SS Kościuszko
This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2020) |
Kościuszko entering the port of Gdynia
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History | |
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Russian Empire (1915–17) United Kingdom (1917–21) | |
Name |
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Namesake |
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Owner |
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Operator |
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Port of registry | |
Ordered | 1914 |
Builder | Barclay, Curle & Co Ltd |
Yard number | 512 |
Launched | 14 February 1915 |
Commissioned | 10 November 1939 |
Decommissioned | 30 June 1941 |
Identification |
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Fate | Scrapped 1950 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Ocean liner |
Tonnage | |
Length | 440.0 ft (134 m) |
Beam | 53.4 ft (16 m) |
Draught | 32 ft (10 m) |
Depth | 29.3 ft (9 m) |
Decks | 2 |
Installed power | 889 NHP |
Propulsion | 2 × 4-cylinder quadruple-expansion engines, twin screw propellers |
Speed | 14 knots (26 km/h) |
Capacity | 712 passengers |
Sensors and processing systems | Wireless direction finding (by 1938) |
Armament |
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Kościuszko was a passenger steamship that was built in Scotland in 1915, sailed as a troopship in both World Wars, was an ocean liner between the wars, carried displaced persons after World War II and was scrapped in England in 1950.
In her 35-year history the ship was registered in the merchant navies of the United Kingdom, Latvia and Poland. She was built as Czaritza and later bore the names Lituania, Kościuszko, Gdynia and Empire Helford. The name Kościuszko refers to Tadeusz Kościuszko (1746 – 1817), a military leader, statesman and Polish national hero.
Construction
The
As built, Czaritza's tonnages were 6,522
First World War and Russian Civil War
She spent the remainder of the war as a
Between the wars
The Russian American Line was a subsidiary of the Danish
.In 1930 the East Asiatic Company sold Baltic American Line to Polish owners who renamed the company Polskie Transatlantyckie Towarzystwo Okrętowe ("Polish Transatlantic Shipping Company Limited" or PTTO)[3] and renamed the ship Kościuszko. On 8 June she reached Gdynia, which became her port of registry on 20 June. She was operated by Gdynia America Line, at first with a mixed Polish and Danish crew, but from 1931 her crew was entirely Polish. She served on the Gdynia – Copenhagen – Halifax route, and also made short tourist cruises.
In 1935 Kościuszko's tonnages were re-assessed as 6,852 GRT and 4,207 NRT and her old code letters were replaced with the radio call sign SPEA.[4] By 1938 she was equipped with wireless direction finding navigation equipment.[5]
The delivery of the modern
World War II
At the outbreak of
On 30 June 1941 she was decommissioned, restored to Gdynia America Line and reverted to her name Kościuszko. She was placed under the management of the British Lamport and Holt Line, but was crewed entirely by Poles except for a Lamport and Holt liaison officer.[6] She served as a troopship in the Indian Ocean and Malaya. Japanese aircraft attacked her several times. In 1943 a torpedo hit her but did not explode.
She was transferred to the
After World War II
In 1945 the UK repatriated Batory to Poland but the crews of Kościuszko and another Gdynia America Line ship, Pułaski, refused to be repatriated. All crew members of both ships signed UK articles[6] and the ships were transferred from Gdynia America Line to the UK Ministry of War Transport, who kept her under Lamport and Holt management. Kościuszko's port of registration was changed from Gdynia to London. Her call sign was changed to GLSW and she was given the UK official number 142335.[7]
In April 1946 the MoWT renamed Kościuszko as Empire Helford and sold her to Lamport and Holt. She continued to serve as a troop transport and for transportation of displaced persons. In 1949 she was withdrawn from service, and on 2 May 1950 she reached Blyth, Northumberland to be scrapped.[1]
References
- ^ a b c "Czaritza". Scottish Built Ships. Caledonian Maritime Research Trust. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ^ a b Lloyd's Register, Steamers & Motorships (PDF). London: Lloyd's Register. 1933–34. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ^ a b Gibbs 1970, p. 174.
- ^ Lloyd's Register, Steamers & Motorships (PDF). London: Lloyd's Register. 1935–36. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ^ Lloyd's Register, Steamers & Motorships (PDF). London: Lloyd's Register. 1938–39. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ^ a b Heaton 2004, p. 102.
- ^ Lloyd's Register, Steamers & Motorships (PDF). London: Lloyd's Register. 1945–46. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
Bibliography
- Gibbs, CR Vernon (1970). Western Ocean Passenger Liners 1934–1969. Glasgow: Brown, Son & Ferguson.
- Heaton, Paul M (2004). Lamport & Holt Line. Abergavenny: PM Heaton Publishing. pp. 102–103. ISBN 1-872006-16-7.
External links
- Media related to Czaritza (ship, 1915) at Wikimedia Commons
- Lamport and Holt Line