Thursday, January 26, 2012

the Dante Alighieri


If the name isn't enough, the flag in this 1910s postcard of the SS Dante Alighieri makes it obvious this was an Italian ocean liner. The ship was built by Società Esercizio Bacini of Riva Trigoso in 1914 for Transatlantica Italiana. She was 9,754 grt, 503.7 feet (153.5 metres) long with a 59.5 feet (18.1 metre) beam. She had accommodations for 100 first-class, 260 second-class, and 1,825 third-class passengers. Launched on 28 November 1914, she sailed on her maiden voyage from Genoa to Palermo and New York on 10 February 1915.

During WW1 she was employed as a troopship carrying US troops to France as part of the Cruiser and Transport Force. In 1927 she was sold to Japanese firm Nippon Yusen Kaisha and renamed Asahi Maru. Operating as a hospital ship during WW2, she was damaged in a collision in 1944 in Japan, and was eventually scrapped in 1949.

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