Piłsudski (ship)
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The Pilsudski was a 1935 posed in service Transatlantic - passenger ship of the Polish shipping company Gdynia-Ameryka line , which for passenger traffic from Gdynia to New York was built. After the start of World War II , the ship came under the control of the British government and was converted into a troop transport . The Piłsudski sank off the Yorkshire coast on November 26, 1939 after running into a minefield .
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The 14,294 gross registered tons (GRT) large motor vessel Pilsudski was born on March 1, 1934 in the shipyard Cantieri Riuniti dell 'Adriatico in Monfalcone in Trieste laid on keel and expired on 19 December 1934 from the stack . Your godmother was the Polish journalist and Sejm MP Wanda Pełczyńska . The 160.32 meter long and 21.33 meter wide ship was powered by two nine-cylinder diesel engines from Sulzer AG , which developed 12,000 hp and could accelerate the ship to up to 18 knots. 796 passengers could be taken on board, 46 of them in first, 370 in second and 400 in third class. There were also 350 crew members.
The passenger ship, which was named after the Polish statesman and national hero Józef Piłsudski , was the type ship of a class of two units, which were designed after the model of the Victoria (I) (13,062 GRT) of the Italian Lloyd Triestino , which was commissioned in 1931 . The Piłsudski's sister ship , the 7 GRT smaller Batory (14,287 GRT), which was built at the same shipyard as No. 1127, was launched in early July 1935 and was put into service in April 1936. The two ships were built for the shipping company Gdynia-America Line, which was founded in 1930 by the Polish government to provide regular passenger and freight services from Gdynia via Copenhagen to Halifax and New York. They were the largest ships of the Gdynia-America Line until then and were among the first ocean liners to have an indoor swimming pool. Many well-known Polish artists contributed to the luxurious furnishings.
Mission history
On September 15, 1935, the Piłsudski ran from Gdynia on her maiden voyage to New York. The ship's captain throughout the service was Mamert Stankiewicz, an officer in the Polish merchant navy , who most recently had the rank of rear admiral . On the second crossing to New York, the Piłsudski was caught in an Atlantic storm that revealed several structural weaknesses in the design of the ship. Before the Piłsudski could sail again, the corresponding repairs were made in New York. The storming of the Piłsudski had caused a construction delay at Batory because it was necessary to initiate the corrections to the original design.
The ship made about ten crossings per year on the North Atlantic , with a round trip from Gdynia to New York and back around 25 days. In the summer, the Piłsudski also undertook cruises to the fjords of Norway and to the Caribbean over Christmas and New Year in addition to its regular liner service . After the outbreak of World War II , the Piłsudski and the Batory were taken over by the British government and used for military purposes. The Piłsudski was converted into a troop transport in Newcastle upon Tyne , painted gray and equipped with anti-aircraft cannons. It was still occupied by a Polish occupation. There were also plans (later discarded) to convert the ship into an armed auxiliary cruiser.
Downfall
On November 26, 1939 at 4:36 a.m., the Piłsudski ran 25 nautical miles off the English port city of Withernsea on two sea mines . The ship was on its first voyage from Newcastle to New Zealand and had about 180 crew members (including seven British sailors) on board. The cargo included steel and iron. After the explosions the inclined Piłsudski according port and decreased after four hours on the position of 53 ° 45 '45 " N , 0 ° 45' 40" O . Except for a mechanic and Captain Stankiewicz, all crew members were rescued. Stankiewicz was one of the last to leave the sinking ship and was taken aboard a ship that was en route to Hartlepool . However, he succumbed to the effects of hypothermia .
The wreck of Pilsudski is 33 meters deep and is the largest shipwreck off the coast of Yorkshire . The stern has broken off and the decks have partially collapsed.
Web links
- The sister ships Piłsudski and the Batory (construction dates, historical, photos)
- The Piłsudski as a diving destination ( Memento from February 20, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- Details of the Piłsudski wreck
- Information about the Gdynia America Line in The Ships List