SS Conte Grande

Conte Grande in commercial service after World War II.
History
NameConte Grande
OwnerLloyd Sabaudo Line / Italian Line
BuilderStabilimento Tecnico Triestino
Launched29 June 1927
Maiden voyage13 April 1928
FateScrapped, 1961
General characteristics
Tonnage25,661 GRT
Length198.9 m (652 ft 7 in)
Beam23.8 m (78 ft 1 in)
PropulsionParsons type turbine, twin screws, 24,000 hp (18,000 kW)
Speed~20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) (sources vary)
Capacity1,718 passengers

SS Conte Grande was a Lloyd Sabaudo ocean liner built in 1927 by Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino in Trieste, Italy, to service the transatlantic passenger line between Genoa, Italy, and New York City. Launched on 29 June 1927, her maiden voyage was from Genoa to Naples to New York City, which occurred on 13 April 1928. In 1932, after acquisition by the Italian Line, she was transferred to the South America service but was laid up in Santos, Brazil in 1940.

During World War II, she was acquired by the United States and was used as an American troopship—renamed USS Monticello (AP-61) in 1942. After the war, in 1947, she was returned to the Italian Line and renamed Conte Grande. After a two-year hiatus, in 1949, she resumed service to South America. In 1960, she was transferred from the Italian Line to Lloyd Triestino (also chartered by Italian Line), where she served for another year until being scrapped in 1961. Her sister ship was the SS Conte Biancamano.