MS ''Kungsholm'' was an

ocean liner An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). The ...

built in Germany by

Blohm & Voss Blohm+Voss (B+V), also written historically as Blohm & Voss, Blohm und Voß etc., is a German shipbuilding and engineering company. Founded in Hamburg in 1877 to specialise in steel-hulled ships, its most famous product was the World War II battle ...

for the

Swedish American Line Swedish American Line (, abbr. SAL) was a Swedish passenger shipping line. It was founded in December 1914 under the name Rederiaktiebolaget Sverige-Nordamerika and began ocean liner service from Gothenburg to New York City, New York in 1915. ...

from 1928 to 1941 on transatlantic services from

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

as well as cruising out of New York. In

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the US Government requisitioned it as the

troopship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable to land troops directly on shore, typic ...

''John Ericsson''. After the war the Italian

Home Lines Home Lines was an Italian passenger shipping company that operated both ocean liners and cruise ships. The company was founded in 1946, and it ceased operations in 1988 when merged into Holland America Line. Although based in Genoa, Home Lines was ...

bought her, renamed her ''Italia'' and operated her as a transatlantic liner and

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours k ...

. In the 1960s she changed hands again to become the

hotel ship A hotelship is a passenger ship which is used for a period as a hotel. A botel or boatel is a boat that serves as a hotel or hostel. Currently there are few permanent hotel ships. The word is a portmanteau of boat and hotel. Botels may range fr ...

''Imperial Bahama''. She was scrapped in Spain in 1965.

Trans-Atlantic passenger service

''Kungsholm'' operated on the transatlantic service with some cruise operations just prior to World War II. In June 1938, as flagship of the Swedish American Line, she visited

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

with the Crown Prince

Gustaf VI Adolf Gustaf VI Adolf (Oscar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf; 11 November 1882 – 15 September 1973) was King of Sweden from 29 October 1950 until his death in 1973. He was the eldest son of Gustaf V and his wife, Victoria of Baden. Before Gustaf ...

and Crown Princess

Louise of Sweden Louise of Sweden (; 31 October 1851 – 20 March 1926) was List of Danish royal consorts, Queen of Denmark from 1906 until 1912 as the wife of Frederick VIII of Denmark, King Frederick VIII. Born into the House of Bernadotte, Louise was the onl ...

, members of the Royal Swedish Commission, the Commission of the Republic of Finland and tourists aboard. The visit was in honor of the 300th anniversary of the Swedish landing with the Crown Prince's son Prince Bertil having to do the honors ashore as the Crown Prince was suffering from a kidney attack. For a brief time 1940–41, as ''Kungsholm'' was cruising the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

after war broke out in Europe, the author

J. D. Salinger Jerome David Salinger ( ; January 1, 1919 – January 27, 2010) was an American author best known for his 1951 novel '' The Catcher in the Rye''. Salinger published several short stories in '' Story'' magazine in 1940, before serving in World Wa ...

was employed aboard as entertainment director.

Wartime service

The ship, under the command of Captain John Nordlander, was requisitioned effective 31 December 1941, placed under control of the United States Government's

War Shipping Administration The War Shipping Administration (WSA) was a World War II emergency war agency of the US government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the United States needed for fighting the war. Both shipbuilding under the Maritime C ...

(WSA), renamed ''John Ericsson'' and delivered for contract operation by

United States Lines United States Lines was an organization of the United States Shipping Board's (USSB) Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC), created to operate German liners seized by the United States in 1917. The ships were owned by the USSB and all finances of t ...

as a troop transport largely to meet Army requirements. ''John Ericsson'' was one of seven transports hurriedly assembled in New York and sailing late on 22 January 1942 (23 January GMT) in what was then the largest troop movement attempted, movement of POPPY FORCE, also designated Task Force 6814, under General

Alexander Patch Alexander McCarrell Patch (23 November 1889 – 21 November 1945) was a senior United States Army Officer (armed forces), officer who fought in World war, both world wars, rising to rank of General (United States), general. During World War ...

to secure

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

(codename POPPY) on the vital South Pacific link to Australia. At the time this force was being assembled the ship was allocated to the State Department and with its addition and cutting troops in convoys across the Atlantic the seven ships assembled had a troop capacity of almost 22,000. Task Force 6814 was later organized in New Caledonia as the

Americal Division The Americal Division was an infantry division of the United States Army during World War II, briefly in the mid 1950s and the Vietnam War. The division was activated 27 May 1942 on the island of New Caledonia. In the immediate emergency foll ...

. ''John Ericsson'' was among the group of large, fast troop transports capable of running without escorts, that moved freely among wartime theaters as required. They included the large UK liners, several Allied liners, Navy and Army operated ships, and two sets of

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

s operated for the WSA: Moore-McCormack's , and ''

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

'', and

Matson Lines Matson, Inc., is an American shipping company, shipping and navigation services company headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii. Founded in 1882, Matson, Inc.'s subsidiary Matson Navigation Company provides ocean shipping services across the Pacific O ...

' , , '' Matsonia'' and .

Postwar service

After the end of World War Two the ''John Ericsson'' was placed in the Hudson reserve fleet 28 April 1947 with fire damages estimated at between $500,000 and $1,500,000 to repair and offered for sale by bids 5 May on an "as is, where is" basis. The ship was sold back to the Swedish American Line with title passed on 18 July and the ship delivered to Swedish American Line 23 July 1947. Instead of returning to service with Swedish American Line the ship was sold to

in 1948 and renamed ''Italia''. With Home Lines the ship served on various routes, including

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

— South America, Genoa — New York,

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

— New York, Hamburg —

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

— Quebec, New York — Nassau as well as cruises from New York to the Caribbean. In 1964, the ship was sold to the Canaveral International Corporation for use as a 500-room floating hotel in

Freeport, Bahamas Freeport is a city, district and free trade zone on the island of Grand Bahama in the northwest part of The Bahamas. In 1955, Wallace Groves, a Virginian financier with lumber interests in Grand Bahama, was granted of pineyard with substant ...

. The ship was renamed ''Imperial Bahama'', while the hotel complex with a 9-acre golf course, 4 tennis courts, a shopping center and a marina, was known as the Imperial Bahama Hotel. In 1965 the ''Imperial Bahama'' was scrapped at

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

Trans-Atlantic passenger service

Wartime service

Postwar service

See also

References

Further reading