Motor ship Georgia. White steamer

Honored Transport Worker. Awarded with the Orders of the Red Banner of Battle (1947), the Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1960), the 1st degree of the Patriotic War (1985) and Bohdan Khmelnitsky (1999); medals “For Courage” and “For the Defense of the Soviet Arctic”.

Anatoly Garagulya was born in the village of Kazanskaya Krasnodar Territory in the family of the switchman Grigory Mikhailovich Garaguli. His mother Antonina Alekseevna Garagulya (Nekrasova) was a housewife.

After graduating from school in Stavropol in 1940, he entered the Melitopol Military Aviation School. A year later, the Great Patriotic War began, and in October 1942, after graduating from college, he was sent to the front. After going through the entire war as an air gunner and navigator, he was only transferred to the reserve in March 1946 with the rank of lieutenant. In the same year he came to Odessa and entered the Higher Marine Engineering School at the Department of Navigation, which he graduated in 1952.

From that time on, he began his work in the Black Sea Shipping Company - first as an assistant to the captain, and then as a captain. Under his command, the crews of the Krasnodar and Karl Marx, Timiryazev and Admiral Ushakov, Admiral Nakhimov and Physicist Vavilov worked.

In 1965 Anatoly Garagulya was appointed captain of the passenger motor ship “Georgia” (formerly “Sobieski”) built in 1939. For ten years he worked on "Georgia", right up to the decommissioning of the ship, and in 1975 he became the captain of a new motor ship under the same name, built in the same year.

motor ship "Georgia"

It is with the motor ship "Georgia" and its captain Anatoly Garaguli that a bright page in the history of the cultural life of our city is connected. Vladimir Vysotsky and Marina Vladi, Vasily Aksenov and Bulat Okudzhava, Pyotr Todorovsky and Vladimir Ivashov are just some of the names of the most famous writers, actors and directors with whom Anatoly Garagulya was familiar and friends. Many of them traveled on both the old and the new "Georgia" on the Crimean-Caucasian cruises popular at that time. On this route, "Georgia" did not go often, most time the ship has made round-the-world travel, in which, naturally, Soviet citizens did not participate. Perhaps that is why in those rare cases when the ship made domestic flights across the Black Sea, sometimes a whole group of the captain's friends gathered there. Thus, one of the photographs depicts Anatoly Garagulya, Konstantin Vanshenkin, Bulat Okudzhava and Vasily Aksenov. Researchers of Vladimir Vysotsky's work know the photographs in which he and Marina Vlady were taken on the captain's bridge of "Georgia". And if you look into the captain's personal library, you can see a lot of books with autographs of the writers who traveled to the “Georgia”.

Marina Vladi, Anatoly Garagulya and Vladimir Vysotsky

In 1970, Anatoly Garagulya starred in the film "The Crown of the Russian Empire, or the Elusive Again" as the captain of the ship "Gloria".

still from the film "The Crown of the Russian Empire, or Elusive Again"

But apart from cruises, "Georgia" made other flights as well. So, during the Caribbean conflict, the ship transported Soviet soldiers to the island of Cuba, and Captain Garagulya met there with Fidel Castro's brother, Raul, who was a minister in the Cuban government. There were several such meetings, both in Cuba and here in Odessa, when the well-known politician was received at the house of Anatoly Garaguli.

As you can see, even these few examples speak of the amazing charm and boundless spiritual breadth of Anatoly Garaguli. Well, his professional qualities are marked by numerous government and departmental awards, which he continued to receive, even when he was retired.

While still in school, he met his future wife Valeria Nikolaevna Smelovskaya. First, she waited for him throughout the war, and then 35 years - to return to the shore. Today, the name of Garagulya is borne by his two sons, Boris and Sergei, who live in Odessa. The family photo presented here shows the entire family of Captain Garaguli in the early 1960s.

Lilia Melnichenko, leading scientific
employee of the Odessa Literary Museum

A. Garagulya with his son Sergei and V. Vysotsky on the m / v "Georgia". Odessa, 1967
Vladimir Vysotsky dedicated the song "Man Overboard" to Anatoly Garagulya.

Legends and myths still circulate about the death of the Black Sea Fleet ships. They say that there is little truth in them, but it is still there.

"Jean Jaures" threatens Feodosia?

