was anchored in. After the war, studies were made in hopes of salvaging the Rex, but unfortunately, she was beyond economic repair, and declared a total loss. She was scrapped on the spot beginning in 1947, and the work was completed by June 1958. The Italians would never build a faster passenger liner.
Rex Vital Statistics: Gross tonnage: 51,062 Length: 879 feet Width: 96 feet Machinery: Steam turbines geared to quadruple screw Speed: 28 knots Capacity: 604 First, 378 Second, 410 Tourist, 866 Third Built: Ansaldo Shipyards, Genoa, Italy, 1932 Demise: Burned and sank during air attack near Trieste, Italy, September 8, 1944; later scrapped on the spot 1947-1958 The Classic Liners of Long Ago © 2000-2007 Nick Works, Inc. |
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The
Rex was a product of Navigazione Generale Italiana's success with
the two 32,000-ton sisters Augustus and Roma. The
success on the New York run of these two inspired NGI to build a bigger
vessel. The Italian government assured a subsidy for this ship,
thinking of the positive national image created by an extravagant ocean
liner.
name
was a deliberate effort by Premier Benito Mussolini to please Italy's
royalist factions. At the launch, the line's officials spoke
optimistically of winning the Blue Riband within a year or so.
colors
of the Italian Line - white funnels, with red tops and a green stripe.
In
August 1933, the Rex finally captured the Blue Riband, with an
average speed of 28.92 knots, over the Bremen's 28.51 knots.
Her record crossing would hold until the Normandie won the Riband
in May 1935.
After
September 9, 1939, when World War II began, Rex, along with her
other Italian running mates, were the last foreign-flag ships still in
service, supposedly as a symbol of the neutrality of Italy. Service
ended in the spring of 1940, as the political situation was changing
rapidly, Italy joined the war on the side of Germany, and the safety of
ships at sea could no longer be guaranteed. The Rex was laid
up at Bari, on the Adriatic coast. Later, following a change of
plan, she was towed to Trieste, never to sail again.
