SS Principe Umberto was an Italian passenger and refrigerated cargo ship

Cargo ship

A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...

 built in 1908 for Navigazione Generale Italiana

Navigazione Generale Italiana

Navigazione Generale Italiana was an Italian shipping company formed in 1881 by the merger of I & V. Florio of Palermo and Raffaele Rubattino of Genoa...

. During World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, Principe Umberto served as an armed merchant cruiser. While transporting troops in the Adriatic in June 1916, the ship was sunk by Austro-Hungarian

Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

 U-boat with the loss of 1,650 men.

Career

Principe Umberto was built in 1908 by Riuniti in Palermo

Palermo

Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...

 for Navigazione Generale Italiana

Navigazione Generale Italiana

Navigazione Generale Italiana was an Italian shipping company formed in 1881 by the merger of I & V. Florio of Palermo and Raffaele Rubattino of Genoa...

, a company that sailed to Mediterranean and Black Sea ports, as well as passenger service to North and South America. She was 145.1 metre long (pp) with a beam

Beam (nautical)

The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...

 of 16.3 metre. She was powered by two quadruple expansion steam engine

Steam engine

A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...

s that moved her at up to 16 knots.

Principe Umbertos routes and early activities are not known, but during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, the ship was employed as an armed merchant cruiser to transport men and materiel

Materiel

Materiel is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management....

 in support of Italy. On 8 June 1916, Principe Umberto and two other transports were carrying troops under the escort of two Règia Marina

Regia Marina

The Regia Marina dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification...

 destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

s. The Austro-Hungarian

Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

U-boat , under the command of Friedrich Schlosser, launched a torpedo attack that successfully hit the Italian ship. Principe Umberto went down quickly with the loss 1,750 men.