Among the residents of Feodosia, a legend about the transport “Jean Jaures” is popular: “During the Second World War, a ship with a huge amount of explosives on board sank off the coast of Feodosia Bay. Since then, the steamer has been lying on a sandy bottom, just a few tens of meters from the paratroopers' embankment. Lies and looks with a hole-eye at the eating, drinking, walking townspeople. And when the list of sins of the 2500-year-old city is overflowing, "Jean Jaures" will fly into the air. The famous Halifax catastrophe will repeat itself, when during the First World War an exploded ammunition transport, in fact, destroyed a large Canadian city. " It is clear that there is little truth in this legend. And now - how it really was ...

In fact, the vessel 112 meters long sank on January 17, 1942 and is located at the bottom of the Feodosiya Bay, eight hundred meters from the city embankment. The ship itself was built at the end of 1931 and named after the head of the French Socialist Party, Jean Jaures. In 1942 the ship provided for the Kerch-Feodosiya landing operation. On the night of January 15-16, 7 artillery pieces, 6 fuel tanks, 4 trucks and several special vehicles were unloaded from the Jean Jaurès.

They did not have time to complete the unloading. As dawn approached, the ship, fearing a threat from the air, went out to sea. With the onset of darkness, it lay on the opposite course. The storm, as well as the lack of navigation lights on the shore, caused by the needs of blackout, made it difficult to maneuver. "Jean Jaures" was blown up by a mine, possibly a Soviet one. The crew competently fought for the survivability of the vessel, and for two hours it remained afloat. Then the command, so as not to risk the lives of people, gave the order to leave the "Jean", and he soon sank. In the post-war period, the ship was examined by divers. Artillery pieces and rifle cartridges were found on board the ship. As for the shells, they are reported: "No ammunition found." This, of course, does not necessarily mean that he is not on board. According to experts, it was the suspicion of the presence of hazardous cargo on the sunken transport that became the reason for the final decision taken in the 1970s to refuse to lift it.

Chemical "Georgia"

"Jean Jaures" is far from the only ship that sank off the coast of Crimea with a significant amount of ammunition on board. And these ammunition is by no means always ordinary ...

The history of the motor ship "Georgia" is full of dark mysteries. The ship was built in 1928 in Germany, at the Krupa shipyard, in the city of Kiel. June 11, 1942 at 21.45 "Georgia" accompanied by the base minesweeper "Shield" and 5 patrol boats left Novorossiysk for Sevastopol. According to official data, there were 708 marching reinforcements and 526 tons of ammunition on board, and according to unofficial data, 4000 people and 1300 tons of ammunition.

On the evening of June 12, while the convoy was 45 miles south of Cape Aya, the convoy was attacked by German aircraft. From 20.30 to 21.35 about 150 bombs and 8 torpedoes were dropped on it. There were no direct hits, but two bombs exploded 8-10 meters from the stern of the "Georgia", and the third exploded 50 meters from the left side. Nevertheless, the minesweepers towed the ship to Sevastopol, where, on the way to the Mine Pier at 4.48 am on June 13, it was again attacked by 5 aircraft. One of the bombs hit the aft hold with ammunition. At 4.55 am there was a detonation. The force of the explosion tore the hull in half. The stern part of the hull quickly sank with a roll to starboard, and after 8 minutes the bow also sank to the bottom. Almost everyone on board was killed. Only a few shell-shocked people were able to pick up in the water sailors of rescue boats ...

A thorough diving study of the sunken transport was carried out after the liberation of Sevastopol from the Germans in 1945. The work was carried out by the 21st emergency rescue squad of the Black Sea Fleet - 21 ASO Black Sea Fleet under the command of Captain 1st Rank N.T. Rybalko. The calculations were made by Major Engineer K.A.Tsybin. The aft part was raised first. She was towed to the Cossack Bay and flooded there in a shallow place. The bow was lifted in February - November 1949. It was also flooded in Kazachya Bay at a depth of about 21 m. The story, however, did not end there ...

The fact is that near the bay there was an airfield Chersonesos, which then served as a government one. The dangerous proximity to the flooded transport, from which the ammunition was not completely unloaded, did not suit the security service. A categorical order was received to investigate and lift the wreckage of the "Georgia". The divers went down and made a survey report. The act noted the presence of shells in the holds of the ship.

