The Italian Atlantic liner Rex entering an Italian port shortly after her maiden voyage.
The Rex (51,062 grt/30,623 nrt) was launched on Aug. 1st, 1931 by G. Ansaldo & Co. of Sestri Ponente, Genoa and completed in Sept. 1932. She was a quadruple screw steamer, driven by 12 steam turbines with a power output of 136,000 H.P. Her hull was built from special quality steel. The Rex, as self as the Conte di Savoia were were decorated in a classical style and dubbed "The Riviera afloat". Rex was the largest liner ever built in Italy.
Her maiden voyage to New York began on Sept. 27th, 1932. In Aug. 1933, the Rex captured the Blue Riband on its westbound crossing with an average speed of 28.92 knots.
Following the outbreak of WW 2 in Sept. 1939 both the Rex and Conte di Savoia continued regular sailings to the Mediterranean. Their sailings ceased in the spring of 1940 and they were returned to Italian ports for safekeeping, with Rex laid up camouflaged in Bari. With the surrender of Italy on Sept. 8th, 1943, German authorities seized the Rex. She was formally handed over to the Mittelmeer-Reederei GmbH, Hamburg and plans were made to convert the liner into an aircraft carrier. These plans were not realized, instead the Rex was used as a provisional hospital ship.
The Germans had it towed to Trieste but on Sept. 8th, 1944, as the giant ex-liner was anchoring off Koper, a port town of nowadays Slovenia, it was sighted by British Recce aircraft. The same day, Rex was attacked by RAF Beaufighters and hit by no less than 123 rockets, caught fire from stem to stern. She burned for four days, then rolled onto the port side, and sank in shallow water. The ship was broken up at the site beginning in 1947. The rest was scavenged for scrap iron until 1958 by the Yugoslavian government.
Note the floatplane circling over the Rex, apparently making photographs for a newspaper and the turret deck ship to the right.
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