MS ''Chrobry'' was a transatlantic passenger liner, and was the last pre-war new build for the Polish Merchant Navy. 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. The name of the King means "Braveheart".

Maiden Voyage & Exile

On its maiden voyage from

Gdynia Gdynia is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With an estimated population of 257,000, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in the Pomeranian Voivodeship after Gdańsk ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, 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 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 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, when

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

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 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 () is the third-largest List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Narvik (town), town of Narvik. Some of the notable villag ...

. On 14 May 1940 she sailed from Tjeldsundet 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, 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 Harstad may refer to: Places *Harstad (town) Harstad (; ) is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Harstad Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is also the administrative centre of Harstad Municipality. The city has a populati ...

. 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