In the period from 18 to 20 December 1956, parts of the "Georgia" corps were again examined by divers. The surprise was the presence of artillery shells with toxic substances such as mustard gas and lewisite and chemical aerial bombs of various calibers. The work itself on the rise of "Georgia" began only in 1959. The motor ship was taken away from the government airfield and was flooded there.

It seems that in June 1942 the Soviet command intended to use chemicals against the Germans who attacked Sevastopol, and only the success of the Luftwaffe pilots who sent the transport to the bottom prevented such a turn of events.

"Makarov", aka "Schmidt"

It is possible that the dark secret of the icebreaker "S. Makarov ". This is an English-built vessel, originally named "Prince Pozharsky". It arrived from Great Britain to Arkhangelsk in February 1917. In May 1920, the icebreaker received a new name, which mystically predetermined its fate - "Lieutenant Schmidt" and was converted into an auxiliary cruiser. Then "Schmidt" was disarmed, returned to its original status, renamed in honor of the great naval commander, and in 1926 was transferred to Mariupol, a port on the Sea of ​​Azov.

The icebreaker was last seen on November 17, 1941 in Tuapse. From there he was supposed to go to Sevastopol, where fierce battles were already going on, but did not arrive at the port of destination. Four days later, the then commander of the Black Sea Fleet Philip Sergeevich Oktyabrsky (Ivanov) wrote in his diary: “But there is no information about the icebreaker“ S. Makarov "..." The search began, which ended in vain on November 26. The icebreaker disappeared without a trace. One of the versions put forward during the investigation of the incident was the betrayal of a part of the team who wished to go over to the side of the enemy. Allegedly, in accordance with the traditions of pirate novels, Captain Chertkov was killed and thrown overboard. The ship with a crew of rioters sailed, according to a number of witnesses, under a German flag on the route Constanta - Odessa.

There was, however, another version. It was formulated by the famous German naval historian Y. Meister in his book "Soviet Ships in World War II", published in London in 1977. According to the author, "Makarov" with a mutinous crew on board tried to go over to the enemy's side, but could not. Alerted Soviet military aircraft destroyed the ship and all who were on it in January 1942 near Cape Tarkhankut, off the western coast of the Crimean peninsula.

And in 2005, his own version of solving the mystery of the icebreaker "S. Makarov ”was suggested by the famous Russian military historian Alexander Shirokorad. He claims the following: in fact, the Makarov on November 17 did not leave Tuapse for Sevastopol, but vice versa. However, before leaving, for the sake of secrecy, for the period of transition, he was given a different name - "Kerch". This was most likely due to the fact that the ship was carrying a secret cargo, presumably chemical ammunition. Only the initiates knew about the renaming. In violation of the order - for merchant ships to pass through the fairway only during the day - the icebreaker was sailing at night. And at the beginning of the war, fearing a breakthrough by the Italian fleet, Soviet admirals literally stuffed the Black Sea with minefields. An explosion thundered not far from Cape Fiolent. The radio operators of the Sevastopol Protection of the Water Region (OVR) received a radiogram: “Icebreaker“ Kerch ”. Was blown up by a mine. I'm drowning. Send the boats out! " Since the command of the OVR was not informed about the renaming, it took the message for the cunning of the Germans who seized the Soviet ciphers. No boats, of course, were sent anywhere. The vessel with all the crew and a load of toxic substances went to the bottom, where it remains to this day, in the immediate vicinity of the South Coast resorts. Of course, Shirokorad's version has every right to exist. However, this is just a version, and not the ultimate truth. The hypothesis of a riot on board is no less reliable. In the end, you can construct a model for the development of events. For example, the games with renaming the ship can be explained not by the desire to hide the poisonous cargo, but by the attempt of the Soviet special services to hide the fact of the mutiny. In addition, it is unlikely that the commander of the fleet, Oktyabrsky, did not know about the renaming of the ship, because his diary was not intended for publication, and the admiral did not need to lie.

"Memory of Mercury" has a bad fate

Another riot allegedly took place on board the cruiser Comintern. The vessel has a very turbulent history. In 1905 it became part of the Black Sea Fleet as a cruiser called "Memory of Mercury". By the way, according to a long-standing tradition, there should always be a ship with that name on the Black Sea, and the death of the ship of the same name in winter 2001, which belonged to one of the Simferopol firms, is symptomatic. (Then, as a result of a disaster that occurred off the southern coast of Crimea, 20 people were killed. The ship, performing the Istanbul-Yevpatoria flight, carrying 52 people and several hundred tons of cargo, sank in neutral waters 150 km from Sevastopol.)

