SS ''Dante Alighieri'' was an Italian

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 ...

for Transatlantica Italiana. From 1915 to 1927 the ship was in service between Italy and New York with calls at Lisbon, Gibraltar, Azores and Boston and between Italy and South America. In 1927, she was sold to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese firm

Nippon Yusen Kaisha The , also known as NYK Line, is a Japanese shipping company. The company headquarters are located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It operates a fleet of over 820 ships, which includes container ships, tankers, bulk and woodchip carriers, roll-on/ro ...

and renamed ''Asahi Maru''. Operating as a

hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating healthcare, medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navy, navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or ...

during early World War II, she later served as a transport. ''Asahi Maru'' was damaged in a collision in 1944 off the coast of Japan, beached and abandoned. The wreck was eventually scrapped in 1949.

History

''Dante Alighieri'' was built by Società Esercizio Bacini of

Riva Trigoso Riva may refer to: People * Riva (surname) * Riva Castleman (1930–2014), American art historian, art curator and author * Riva Ganguly Das (born 1961), Indian diplomat * Riva (footballer), Brazilian former footballer Rivadávio Alves Pereira (b ...

in 1914 for Transatlantica Italiana. She was a vessel, with a

length overall Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and is also ...

and a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Radio beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...

. She had accommodations for 100 first-class, 260 second-class, and 1,825 third-class passengers. Launched on 28 November 1914, she sailed on her maiden voyage from

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 ...

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

on 10 February 1915. After the United States entered

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, she was chartered as a troop transport and attached to the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

Cruiser and Transport Force The Cruiser and Transport Service was a unit of the United States Navy's Atlantic Fleet during World War I that was responsible for transporting American men and materiel to France. Composition On 1 July 1918, the Cruiser and Transport Force was ...

. After the war ended, ''Dante Alighieri'' resumed her Genoa–New York service, continuing on the same route through October 1927. On one of her voyages to New York in 1923, she returned future actor Ernest Borgnine to the United States. She departed New York for

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

and Genoa in November 1927. In 1928, the liner was sold to the

ese firm of

(NYK) and renamed ''Asahi Maru''. In 1937 she was converted into a hospital ship. In 1940, she had one of her

funnels A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its constructi ...

removed. On 24 January 1942, the hospital ship was hit by gunfire from the destroyer , during an American incursion on

Balikpapan Balikpapan is a seaport city in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Located on the east coast of the island of Borneo, the city is the financial center of Kalimantan. Balikpapan is the city with the largest economy in Kalimantan with an estimated 20 ...

. On 10 November 1943 the vessel was converted to an auxiliary transport. On 5 February 1944, ''Asahi Maru'' was damaged in a collision in the Japanese

Inland Sea An inland sea (also known as an epeiric sea or an epicontinental sea) is a continental body of water which is very large in area and is either completely surrounded by dry land (landlocked), or connected to an ocean by a river, strait or " arm of ...

, beached, broke in two, and abandoned. The ship's cargo was salvaged at end of February. She was scrapped in 1949.IJN Hospital Ship Asahi Maru
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dante Alighieri Ocean liners Ships built in Italy World War I passenger ships of Italy Troop ships of the United States Hospital ships in World War II 1914 ships