 Laid up in Trieste harbor, Italy, by the war, the Rex was seized by Nazi Germany when Italy surrendered in 1943. On September 8, 1944, she was attacked twice by Royal Air Force and South African Air Force Beaufighters. She was set on fire, then rolled over and sank after being struck by numerous rockets and cannon shells. The purpose of the attack was to prevent her from being used to block the harbor entrance. The wreck was partially scrapped in the 1950s, but around one-third of it still remains.
