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After the success of the 17,993-ton
Gripsholm launched in 1924, the
Swedish America Line ordered their second
new built liner Kungsholm. They
intended Kungsholm and
Gripsholm to be operated mainly as
cruise ships and to provide an
alternating service between Sweden and
America in summer. Kungsholm set
out on her maiden voyage from Gothenburg
- New York November 24th 1928. Her first
cruise to the Caribbean followed in
January 1929. With Sweden and America
declaring a state of neutrality at the
outbreak of World War Two in 1939,
Kungsholm was operated on cruises
out of New York to avoid the war in
Europe. In response to the attack on
Pearl Harbor December 7th 1941, US
Authorities seized Kungsholm
December 12th 1941 to be operated as a
troopship under the name John
Ericsson.
The US Navy operated John
Ericsson in the Pacific and
Mediterranean before joining the mass
invasion of Normandy in June 1944. With
this ship being in such a poor condition
on her return to the Swedish America Line
in 1946, she was sold to the Home Lines
to be operated under the name
Italia. The completion of an
extensive refit at the Ansaldo shipyard
in Genoa saw her enter service on the
Genoa - South America run July 27th 1948.
The Home Lines transferred Italia
to the Hamburg - New York run in 1952.
Following another refit in 1958, they
re-deployed her on the Hamburg - Quebec
run. Between 1961 and 1964, Italia
was operated between the New York -
Nassau run and cruising. Freeport Bahama
Enterprises bought the aging Italia in
1964 to serve as a floating hotel under
the name Imperial Bahama.
With this venture hitting financial
difficulties, she was sold for scrap soon
after. Italia’s final voyage
arrived at the Bilbao scrap yard in Spain
September 8th 1965.
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