''Król Dawid'' (Polish, '

King David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

') was a

galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships first used as armed cargo carriers by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries during the age of sail and were the principal vessels drafted for use as warships until the Anglo-Dutch War ...

of the Polish Navy that fought in the

Battle of Oliwa The Battle of Oliwa, also known as the Battle of Oliva or the Battle of Gdańsk Roadstead, was a naval battle that took place on 28 November, 1627, slightly north of the port of Danzig off of the coast of the village of Oliva during the Polis ...

. She was launched as ''König David'' 1623 in Danzig (Gdańsk) and initially served as a merchant ship. During the Polish wars with Sweden, it was drafted into the Polish navy along with '' Wodnik'' and ''

Arka Noego ''Arka Noego'' was a war pinnace in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Navy that played an important role in two naval battles of the Polish–Swedish War (1626–29). Small, fast and lightly armed when compared to the impressive man-of-war ...

''. They fought in the Battle of Hel on May 17, 1627. After a short artillery duel the skirmish was over. The following day the escadrille met a convoy of 24 Swedish vessels off the coast of Biała Góra, near

Łeba Łeba (pronounced: , Kashubian, Pomeranian and German: ''Leba'') is a seaside town in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of northern Poland. It is located in the Pomerelia sub-region, near Łebsko Lake and the mouth of the river Łeba on the coast of th ...

. After a short artillery barrage, the Polish ships managed to evade the enemy and headed for Kolberg (Kołobrzeg). Several days afterwards the escadre managed to break through the Swedish blockade and returned to Wisłoujście, one of two main bases of the Polish Navy.Georg Wislicenus, Willy Stöwer: ''Deutschlands Seemacht nebst einem Überblick über die Geschichte der Seefahrt aller Völker.'' p. 44, 2007, Under the command of a Scottish captain and shipbuilder Jakub Murray, the ship took part in the victorious

battle of Oliwa The Battle of Oliwa, also known as the Battle of Oliva or the Battle of Gdańsk Roadstead, was a naval battle that took place on 28 November, 1627, slightly north of the port of Danzig off of the coast of the village of Oliva during the Polis ...

of November 28, 1627. However, the ship played only a minor role and failed to support '' Wodnik'' in her attack on Swedish galleon '' Solen'' yet received some damage. After the battle the command was given to Gregor Fentross, who also became the admiral of the Polish fleet. Thus ''König David'' became the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

of the entire Polish Navy. However, during the Swedish assault on Wisłoujście of July 6, 1628, admiral Fentross was killed and the ship received some damage due to artillery fire. All Polish ships were withdrawn up the

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

river. In January 1629, the ship was rented by king

Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa ( pl, Zygmunt III Waza, lt, Žygimantas Vaza; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland from 1592 to ...

to the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

-led Catholic League and served during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

. Stationed in

Wismar Wismar (; Low German: ''Wismer''), officially the Hanseatic City of Wismar (''Hansestadt Wismar'') is, with around 43,000 inhabitants, the sixth-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and the fourth-largest city ...

, the ship fought against

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

and

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

fleets at the Baltic Sea and the Northern Sea. In November 1630, however, chased by a Swedish pursuit escadre, ''König David'' was forced to seek refuge in

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 stat ...

and was then interned by the locals. Further fate of the ship remains unknown.

References

Tall ships of Poland Ships built in Gdańsk 1620s ships {{mil-ship-stub