SS Albania (1920)

SS Albania was a cargo liner laid down in 1914 by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Ltd. Greenock, Scotland for the Cunard Line. Owing to the First World War, she wasn't completed until 1920. Designed to maximize cargo capacity, passenger accommodations were limited to the shelter and "tween" decks. Originally intended for the Liverpool New York run, she was transferred in April of 1922 to the Canadian route. Ultimately the vessel proved a disappointment for Cunard, being too small to operate effectively as a passenger liner and too big for a freighter,[1] and was laid up in 1925 until purchased in 1930 by the Italian company Liberia Triestina who renamed her SS California.[2][3] She was converted in a hospital ship in 1935.

History
United Kingdom
Name:	SS Albania
Owner:	Cunard Line
Operator:	Cunard Line
Port of registry:	Liverpool
Route:	Liverpool to New York (After 1922 Liverpool - Montreal Quebec)
Builder:	Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Ltd. Greenock, Scotland
Yard number:	479
Laid down:	1914
Launched:	17 April 1920
Completed:	December 1920
Maiden voyage:	18 January 1921
In service:	1921
Out of service:	1925
Fate:	Sold 1930
History
Italy
Name:	SS California
Owner:	Liberia Triestina
In service:	1930
Out of service:	1941
Fate:	Sunk 11 August 1941
General characteristics
Type:	Cargo liner
Tonnage:	12768
Length:	539 ft
Beam:	64 ft
Depth:	47 ft
Decks:	2
Installed power:	Four steam turbines double reduction geared
Propulsion:	Twin screw
Speed:	15 knots
Capacity:	80 Cabin class passengers