MS ''Augustus'' was a combined ocean liner and cruise ship built in 1927 for

Navigazione Generale Italiana Navigazione Generale Italiana (NGI) was an Italian shipping company. History The company formed in 1881 by the merger of ''Florio, I & V. Florio'' of Palermo and ''Raffaele Rubattino'' of Genoa. At the time of the merger, the two companies both ...

. The ship was later transferred to the new

Italian Line Italian Line and from 1992 Italia Line, whose official name was Italia di Navigazione S.p.A., was a passenger shipping line that operated regular transatlantic services between Italy and the United States, and Italy and South America. During ...

after the merger of Navigazione Generale Italiana. During

World War 2 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

the Roma was converted into an aircraft carrier and renamed as ''Falco''. In 1944, both ships were taken over by the German troops but, on 25 September of that year she was scuttled. After the war she was raised and scrapped in 1946. Her sister ship was SS ''Roma.''

History

Ocean Liner career

Following the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, many shipping companies were planning to build new liners once they had enough money.

decided to build two new liners of over 30,000 gross registered tons for post war service. The first ship was ''Roma'' which was launched in 1926. The second ship was launched in December 1926 at the

Ansaldo Shipyard Ansaldo was one of Italy's oldest and most important engineering companies, existing for 140 years from 1853 to 1993. From foundation to World War I The company was founded in 1853 as Gio. Ansaldo & C. S.A.S. by renowned players in the Geno ...

and was christened ''Augustus'' by

Edda Mussolini Edda Ciano, Countess of Cortellazzo and Buccari (''née'' Mussolini; 1 September 1910 – 9 April 1995) was the daughter of Benito Mussolini, Italy's fascist dictator from 1922 to 1943. Her husband, the fascist propagandist and Foreign Minister ...

(daughter of dictator Benito Mussolini). She was fitted out and made her maiden voyage on 10 November 1927. Her interior was decorated in the Baroque style. She was the largest diesel-engined passenger ship of her time, whereas her sister was equipped with geared steam turbines. The ''Augustus'' was c. 215 meters long and was designed to carry 1,675 passengers. She operated on the South American service while her sister ran the North Atlantic service. The ''Augustus'' could reportedly reach South America from Italy in five days at an average speed of 22 knots. In 1932, Navigazione Generale Italiana was forced by Mussolini to merge with other Italian shipping companies to form the

Italia Line Italian Line and from 1992 Italia Line, whose official name was Italia di Navigazione S.p.A., was a passenger shipping line that operated regular transatlantic services between Italy and the United States, and Italy and South America. During ...

. Because of this, the funnels of the ''Augustus'' were repainted in Italia Line colours. In 1933, she began to carry out 129-day world cruises after the

Wall Street Crash of 1929 The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange coll ...

. She carried many passengers from New York to a number of ports around the world and back to New York in 129 days. The Roma will continue passenger service until 1939.

Conversion to aircraft carrier

At the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

the ''Augustus'' and the ''Roma'' were laid up but both ships were subsequently taken over by the Italian Navy. Like her sister, the ''Augustus'' was converted into an aircraft carrier and renamed ''Falco'' and later ''Sparviero''. In 1944, both ships were taken over by the German troops but on 25 September of that year she was scuttled, in order to blockade

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

harbour from the Allies. After the war she was raised and scrapped in 1946.

References

Page at List of Italian Steamships
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Augustus (1926) Passenger ships of Italy Ocean liners Cruise ships 1926 ships Ships built in Genoa Ships built by Gio. Ansaldo & C. Cultural depictions of Augustus