ORP ''Gryf'' was a

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes comp ...

and

hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones. I ...

of the Polish Navy, a second vessel to bear that name. She was built in German-occupied

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

as a cargo ship in 1944, shortly before the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and initially named ''Irene Oldendorff''. Soon after the capitulation of Germany, she was taken by the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, passed to the

Ministry of War Transport The Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) was a department of the British Government formed early in the Second World War to control transportation policy and resources. It was formed by merging the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Transport ...

(MoWT) and renamed ''Empire Contees'', but in 1946 it was given to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

as part of that country's

war reparations War reparations are compensation payments made after a war by one side to the other. They are intended to cover damage or injury inflicted during a war. History Making one party pay a war indemnity is a common practice with a long history. ...

from Germany. Renamed ''Omsk'' (''Омск''), she served in the Soviet merchant fleet until 1947 when she was sold to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. In 1950, she was acquired by the Polish Navy and rebuilt as a school and hospital ship. Initially named ORP ''Zetempowiec'' (after the Union of Polish Youth), in 1957 she was renamed ''Gryf'' after the notable WWII minelayer. In 1976 she was decommissioned and sold to the

Port of Gdynia Port of Gdynia – the Poland, Polish seaport located on the western coast of Gdańsk Bay Baltic sea in Gdynia. Founded in 1926. In 2008 it was #2 in containers on the Baltic sea. The port adjoins Gdynia Naval Base with which it shares waterways ...

, where she served as a heating

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...

. Her role of a school ship was taken by a new .

Description

The ship was built in 1944 by

Burmeister & Wain Burmeister & Wain was a large established Danish shipyard and leading diesel engine producer headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded by two Danes and an Englishman, its earliest roots stretch back to 1846. Over its 150-year history, it ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. As built, the ship was long, with a beam of and a depth of . She was 1,923 DWT, . The ship was propelled by a

compound steam engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up he ...

which had two cylinders of 16 inches (42 cm) and two cylinders of 35 inches (90 cm) diameter by 35 inches (90 cm) stroke. The engine was built by Burmeister & Wain. It could propel her at a maximum speed of .

History

''Irene Oldendorff'' was built for E Oldendorff,

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the state ...

. On 14 September 1944, she was reported to be in a damaged condition at Copenhagen. The ship had been sunk by

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...

. Although repaired, she was again reported as damaged in March 1945. She was seized in May 1945 at Lübeck, passed to the MoWT and renamed ''Empire Contees''. She was placed under the management of the Constantine Steamship Co Ltd. In 1946, ''Empire Contees'' was transferred to the

and was renamed ''Omsk''. On 13 April 1947, she was sold to Zegluga Polska SA,

and was renamed ''Opole''. On 24 November 1950, ''Opole'' was transferred to the Polish Navy. She was rebuilt as a

training ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house class ...

and

at a cost of zł100,000,000. The conversion was undertaken at the

Stocznia Gdynia Stocznia Gdynia is a shipyard, located in the Port of Gdynia, Poland. It was founded in 1922. Since 2009—in liquidation—it does not conduct production activities. In 1970, workers of Gdynia Shipyard rose up against the ruling Polis ...

and was completed in 152 days. ''Opole'' was renamed ORP ''Zetempowiec'' and commissioned into the Polish Navy on 10 July 1951. Following conversion, ''Zetempowiec'' had a displacement of 4,220 tons. Armament was two 85mm AA guns and four 37mm AA guns. In 1957, ''Zetempowiec'' was renamed ''Gryf''. She remained as a training ship. Photographs show that ''Gryf'' used the code letters STAY. ''Gryf'' won the title of the best ship in the Polish Navy in 1970 and again in 1971. ''Gryf'' was decommissioned in 1976, and was thereafter used as an accommodation hulk.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gryf 1944 ships Ships built in Copenhagen Steamships of Germany World War II merchant ships of Germany Steamships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Steamships of the Soviet Union Merchant ships of the Soviet Union Steamships of Poland Merchant ships of Poland Naval ships of Poland Hospital ships Poland–Soviet Union relations Maritime incidents in September 1944 Captured ships