SS Rex

SS Rex in 1933
History
Italy
Name	Rex
Owner	Italian Line
Port of registry	Genoa, Italy
Builder	G. Ansaldo & Co. of Sestri Ponente, Genoa, Italy
Launched	1 August 1931
Maiden voyage	27 September 1932
Fate	Bombed by Allied bombers and capsized on 8 September 1944 and broken up in situ in 1950
General characteristics
Type	Ocean liner
Tonnage	51,062 GRT
Displacement	45,800 tons
Length	880 ft (270 m) overall 831.25 ft (253.37 m) waterline
Beam	96 ft 9 in (29.49 m)
Draught	33 ft (10 m)
Depth	79 ft 9 in (24.31 m) at promenade deck
Installed power	4 sets of geared steam turbines producing 120,000 shp (89,000 kW) (design power)
Propulsion	Quadruple propellers
Speed	27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph) (design speed) Over 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph) (maximum speed)
Capacity	2,042 total passengers 408 first class 358 second class 410 tourist class 866 third class

SS Rex was an Italian ocean liner launched in 1931.^[1] She held the westbound Blue Riband between 1933 and 1935. Originally built for the Navigazione Generale Italiana (NGI) as SS Guglielmo Marconi, its state-ordered merger with the Lloyd Sabaudo line meant that the ship sailed for the newly created Italia Flotta Riunite (Italian Line).

Rex operated transatlantic crossings from Italy with its running mate, Conte di Savoia prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. Rex maintained a commercial service in the Mediterranean Sea for eight years, but when Italy entered the war in June 1940 Rex was laid up for safe-keeping. On 8 September 1944, off Capodistria, Rex was hit by cannon fire and 123 rockets launched by Royal Air Force aircraft, caught fire from bow to stern. She rolled onto the port side, burned for four days, and sank in shallow water. The ship was partially broken up in situ in 1950.