However, on March 25, 1907 "Memory ..." became "Cahul". In 1913 - 1914. she underwent a major overhaul, participated in the First World War, and on December 16, 1917, she went over to the side of the Soviet regime, then passed from hand to hand: the Germans, the Entente, the Whites - and fell into complete disrepair. Soviet power restored "Cahul" for a long time, about three years (1921 - 1923). In the midst of the work (1922), the decision to rename the ship to "Comintern" broke out. She entered service as a training cruiser. With the outbreak of hostilities in 1941, the Comintern was reorganized into a minelayer. Its crew consisted of 490 people.

About the participation of "Comintern" in Velikaya Patriotic War reference books say evasively: "the defense of Odessa and Sevastopol, carried out military transport." Of course, you will not find a word about the riot on the ship there. However, rumor of this event is persistent. He passes from one generation of sailors and seascape writers to the next. A few years ago, one of the journalists writing about the fleet approached the author of these lines with a request to consult with law enforcement officials about finding materials about the incident in the archives of the SBU headquarters in Simferopol. Law enforcement officers said that, of course, the mutiny almost 60 years ago is no longer part of the category of our X-files. However, in order to find the right folder, you need to know either the name of the accused or the investigator who conducted the criminal case. Of course, a rebellion in the navy in a belligerent country could never have had a "press." Therefore, the names and surnames of the newly-minted "Lieutenants Schmidts" remained unknown to the general public. Of course, the “knights of the cloak and dagger”, who struck the “hydra of counterrevolution” on a ship with such a glorious name, were not advertised either. So it remains to this day "the second battleship Potemkin" one of the many secrets of the Black Sea Fleet.

Fragments from the new book "Vladimir Vysotsky without myths and legends"

Victor BAKIN, Daugavpils (Latvia)

On the set of "Dangerous Tours" in Odessa, Vysotsky was with Marina. She liked the city very much. Its beautiful and famous stairs, Opera theatre, port ...

The motor ship "Georgia" was in the port. At the gangway, the captain, Anatoly Garagulya, greeted them with a charming kind smile. Former military pilot became one of the best captains of the Black Sea shipping company... Recently Vysotsky was introduced to him by L. Kocharian. Possessing an extraordinary sense of humor, the Ukrainian A. Garagulya, in order to match the name of the ship, jokingly spoke with a Georgian accent and usually introduced himself:

- Captain of the ship "Georgia" Ga-ra-gulia.

The motor ship "Georgia" was built in 1939 at the Polish shipyard "Swan Hanter" and was named "Sobeski" in honor of the famous commander and king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Y. Sobeski. In 1950, the ship was sold to the USSR, where it was named "Georgia". Cabins and salons are of extraordinary luxury, decorated with carpets, embossing and painting. The cabin in which Vladi and Vysotsky traveled was a real apartment, entirely covered with blue velvet. There are mirrors all around ... And this makes the room seem even more spacious. The magnificent bathtub is decorated with antique polished brass taps. Gourmet food complemented the experience. It was still the old, pre-war "Georgia", later sold for scrap to Italy and replaced in 1975 with a new Finnish-built ship, and Captain A. Garagulya received under his command new ship which had the same name.

At that time, this floating comfortable hotel carried out six-day cruises along the route: Odessa - Yalta - Novorossiysk - Sochi - Batumi - Odessa. At night they go, in the daytime they enter ports ...

This time it was only a tour of the ship. Cruises will become a favorite vacation of Vladimir and Marina. The hospitable and generous captains of "Adjara", "Shota Rustaveli", "Georgia", "Belorussia" will always be glad to see them on board. According to the merchant shipping code, the captain has the right to invite guests free of charge, and he usually arranged a suite for them. On the eve of the voyage, the captain wrote a statement: “The suite is in need of repair. Please withdraw it from sale. " "The captain's guest" - this is how Vysotsky's position in cruise programs will be determined.

At that time in Moscow, and indeed in the Soviet Union, the fact of Vysotsky's acquaintance with Vladi was treated with distrust. Obviously, therefore, their appearance together caused delight and surprise. Lionella Pyryeva recalls: “... when we were filming with Vysotsky in Odessa on“ Dangerous Tours ”, Marina came to him. I drove up on the Volga. Volodya immediately saw her, flew up to her, then followed a long, long kiss, as sometimes happens in films. The residents of Odessa, who surrounded them, were delighted: "Oh, look here, this is Marina Vlady!"

