RFA Maine was a hospital ship which was built in 1924 as the ocean liner Leonardo da Vinci by SA Ansaldo, La Spezia, Italy for the Società di Navigazione Transatlantica Italiana. In 1941, she was captured by the British at Kismayu, Italian Somaliland. Declared a prize of war, she was passed to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and renamed Empire Clyde, serving as a hospital ship for the British Army during the Second World War. In 1948, ownership was passed to the Admiralty and she entered service with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary as RFA Maine. She served during the Korean War and was scrapped in 1954. Description The ship was built by SA Ansaldo, La Spezia, Italy. She was launched on 28 December 1924. The ship was long, with a beam of and a depth of . She had a GRT of 7,432 and a NRT of 4,096. She was propelled by six steam turbines, double reduction geared, driving twin screw propellers. The turbines were built by Ansaldo Sampierdarena. History Leonardo da Vinci was built for Società di Navigazione Transatlantica Italiana. Her port of registry was Genoa. The Italian Official Number 1306 and Code Letters NVJA were allocated. In 1934, her Code Letters were changed to IBPS. In December 1929, Leonardo da Vinci was caught in a storm off Cape Finisterre, Spain whilst transporting a number of valuable Italian works of art which were to be exhibited at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London. She was accompanied on her voyage by the Marina Militare tug Teso. The cargo was insured for £14,000,000. Works of art on board included the painting The Birth of Venus by Botticelli, the three Davids, sculptures by Donatello, Michelangelo and Verrocchio. Another sculpture was Virgin and Child by Jacopo della Quercia. Leonardo da Vinci departed London on 12 April 1930 to return the artworks to Italy. During the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, Leonardo da Vinci was used as a troopship in March 1935. On 28 February, Leonardo da Vinci was in collision with , which dragged her anchor during a storm at Messina, Italy. Damage to Leonardo da Vinci was slight. In 1937, Leonardo da Vinci was sold to Lloyd Triestino, Trieste. On 14 February 1941, she was captured by . At the time, Leonardo da Vinci was at Kismayu, Italian Somaliland. She was passed to the MoWT as a war prize. Her port of registry was changed