SS Taormina (1908)

SS "Taormina" was an Italian ocean liner for the Italia Line, Lloyd Italiano, and Navigazione Generale Italiana. The ship was named after Taormina, Sicily. Launched in 1908, she sailed from Genoa to New York and Philadelphia for most of her career. During World War I she was employed as a troopship carrying United States troops to France for one voyage in July 1918. She was scrapped in 1929.

History

"Taormina" was built in 1908 by D. & W. Henderson Ltd. of Glasgow for the Italia Soc. di Navigazione a Vapore, known as the Italia Line. "Taormina" sailed on her maiden voyage from Genoa to New York and Philadelphia beginning on 3 September 1908. In 1909, accommodations for 120 first-class passengers were added, and in 1910, her accommodations were again reconfigured so as to carry 60 first-class and 120 second-class passengers. and USS|Huntington|CA-5|2, and destroyers USS|Rathburne|DD-113|2 and USS|Colhoun|DD-85|2 escorted the transports.Crowell and Wilson list the destroyer as "Calhoun". The only USS|Calhoun|1851|6 ever was a former Confederate steamer captured during the American Civil War.] On 2 August, "Finland" developed engine trouble and fell back from the convoy, but by the next day, she and a destroyer that stayed with her had rejoined the convoy. [cite web | last = Van Kleeck | first = Gordon | url = http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~treebz65/momside/vankleeck/gordonvk/gvkjournal/gvkjournal2.html | title = Pvt. Gordon Van Kleeck, Co. F. 51 Pioneer Inf., American Expeditionary Forces | work = Ancestral Photographs of Upstate New York | publisher = Roxy Triebel | accessdate = 2008-06-21 ] The convoy arrived in Brest on 7 August. "Taormina" arrived back in the United States on 20 August, ending her one U.S. troopship voyage.

In 1919, "Taormina" was put on the Genoa–Marseille–New York route, making her last voyage on 8 August 1923. In 1927, she returned to the same route for one roundtrip voyage. She was scrapped at Savona in 1929.

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