The director of the studio V. Kostromenko recalls: “Once they brought to the studio“ Queen of the Bees ”- a French film for private viewing. They bought very few foreign films at that time - firstly, it was very expensive, and secondly, they showed a lot of things that a Soviet person did not need to see. In general, we began to look for a translator (the film is not dubbed), and then Marina says: "I was filming there, and I will translate." The auditorium was packed to capacity, Marina was sitting in the last row with a microphone, and we almost twisted our necks: on the screen, naked Marina, in the hall - dressed ... "

Marina made many acquaintances and friends in Odessa ...

“Once,” recalls Veronika Khalimonova, “we dined together at a small restaurant called“ glechik ”in Odessa. Volodya with Marina, Zhvanetsky, Kartsev, Ilchenko and me and Oleg. Volodya was calm, and Marina and Zhvanetsky were vigorously discussing how some kind of film could be shot. "

M. Zhvanetsky: “At that time Vysotsky had an idea to make a Russian-French program“ Moscow - Paris ”. “Misha, I sing and speak Russian, Marina in French. We are both on stage, conducting a concert. The Moscow Music Hall often plays in Moscow - what could be better? " Great idea!"

The "idea" was on the verge of implementation. A letter from M. Zhvanetsky to Vysotsky has survived.

Page 4 of 7

In the same year, the ambulance transport was disbanded and returned to the civilian department. During the war years "Lviv" performed 35 evacuations and delivered 12,431 people to the rear. The ship sounded "combat alert" signals 325 times and it evaded attacks from more than 900 enemy aircraft. More than 700 bombs exploded near its side, and more than 300 holes were counted in the hull. 26 torpedoes were fired on the transport, he sank twice. Seventeen crew members were killed and forty-five were injured. After renovation 1946-1947. the ship was again put on the Odessa-Batumi line. In 1950 it was repaired again and in 1952 the ship was transferred to the Odessa-Zhdanov-Sochi line.

Into your last flight"Lvov" left Odessa on October 11, 1964 and passed through all the ports of the Black Sea region, where its routes ran during the war years. Then the ship was handed over to the youngest sailors - the children's flotilla. At first the ship was anchored in Odessa, and then it was transferred to Kherson, where young sailors came to it for more than two decades. The corridors and cabins of the ship were filled with future sailors, mechanics, radio operators, captains. Many of those who sailed the seas and oceans of the planet or worked on the most powerful shipyards countries, began their life on the decks of the ship "Lviv". The Spanish "internationalist" liner honestly served their second homeland and is worthy of the grateful memory of descendants.

Two former Polish liners became an unexpected addition to the Black Sea passenger fleet after the war. In 1949, a steam turbine ship "Jagiello" arrived from Poland, which was built in Germany in 1939 for Turkey under the name "Dogu", then requisitioned by Germany itself. The vessel received a new name - "Duala". The British who captured the ship after the war gave it the name "Empire Ock". The ship took part in military transport until 1946, when it was transferred The Soviet Union on reparations, who temporarily assigned the steam turbine ship to Poland, where he was given the name "Jagiello".

In 1949, the liner was returned to the USSR and received the name "Peter the Great". The vessel had a total capacity of 6261 brt. The length of the liner hull was 125.1 m, width - 16.1 m, draft - 6.63 m. Two steam turbines with low steam pressure allowed the ship to reach a full speed of 15 knots.

"Peter the Great" took on board 610 passengers, but the ship turned out to be wobbly, with an exhausting pitching, which frightened tourists.

In 1974, the liner was sold for scrap metal to Spain and was towed to the port of Castellon for disassembly.

Another liner that arrived to the Black Sea from Poland was the Sobieski motor ship. The vessel was built in 1939 at the shipyard in Newcastle (UK). The total capacity of the liner was 11,030 gr. The hull length - 155.9 m, width - 20.5 m, draft - 7.72 m. Two eight-cylinder Kinkade diesel engines operated on two propellers and provided a full speed of 16 knots. The ship could take on board 850 passengers. The liner at one time was specially built to operate on the line Gdynia (Gdansk) - New York. During the war, "Sobieski", as a military transport, took part in landing operations near Narvik, Madagascar, Sicily, Salerno, North Africa and Normandy. At the end of the war, the ship was returned in 1946 to the Gdynia - New York line.

