SS Conte Rosso

The SS "Conte Rosso" was a Italian ocean liner active in the early 20th century. She was built in the Glasgow yards of William Beardmore and Company for the Italian Lloyd Sabaudo Line and entered service in 1922 carrying passengers between Italy and New York. She was the first new transatlantic liner built after World War I and the largest Italian liner to date. In 1928, she was replaced on the New York route by the newer SS "Conte Grande" and began service between Italy and South America ^{[http://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=F20716FC3B58167A93C5A81788D85F4C8285F9]} . She was acquired by the Italian Line in 1932 when it took over the Lloyd Sabaudo Line. In 1932, she began serving the Trieste–Bombay–Shanghai route, and thus became one of the major escape routes for the Jewish population of Germany and Austria as Shanghai was one of the few places that did not require paid emigration visas. She also served briefly as an Italian troopship during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War in the 1930s.

Named after Amadeus VII, Count of Savoy, the so-called "Red Count", the Conte Rosso was noted for her lavish Italian interior decoration. Because much of its sailing would be in warmer waters, the designers included an outdoor dining area, unsual for ships of this era. Her sister ship was SS "Conte Verde".

During World War II, she was used as a troop ship by the Italian Government until 24 May 1941, when she was torpedoed and sunk by HMS "Upholder". The sinking occurred 16 km off the coast of Sicily while in convoy from Naples to Tripoli. Of the 2,729 soldiers and crew aboard, 1,300 were killed.

An earlier liner of the same name was commandeered during construction by the Royal Navy during World War I, converted to an aircraft carrier and commissioned the HMS "Argus"

ee also

Malcolm David Wanklyn

References

*cite news
title =Conte Rosso Sunk in Transport Duty
publisher =The New York Times
date =1941-05-31
url = http://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=F60817FD3D58167B93C3AA178ED85F458485F9
accessdate = 2007-11-11
*cite news
title =Italy's Newest Liner a Model of Luxury
publisher =The New York Times
date =1922-02-19
url = http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9403E4DF1E3CE533A2575AC1A9649C946395D6CF
accessdate = 2007-11-11
*cite news
title =Luxury in Italian Ship
publisher =The New York Times
date =1922-02-15
url = http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9B03E4DA1E30EE3ABC4D52DFB4668389639EDE
accessdate = 2007-11-11
*cite news
title =New Italian Liner Here on First Trip
publisher =The New York Times
date =1922-05-27
url = http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9C06E7DE1231EF33A25754C2A9639C946395D6CF
accessdate = 2007-11-08
*cite journal
year = 1984
month = July
title = In Memoria Del Piroscafo "Conte Rosso"
journal = Notiziario della Marina
volume = XXXI
issue = 7
url = http://web.tiscali.it/pmusilli/conte_rosso_relazione.htm
language = Italian
accessdate = 2007-11-11
*cite news
title = New Italian Liner to be Here Feb. 24
publisher =The New York Times
date =12 january 1922
url = http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9406E3DF1E3FE432A25751C1A9679C946395D6CF
accessdate = 2007-11-11
*cite news
title =New Italian Liner here on First Trip
publisher =The New York Times
date =1922-05-27
url = http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9C06E7DE1231EF33A25754C2A9639C946395D6CF
accessdate = 2007-11-08
*cite book
last =Allaway
first =Jim
title =Hero of the Upholder
publisher = Periscope Publishing Ltd
date =2004-04-01
location = Penzance, Cornwall
pages =103-107
isbn = 978-1904381235
chapter =Chapter 17: The Sinking of the Conte Rosso
*cite news
title = Report Americans Shun Second Class
publisher =The New York Times
date =1932-06-15
url = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50D1EFC3B5A13738DDDAC0994DE405B828FF1D3
accessdate = 2007-11-11
*cite web
title = Lloyd Sabaudo
publisher =The ShipsList
url = http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/lloydsabaudo.htm
accessdate = 2007-11-11
*cite news
last =Cortesi
first =Arnaldo
title = Crack Alpine Unit Rushed To Africa
publisher =The New York Times
date =1936-01-08
url = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10C13FC3455147B93CAA9178AD85F428385F9
accessdate = 2007-11-11