MS ''Chrobry'' was a transatlantic passenger liner, and was the last pre-war new build for the

Polish Merchant Navy The Polish Merchant Navy ( pl, Polska Marynarka Handlowa, ''PMH'') was created in the interwar period when the Second Polish Republic regained independence. During World War II, many ships of the Polish Navy joined the Allied merchant navy and it ...

. She was built for the ''Gdynia-Ameryka Linie Żeglugowe S.A.'' ( Gdynia-America Line – GAL). ''

Purpose

The ship was intended for the Poland–South America route to replace the aging and the . Built in Denmark, it was the second (and larger) of a pair of ships, the other being the MS Sobieski. The MS Chrobry was named in honour of the first Polish king

Bolesław I Chrobry Boleslav or Bolesław may refer to: In people: * Boleslaw (given name) In geography: *Bolesław, Dąbrowa County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland *Bolesław, Olkusz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland *Bolesław, Silesian Voivodeship, Pol ...

. The name of the King means "Braveheart".

Maiden Voyage & Exile

On its maiden voyage from

Gdynia Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in th ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, it carried 1,167 passengers. The ship sailed on the 29 July 1939 and arrived uneventfully in Buenos Aires on the 19 August 1939. Among the Polish personalities on board were Senator Jan Rembielinski, the ambassador Władysław Mazurkiewicz, author Bohdan Pawłowicz, and the young writers

Witold Gombrowicz Witold Marian Gombrowicz (August 4, 1904 – July 24, 1969) was a Polish writer and playwright. His works are characterised by deep psychological analysis, a certain sense of paradox and absurd, anti-nationalist flavor. In 1937 he published his ...

and Czesław Straszewicz, who had been invited along to promote the ship. The ship left Buenos Aires on the 24th of August on the return leg of its maiden passenger voyage and was near

Pernambuco Pernambuco () is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it List of Brazilian states by population, sev ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, when

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 ...

broke out. Initially the ship stayed at the Brazilian port for 40 days with the passengers having disembarked in Brazil rather than return to Poland. Then the essentially stateless ship sailed with her crew of 264. There were 20 women and 14 boy apprentices from a Polish sea school, aged between 16 and 18, among the party. After wandering the Atlantic for three weeks the ship diverted to

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in the UK. As a transatlantic liner she made only one transatlantic voyage, never returning to her home port of Gdynia.

Wartime Service & Fate

During the war the ship was rebuilt in Britain to become a troop transport. The ship was used to transport the West Nova Scotia Regiment from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada to the U.K., embarking on on 21 December 1939, sailing the next day and arriving in Gourock on the river Clyde, Scotland on the 29 Dec 1939. The ship was used during the Norwegian Campaign, in the area around Narvik. On 14 May 1940 she sailed from

Tjeldsundet Tjeldsundet is a strait in Northern Norway. The long strait is located between the island of Hinnøya and mainland Norway in its northern part and between Hinnøya and the island of Tjeldøya in its southern part. Tjeldsundet has been an importa ...

transporting British troops to Bodø.David Brown, Great Britain. Naval Staff, ''Naval operations of the campaign in Norway, April–June 1940'' Just before midnight German dive bombers attacked the ship three times in the middle of the

Vestfjorden Vestfjorden is a long fjord or oceanic sea in Nordland county, Norway. The name literally means "the west fjord", although it is called a fjord, it could best be described as a firth or an open bight of sea. The "fjord" lies between the Lofo ...

, setting the ship on fire, exploding ammunition, and killing several army officers and men. One of the escorts, the destroyer HMS ''Wolverine'', took off 700 survivors from the ship, while the other escort, the sloop HMS ''Stork'', stood on guard and drove off other German aircraft, then took off the remaining survivors. Both escorts, loaded with survivors, sailed for

Harstad ( se, Hárstták) is the second-most populated municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is mostly located on the large island of Hinnøya. The municipal center is the town of Harstad, the most populous town in Central Hålogalan ...

. The abandoned ''Chrobry'' was sunk by aircraft from the aircraft carrier HMS ''Ark Royal'' on 16 May. A considerable amount of equipment went down with the ship.

References

External links

* Photo of MS Chrobry from July 1939, from NAC archive

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chrobry Maritime incidents in May 1940 Passenger ships of Poland Troop ships World War II merchant ships of Poland World War II shipwrecks in the Norwegian Sea 1939 ships Ships sunk by German aircraft Ships of the Gdynia-America Line