MS ''Sobieski'' was a Polish passenger ship launched in 1939. It was constructed for the South American service of the Gdynia-America Line – GAL to replace the aging and . She was named in honour of the Polish king Jan III Sobieski. ''Sobieski'' was to be a sister ship to the .

Maiden Voyage

''Sobieski'' only managed one journey before the war, arriving in Buenos Aires on the 10th of July 1939.

Wartime Service

The ship was used as a troopship in the Allied evacuation of western France in 1940 ( Operation ''Aerial''), where she was one of the last ships to leave St Jean de Luz during the final evacuation of Polish troops from France, and in the Battle of Dakar. During Operation Streamline Jane, the invasion of Madagascar, in May, 1942, ''Sobieski'' was the flag ship. She was also used to transport the British 18th Division to the defence of Singapore.

Post-War

At the end of the war she repatriated the remnants of that division's Cambridgeshire Regiment that had survived captivity at the hands of the Japanese in Malaya and Thailand. She also returned former Changi prisoners of war (

POW A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...

s) from Singapore, sailing via Cape Town and docking at Liverpool during a dockworkers' strike. Disgusted, dismayed ex-POWs had to unload their own baggage, such as it was. Between 1947-1950, ''Sobieski'' sailed on the Genoa – Halifax –

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

route, under the Polish flag. The vessel was sold to Russia in 1950 and renamed ''Gruziya'' and scrapped in Italy in 1975.

Pictures

Men of the 1-6th Duke of Wellington's Regiment chat to naval officers on board the Polish steamer SOBIESKI on their way to Norway, 20 April 1940. N27.jpg, Duke of Wellington's Regiment aboard ''Sobieski'' on route to Norway, 20 April 1940 Gruzja ship 1962.jpg, ''Gruziya'', the former ''Sobieski'', in Helsinki

References

Passenger ships of Poland Ocean liners Cruise ships Ships built on the River Tyne Troop ships World War II merchant ships of Poland 1938 ships Passenger ships of the Soviet Union Ships of Black Sea Shipping Company Ships of the Gdynia-America Line {{Cruise-ship-stub