In 1950, the Poles handed over the ship to the Sovtorgflot (Odessa Black Sea Shipping Company). The motor ship received a new name "Georgia", and started regular flights on the Crimean-Caucasian line in the Black Sea. The ship served without an accident until April 1975, when it was excluded from the Black Sea Shipping Company and sold for scrap to the Italian port of La Spezia.

As clean trophies after the war, the Black Sea Shipping Company for reparations was transferred from Romania, an ally of Germany, some more ships. The first real replenishment of the passenger fleet on the Black Sea was a snow-white handsome liner named "Ukraine". Before the war, this ship belonged to royal Romania and even then semi-officially had the nickname "White Swan of the Black Sea". Liners "Bessarabia" and "Transylvania" were designed in Denmark by the Romanian order in 1934. June 26, 1938. the Transylvania entered the ranks. Three months later, the construction of "Bessarabia" was completed. It was envisaged that both ships will be used on the line Constanta - Istanbul - Piraeus - Alexandria - Jaffa - Haifa - Beirut - Alexandria - Piraeus - Istanbul - Constanta. But the beginning of World War II canceled these plans. Until April 1940, the liners transported Polish Jewish refugees from Constanta to Beirut. Twice during the war, both liners almost became targets of Soviet submarines, which entered positions on the Bosphorus. The Romanian government was forced to delay the return of the ships to their homeland and leave them in the roadstead of Istanbul, until the end of hostilities. Well, then the paths of the ships diverged: "Transylvania" was left to Romania, and "Bessarabia" was transferred to the USSR. Romanian "Transylvania" until the beginning of the 70s carried out Passenger Transportation in Black, Aegean and Adriatic seas, off the coast of North Africa. Sometimes she came to Odessa and a ship from a distance could be mistaken for the t / d "Ukraine"

Vysotsky - third from right, Marina Vlady and sailors of Soviet cruise ships in front of the motor ship "Georgia"

Today about the white steamer.
A rare person will not smile dreamily, seeing on the horizon a swift silhouette of a large passenger ship gliding in an ultramarine. There is a delicious and carefree life, there is a fresh wind of wanderings and pleasant acquaintances, everything is good there by definition. A universal symbol of hope for a better future. This is how the hero of today's story remained for thousands of people, who at different times caught their gaze on the horizon from his deck.

The vessel, which is below there will be a speech, moved not only in space, linking continents, but also left many traces in history, witnessing many significant events in the "roaring" 1940s. Like any interesting hero, our character has two lives: one is a mature Soviet Black Sea, the other, like many of our post-war cruise ships, is a foreign military ocean youth. Polish-Danish parents, breaking a traditional bottle of champagne on the side of a built ship, could not even imagine what trials their brainchild, solemnly named MS Sobieski, would have to go through.

SECOND LIFE

Motor ship "Georgia". Stills from the film "Crown of the Russian Empire" (1971)

Let's start with the ending. In 1971, a sequel to the super-blockbuster of Soviet children "The Elusive Avengers" called "Crown of the Russian Empire" was released on the screens of the country. The denouement of the famously twisted plot of the film took place on board the snow-white liner "Gloria" in the Black Sea. His role was played by the Soviet cruise ship "Georgia". In the 1950s-70s, the liner performed regular flights on the Crimean-Caucasian line in the Black Sea.
Vladimir Vysotsky was also among his passengers. He loved very much sea ​​cruises, annually sailed on the motor ships "Adjara", "Shota Rustaveli" and "Georgia", which ply the Odessa-Batumi route with a call to Sukhumi.

A romantic idyll on board

YOUTH

The motor ship that became "Georgia" came to the Black Sea from Poland in 1950, where it bore the name of the Polish "our everything" Jan III Sobieski, the medieval ruler of Poland, under whom the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth experienced its renaissance. Sobieski was built before the war in June 1939 by the British shipyard Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson in the Newcastle suburb of Walsend. The total capacity of the liner was 11,030 gr. Hull length - 155.9 m, width - 20.5 m, draft - 7.72 m. The vessel could take on board 850 passengers.

