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Roma was the first of two near
identical ships built for the Italian
shipping company Navigazione Generale
Italiana. The launch of her sister ship
Augustus took place a few months
later. The main difference between the
two ships was that Augustus had
been fitted with the more economical to
run diesel engines. Roma set out
on her maiden voyage from Genoa - Naples
and New York September 21st 1926. In
1932, Benito Mussolini forced the larger
Italian shipping lines to merge into one
company under the name the Italia Line.
Three years later, Roma was
transferred from her original route to
the Genoa - Naples and South America
run.
After the outbreak of World War Two in
1939, Roma and Augustus
were handed over to the Italian Navy to
be converted to aircraft carriers. The
navy had Roma renamed
Aquila before work on her
conversion began. This work included
removing her superstructure, installing
more powerful turbines to give an
improved speed of 30 knots and fitting a
full-length flight deck. Augustus
was renamed Spavario before
undergoing her rebuild. The navy ended
all work on this conversion a few months
later as Italy’s steel supplies
were running low. German forces sunk
Spavario at the mouth of Genoa
Harbor to form a blockade in September
1944. With Aquila’s
conversion still not complete by 1945,
the retreating German forces planned to
sink her at the entrance of Genoa Harbor
as well. To prevent the loss of another
ship, Italian frogmen used limpet mines
to scuttle Aquila at her berth
April 19th 1945. Aquila was raised
in 1946 and towed to La Spezia to await a
decision on her future. Five years later,
she was sold for scrap and dismantled
between 1951 and 1952. Spavario
had also been raised in 1946 and scrapped
at La Spezia in 1947.
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