SS Roma (1926)

P1

• Aquila (1943 )

Official Number: 1407

The Aquila in June 1951 in La Spezia

• 8 × Sk 13.5 cm L/45
• 12 × 6,5 cm Flak L/64
• 132 × 2.0 cm Flak L/65
• 51 Reggiane Re.2001

The Roma was a 1926 put into service transatlantic passenger ship in the Navigazione Generale Italiana Italian shipping company, which was built for the passenger and mail traffic from Italy to New York. 1932, the Roma became part of the new state shipping company Società Italia fleet Riuniti. During the Second World War, it was rebuilt under the name of Aquila to the aircraft carrier, the conversion but not completed. Launched in La Spezia in 1945, the ship was finally scrapped in 1951.

The passenger ship

The steam ship Roma was built for the Navigazione Generale Italiana renowned Italian cruise line, based in Genoa. She and her sister ship, the finished end of 1927 Augustus ( 32,650 GRT), built on the shipyard Giovanni Ansaldo & Co., Sestri Ponente (Genoa ). First, the two ships ran on 26 February 1926, the Roma from the stack. Your measurements amounted to 32 583 gross registered tons (GRT ), 21,015 tons under deck and 19,358 net registered tonnage ( NRT).

The 215.06 meters long and 25.24 meters wide ship had two masts and two funnels and was powered by eight steam turbines, which had four propellers. The travel speed was 20 and the maximum speed of 22 knots. The coal was burned in nine double-ender and four A Santander boilers with a total of 66 fireplaces. The ship had four steel decks and above a paneled with teak weather deck. The safety standards included a double bottom and twelve watertight doors. The Roma was also equipped with a radio station, electric lighting and cooling devices.

Just like the Augustus, which was launched on December 13, 1926, the Roma had four price ranges: It could 375 passengers in first, 300 in the second, 300 in the classe intermedia ( roughly middle-class ) and 700 in the Third class - a total of 1675 travelers - be transported. Both ships were very luxurious. On board the Roma prevailed prior to the Baroque style, which earned her the name "floating Italian palace ".

On September 21, 1926, the Roma ran in Genoa on her maiden voyage across Naples to New York. In November 1931, she led her last voyage on this route by Navigazione Generale Italiana for. The following year the Italy's biggest shipping companies were - the Navigazione Generale Italiana ( based in Genoa ), the Cosulich Società Triestina di Navigazione ( Cosulich Line, headquartered in Trieste ) and Lloyd Sabaudo ( headquartered in Turin) - nationalized by Benito Mussolini and Società Italia fleet Riuniti summarized. The fleets of these lines were therefore merged and so also incorporated the Roma in this new company. On January 15, 1932, she ran out on their first trip to the new owners on their usual route.

In April 1933, it came to modernization, where the passenger capacity was modified. From then on, the First, Second, tourist and third class. From February to April 1935, the Roma completed two crossings from Trieste to New York under the Charter of the Cosulich Line, after which she returned to the route Genoa - New York. On 29 April 1940, she presented a one-time drive from Trieste, Venice from to New York and back to Genoa.

Conversion to the aircraft carrier Aquila

When Italy in 1940 entered the Second World War, it became clear that land planes that are on Lake Italian naval forces could not protect because of its broad -in and flying out to the fleet. Until then, the Italian Government had assumed, because of the central position of Italy in the Mediterranean, the land plane, a vast flying over the Mediterranean allowed by its shores to need no aircraft carriers. In fact, were only the fleet accompanying aircraft carrier take over this task. Therefore we began in 1941 to convert the Roma and Augustus to aircraft carriers. Since the Italians had no experience in the construction and operation of aircraft carriers, they were passed by the German test site lake technical support. Italy also bought the aircraft carrier installations in Germany - so the avionics systems of the aircraft carrier B - for now Aquila (Italian for " eagle " ) called Roma.

The conversion of the passenger ship Roma in an aircraft carrier was a complete reconstruction. Even the drive system of the Roma has been removed and replaced with drive systems for cruisers. This allowed the ship's speed from 21 to 30 nodes can be increased. The range at a speed of 18 knots would have been at 5,500 nautical miles. On the hull filled with concrete ridges on both sides were in the waterline grown to solve the problems caused by the total conversion stability problems, and it increased as the resistance of the ship against torpedo and mine hit significantly. In the short transverse and longitudinal ship subdivisions have been improved for the ship's stability. The aircraft carrier was a 211.6 m × 25.2 -meter flight deck and a large hall for the reception of about 50 aircraft, which should be suspended for reasons of space 15 beneath the ceiling.

The installation and configuration of the aircraft technical systems progressed well, and at the time of the armistice on September 8, 1943 was the aircraft carrier nearing completion. Named after the Italian armistice in Genoa - the Umbauort Aquila - invading German troops also took over the carrier, but the German Navy had no use for an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean, and so the ship remained unfinished in the harbor.

Whereabouts

On 19 April 1945, the Aquila of fighting on the Allied side Italian frogmen was sunk in the harbor of Genoa, so the Germans, the ship could not sink into the harbor entrance as a block ship and so Genoa would turn out as a supply port for the Allies after the capture of the city.

The recital, complete the carrier after the war, was not put into action. The Aquila was only lifted in 1952 and scrapped.