The vessel was ordered by the Polish-Danish shipping company Gdynia-Ameryka Linie Żeglugowe SA and was intended for the then most profitable voyages to New World... Airplanes did not yet fly across the ocean and it was possible to get to America and back only on ships of special construction of various shipping companies.
Polish ships went to transatlantic lines in 1930 and their appearance was accompanied by the following texts in the local press:

"The creation of a transatlantic link has an extremely essential... On the one hand, our young shipping company demonstrates the flag on the leading routes of the world, on the other hand, this is the first step towards a break with indifference to the domination of foreign shipping companies, primarily German ones. One of the largest contingents of European immigrants is sent overseas from Poland. Until now, a very impressive proceeds from transportation went entirely into foreign pockets. Considering that more than 60,000 immigrants left Poland last year, foreign companies earned about $ 6 million from this. And this is only a fee for transporting emigrants, excluding those who arrived back. "

The first voyage of MS Sobieski took place on June 15, 1939 from Gdynia to Brazil and Argentina. This trend was popular with emigrants from Europe during the interwar period. In their memories, they note the comfort and sophistication of the ship's interior and the presence of a kosher kitchen. But all this did not last long.

WAR
After the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, the ship escaped German captivity and ended up with the British, where she was mobilized for military service. As a military transport, Sobieski took part in many significant events of the war at sea, the mention of which warms the soul of a lover of maritime history.

NORWAY 1940


Soldiers of the 1st / 6th Battalion, Regiment of the Duke of Wellington (West Riding), 147th Brigade, 61st Division talk to officers of the Polish steamer MS Sobieski en route to Norway, April 20, 1940.

They also play on deck on board the MS Sobieski

May-June 1940 evacuates Allied forces from Narvik (Norway) during Operation Alphabet.

FRANCE 1940
At the end of July 1940, the Allied forces were evacuated from Western France (Operation Aerial).

Polish interned soldiers from a camp near Toulouse, who are evacuated, including aboard MS Sobieski, during one of the flights to Britain from Western France. June 1940 A total of 25,000 Poles were saved

General de Gaulle with Churchill's representative, General Spears, en route to Dakar in September 1940.

WEST AFRICA 1940
Already in September 1940, the ship participates in the Battle of Dakar (Operation Menace) - an unsuccessful attempt by the Allies to recapture the strategically important port of Dakar in the Atlantic in French West Africa (now Senegal) from the Vichy. The operation was attended by 8,000 paratroopers. A negative result on land, the failure of the battleship HMS Resolution, lowered de Gaulle's authority in the eyes of the British for a long time.

MS Sobieski, Atlantic Ocean, Sierra Leone, Freetown - the base of the British fleet in West Africa. 1940.

VALUABLE CARGO 1940

Further in the same July 1940, as part of the convoy, he transports about a thousand German and Italians prisoners, as well as part of Polish valuables to Canada. Among the treasures were: Shcherbets - the coronation sword of Polish kings, the Gutenberg Bible, 136 huge tapestries of the 16th century, from the time of King Sigismund from the collection of Wawel Castle in Krakow, 36 Chopin manuscripts, as well as gold bars worth several hundred million dollars from the Bank of England. In this regard, the presence of prisoners on board, as it were, indicates a "human shield", do I understand correctly?
MS Sobieski is part of the imposing Royal Navy convoy at the head of the battleship HMS Revenge under the command of Admiral Sir Ernest Russell Archer, who will later become a senior naval officer in Northern Russia (from 1943), and then lead the Joint Services Mission in Moscow (from 1944 ).
On the ship's arrival at Halifax on July 13, 1940, the valuables went to Ottawa.
Immediately after that, as part of the MS Sobieski convoy, he returns to Britain and brings 8,077 Canadian troops.

A drawing of a soldier from the 18th Division on his way to Sobieski to Halifax at the end of October 1941.

1941
On October 30, the ship is sailing from the British naval base in Scotland to Halifax as part of the CT.5 convoy. On board were British troops, which were then to sail from Halifax to Africa as part of the first American convoy WS-12x. The convoy arrived in Cape Town on December 8, 1941. Two days later, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States.

SINGAPORE 1942


Released from the infamous Japanese camp of Changi, Allied troops arrived at the port on hospital ships. 1945

In February, the battle for Singapore with the Japanese begins. Sobieski is mentioned in connection with the transportation of the British 18th Infantry Division to the theater of operations, which, having arrived a few weeks before the final, managed to fight for only a short time, after which it was captured by the Japanese.
Sobieski will return for them at the end of the war and take them home from Britain's infamous Changi camp. Following on board the liner home, Briton James Bradley writes the book Towards the Setting Sun: An Escape from the Thailand-Burma Railway, 1943 about his escape from the terrible Japanese captivity in the jungle. There, more than 100,000 Allied prisoners died on the construction of the railway.

