| Career (Poland) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Chrobry |
| Owner: | Gdynia-America Shipping Lines Ltd |
| Port of registry: | Gdynia |
| Builder: | Nakskov SV |
| Yard number: | 89 |
| Launched: | 24 February 1939 |
| Completed: | July 1939 |
| Commissioned: | 1939 |
| Out of service: | 14 May 1940 |
| Fate: | scuttled in 1940 by British torpedo after being damaged by German aircraft |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 11400 BRT 7100 NRT |
| Length: | 154.2 m (505 ft 11 in) |
| Beam: | 20.3 m (66 ft 7 in) |
| Draft: | 8.3 m (27 ft 3 in) |
| Installed power: | 11250 hp |
| Speed: | 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) |
| Capacity: | 1167 passengers total |
MS Chrobry was a Polish passenger ship built for the Poland - South America Line to replace the aging SS Kościuszko and the SS Pulaski. She was named in honour of the first Polish king Bolesław I Chrobry.
The ship was in the middle of its maiden passenger voyage to South America when World War II broke out. Polish writer Witold Gombrowicz was one of the passengers. During the war the ship was rebuilt in Britain to become a troop transport.
The ship was used as a transport during the Norwegian Campaign, in the area around Narvik. On May 14, 1940 she sailed from Tjeldsundet transporting British troops to Bodø[1]. Just before midnight German dive bombers attacked the ship three times in the middle of Vestfjord, setting the ship on fire, exploding ammunition, and killing several army officers and men[1]. 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[1]. Both escorts, loaded with survivors, sailed for Harstad. The abandoned Chrobry was scuttled by aircraft from the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal on May 16[1]. A considerable amount of equipment went down with the ship[1].
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