''Vityaz'' (russian: Витязь) is a research vessel that was built in 1939 by Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG,

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

, Germany as ''Mars'' for Neptun Line,

. She served with the

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

during World War II and was seized by the United Kingdom in 1945. She was renamed ''Empire Forth'' for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT). She was allocated to the Soviet Union in 1946 under the terms of the

Potsdam Agreement The Potsdam Agreement (german: Potsdamer Abkommen) was the agreement between three of the Allies of World War II: the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union on 1 August 1945. A product of the Potsdam Conference, it concerned th ...

and renamed ''Equator'' (russian: Экватор) and later renamed ''Admiral Makarov'' (russian: Адмирал Мака́ров). She was renamed ''Vityaz'' in 1949 and was used as a research vessel. Retired in 1979, she was preserved as a museum ship in 1982. __FORCETOC__

Description

When recorded in 1945, the ship was long, with a beam of . She had a depth of and a draught of . She was assessed at , . The ship was propelled by two two-stroke Single Cycle, Single Action diesel engines, which have seven cylinders of 24 inches (62 cm) diameter by 45 inches (115 cm) stroke driving twin screw

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

s. The engines were built by Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft, Kiel. They are rated at 3,000 hp. They could propel her at .

History

The ship was built as yard number 614 in 1939 by Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG,

, Germany as ''Mars'' for Neptun Line, Bremen. She was launched in August 1939. Her port of registry was

. ''Mars'' was operated by the Neptun Line. She had a crew of 38 and accommodation for twelve passengers. She was requisitioned in 1940 by the

, but was returned to Neptun Line later that year. She was requisitioned again in 1942. and converted to a hospital ship for military use. On 13 December 1943, ''Mars'' was severely damaged in an air raid on

by the

United States Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces ...

. She assisted in the evacuation of German citizens from Königsberg and Pillau. Between January and April 1945, she carried 20,000 people. ''Mars'' was probably the last major ship to leave Pillau for Copenhagen.
Midt i en mørketid : tyske flygtninge på Kløvermarken 1945-49
', Ulf Kyneb, in ''Historiske meddelelser om København'', 2006 (''in Danish'') In May 1945, ''Mars'' was seized at Copenhagen, Denmark. She was passed to the Ministry of War Transport and renamed ''Empire Forth''. The

Code Letters Code letters or ship's call sign (or callsign) Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853"> SHIPSPOTTING.COM >> Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853/ref> were a method of identifying ships before the introduction of modern navigation aids and today also. Later, with the i ...

GLTZ and United Kingdom Official Number 169468 were allocated. Her port of registry was changed to London. She was operated under the management of Prince Line Ltd. In 1946, ''Empire Forth'' was allocated to the Soviet Union under the terms of the

. She was renamed ''Equator'' (russian: Экватор), and taken to Leningrad. The Code Letters UPJA were allocated. She was later renamed ''Admiral Makarov'' (russian: Адмирал Мака́ров). She was converted to a research vessel in 1947-48 for the

Shirshov Institute of Oceanology The Shirshov Institute of Oceanology ( P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology (IO) RAN, russian: Федеральное государственное бюджетное учреждение науки Институт океанологии имен ...

, USSR Academy of Sciences. The work was carried out at Leningrad,

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

and

Vladivostock Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...

in the Soviet Union and also at Wismar, Allied-occupied Germany. During the conversion, the ship was lengthened and equipped with modern laboratories and accommodation. Her measurements were now long, with a beam of and a draught of . Her displacement was 5,710 tonnes. In 1949, she was renamed Vityaz (russian: Витязь). 1959 CPA 2353

''Vityaz'' had Vladivostock as her port of registry. She made 65 voyages covering . In August 1957, She measured the depth of the Mariana Trench at . On 29 May 1958, ''Vityaz'' was west of the Marshall Islands when she detected radioactivity in rainfall at levels that were harmful to human health (see Operation Hardtack I). On 7 November 1960, ''Vityaz'' was reported to have been buzzed in the Arabian Sea by a Grumman S-2F Tracker from . The United States Navy denied that the aircraft was buzzing the ship, but merely establishing her identity. With their introduction in the 1960s, ''Vityaz'' was allocated the IMO Number 5382609. Scientists on board ''Vityaz'' discovered 1,176 new species of marine plants and animals. During her time as a research ship, ''Vityaz'' visited 49 countries and acted as a goodwill ambassador for the Soviet Union. Notable people who visited her include

Jacques Cousteau Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (, also , ; 11 June 191025 June 1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author. He co-invented the first successful Aqua-Lung, open-circuit SCUBA (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus). T ...

and Thor Heyerdal. ''Vityaz'' made her final voyage around Europe and was retired on 22 April 1979. She was then laid up in the Pregol River. In 1982, she was preserved as a

museum ship A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...

at Leningrad. In 1988, she was moved to the Yantar Shipyard, Kaliningrad, where she was repaired and rebuilt for use as a museum ship. In 1994, she was moved to the Museum of World Oceans, Kaliningrad, which was established in 1990. ''Vityaz'' is claimed to be the largest research vessel to have been preserved.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vityaz 1939 ships Ships built in Bremen (state) Cargo liners World War II merchant ships of Germany Auxiliary ships of the Kriegsmarine Hospital ships in World War II Maritime incidents in December 1943 Empire ships Ministry of War Transport ships Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of the Soviet Union Research vessels of the Soviet Union Merchant ships of Russia Museum ships in Russia Museums in Kaliningrad Oblast Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Kaliningrad Oblast