Landing in Madagascar. Operation Ironclad. In the background - transports.

MADAGASCAR 1942
In 1942, the ship participates in Operation Ironclad, later called by Churchill "the only episode that became an example of good and skillful leadership of the war." From May 5 to November 6, 1942, about 15 thousand Allied soldiers from Britain, the Union of South Africa, India, Australia, Tanganyika, Southern and Northern Rhodesia, as well as from the Dutch Volunteer Corps landed in Madagascar with the support of a large naval unit.

British naval squadron at Diego Suarez, Madagascar after the surrender of the French. 1942 MS Sobieski - one of the transports of the squadron

Their goal was to prevent the capture of the island by Japan. Here, for the first time, revolutionary for that time means and methods of amphibious assault landing on an unequipped coast were used (landing of armored vehicles, support of the landing by aircraft carriers, etc.). In the future, the experience of this operation was somehow used in the development of all subsequent Allied amphibious assault forces, including for the landing in Normandy in 1944. It is worth noting that de Gaulle's forces were not used after the failure in Dakar. The British chose to do without them this time.
I wonder if you count the ships lost during WW2 by France, who sank them the most? I wouldn't be surprised if the English :)

The signing of the surrender by the Vichy French aboard the British HMS Ramillies. Captain Howson, Chief of Staff to Rear Admiral Syfret with Colonel Claerbout, the Officer Commanding Diego Suarez

The allies were opposed by the forces of Vichy France, represented mainly by the colonial forces. Interestingly, 15 thousand tons of fuel for the operation was delivered from Port Said to ports South Africa two Soviet tankers - Sakhalin and Tuapse. They were "on the way" to help the allies during the round-the-world voyage of a group of Soviet ships led by the icebreaker "Mikoyan".
As for the Sobieski transport itself, after the surrender of the island's garrisons, the British diligently swept the coastal waters and was the first to let Sobieski into the mine-cleared area of ​​the port, and only then the main landing forces entered there. In Poland, they are very proud of this fact. Skeptics smile knowingly, suspecting the British of practicality.
Further, for some reason, the description of the active life of the ship ends and the ship flickers only in the lists of various Allied convoys.

1943
In 1943, Sobieski appears on the list of the WS 28 allied convoy on the African Freetown-Cape Town-Aden route.

1944
In 1944, the name of the ship is found in the convoy that left Southampton for France on 12/25/1944. The 201st General Hospital was on board Sobieski. The date can be associated with the beginning of the German counter-offensive in the Ardennes on December 16, 1944.

AFTER THE WAR 1946-1950
At the end of the world massacre, MS Sobieski flies under the Polish flag on the route Genoa-New York and Naples-Halifax. But the old days are irrevocably gone - the era of flights across the ocean began passenger aviation... In February 1950 Sobieski made its last 29th voyage to the North Atlantic. Then it was sold to the USSR.

Safety drills aboard MS Sobieski during a voyage with Armenian repatriates

A postcard from the ship, sent by one of the repatriates from Gibraltar

During this time, the ship "emerges" in an interesting episode. In 1947, a group of American Armenians decided to return to Armenia. 162 people sailed on Sobieski in January 1949 from the United States to Italy, where in Naples they were transferred to a Romanian ship sailing to Batumi. The settlers noted in their memoirs that they were disappointed when the rich interiors of the Polish liner were replaced by the harsh compartments of the Romanian transport - "a squat, ugly-looking cargo ship with no special rooms for passengers."

So, in general, somehow the happy fate of the Polish pre-war ship from the American lines, which witnessed the well-known military operations of the Allies at sea, carried the lucky ones on Soviet Black Sea cruises for 20 years and left on his last voyage for cutting in the late 1970s. ...

Polish video, in which footage from the film "Crown of the Russian Empire" is disguised as a chronicle of the alleged arrival of MS Sobieski in America! This is how fake stories are born :)

The fate of the troika passenger ships German shipping company "Seedienst Ostpreussen": "Tannenberg", "Hansestadt Danzig" and "Preussen" in a whirlwind historical events 1930-40s