RAISE THE PILSUDSKI? ZYCIE WARSZAWY 1957, no 250 "Third try of lifting up a wreck of a ship "Consul Carl Fisser", which has sunk on a big depth in Norwegian [fiord] Allesund, has just been reported to fail again. Despite of attaching additional lift bags, the wreck sunk again shortly after reaching a surface, taking down most of the equipment set up by divers from National Ship Rescuing (?). At the moment it is not known whether attempts of lifting up this shipwreck are to be continued. It strongly depends on the result of further consulting, that has just been suspended due to a sudden illness of a director of National Ship Rescuing - cpt. W. Poinc. At the moment the divers are involved in attempts of rescuing another Norwegian shipwreck - "Log". A group of scientists from Technical University in Gdansk recently are giving a shape to a technical project of bringing up a wreck of a Polish motor ship "Pilsudski", which had been sunk by Germans near the east coast of England in first months on world war II. "Pilsudski", a twin sister of our "Batory", rests on a seabed - they say - only 22 meters below the surface. The grave problem with lifting the wreck up, may be a fact, that "Pilsudski" (which was on the way from UK to New Zealand to carry troops on the way back) had a cargo of a steel and iron. This heavy load caused [settling down and ] silting up a wreck. If the calculations and technical tests prove that it's possible to bring the shipwreck up and it's profitable to renovate it, then Polish Ocean Lines would shortly receive a second big and modern vessel to serve on North America line." PROBA WYDOBYCIA WRAKU M/S PILSUDSKI? ZYCIE WARSZAWY, 1957, numer 250 " Trzecia z kolei proba wydobycia wraku statku "Consul Carl Fisser", ktory zatopiony zostal na duzej glebokosci w norweskim fiordzie Allesund, znow sie nie powiodla. Mimo zalozenia dodatkowych pontonow, wrak, po ukazaniu sie na powierzchni morza, zatonal powtornie, niszczac rownoczesnie czesc sprzetu zalozonego przez nurkow z Panstwowego Ratownictwa Okretowego. W tej chwili nie wiadomo jeszcze, czy proby wydobycia tego wraku beda powtarzane. Zalezec to bedzie od wyniku konsultacji, ktore z powodu naglej choroby kierownika PRO kpt. W. Poinca musza byc odroczone. Obecnie nurkowie pracujacy dotychczas przy wydobywaniu "Consula" przystapili do prob wydobycia innego norweskiego wraku - statku "Log". Grupa pracownikow naukowych przy jednej z katedr Politechniki Gdanskiej opracowuje obecnie projekt techniczny wydobycia wraku polskiego motorowca m/s "Pilsudski", ktory w pierwszych miesiacach II wojny swiatowej zatopiony zostal przez Niemcow u wschodnich wybrzezy Anglii. "Pilsudski" - statek blizniak naszego "Batorego" - lezy na dnie -podobno- zaledwie 22 metry pod powierzchnia wody. Istotna trudnosc przy wydobyciu wraku moze stanowic to, ze "Pilsudski" (ktory plynal z Anglii do Nowej Zelandii po transport zolnierzy) wiozl ladunek zelaza i stali. Ciezki ten ladunek spowodowal znaczne zamulenie wraku. Jesli obliczenia i proby techniczne udowodnia, ze statek mozna jednak wydostac i oplaci sie jego remont, wowczas Polskie Linie Oceaniczne w krotkim czasie moglyby otrzymac druga, nowoczesna i duza jednostke do obslugi linii polnocno-amerykanskiej." The above Reports / Articles base on the information and documents presented on the web site M/S PILSUDSKI by Mike Oborski & Jan Ruszkowski Powyzsze Raporty / Artykuly bazuja na informacjach i dokumentach przedstawionych na stronie internetowej M/S PILSUDSKI autorstwa Mike Oborskiego i Jana Ruszkowskiego. More information about the wreck of M/S PILSUDSKI Wiecej informacji o wraku M/S PILSUDSKI |
peter7000 homepage TS/S STEFAN BATORY - Polish Ocean Liner |
M/S PILSUDSKI, 1935-1939 REPORT ON THE SINKING ATTEMPT OF RAISE THE WRECK Relacje o Zatonieciu / Proba Wydobycia Wraku Official Report on the sinking of M/S PILSUDSKI Jan Michalski Second Officer, M/S PILSUDSKI "We left Newcastle on Saturday evening, unescorted, and our vessel was painted with a black hull and grey superstructure. We carried a four-inch gun aft, and the draft of the vessel was 23ft aft and 19ft forward. As a matter of interest, although we were told nothing except that we were going to Australia to take troops from there, everybody locally in Newcastle appeared to know everything about it. We dropped anchor off the mouth of the Tyne, and stayed there for a few days. On the 26th November at about 04:20AM we passed Flamborough Head, and I was the Officer on watch. We were heading on a course of 139 degrees for the Outer Dowsing, and there were two British Captains on board. The tide was not very strong and we passed a few ships going iun the opposite direction at about half a mile between us and the shore. I was told later that these ships formed a convoy. Our speed was about 19 knots, and the Officer of the Watch before me told me that we were quite safe, being in 20 fathoms of water. At 05:36AM we were proceeding with lights on as it was now dark. Previously we had an order from the Captain to put on lights only if we were passing too close to another vessel in order to avoid collision. I was inside the wheelhouse at this time when the first explosion occurred. This explosion took place right on the port side. All engine telephones were broken and put out of action. I did not observe any water spray go up at the time of the explosion. The vessel took an immediate 10 degree list to port. The vessel first appeared as if she was going to sink very quickly. The Captain ordered everybody to the life boat stations and eventually we lowered all the boats. My life boat was on the starboard side of the bridge, and it was a motor boat. I asked the Captain if I should lower my life boat and he said "No, it is better to go aft because of the list on the vessel". As I proceeded aft I met a few of the crew of my life boat. I took them along and decided to lower my own life boat after all. The Third Officer started to lower the port side lifeboat. He had some difficulty in unhooking the falls of rope so he decided to go to the starboard side life boat. The sea was very rough and it was exceedingly dark, but as I have stated previously, we managed at last to get all our life boats away. During the night we noticed two ships quite close to us and at about daybreak we sighted the Valores. By this time we were about a mile away from our vessel, and I also noticed that she had not yet sunk. I heard later that she had sunk about four hours after the explosions. The Valores first picked up the Captain and two other members of crew who were on a raft. Unfortunately, the Captain, who was aged 58, had been in the water for about an hour, and he died shortly afterwards from hypothermia and shock. |
Nov 26, 1939, 04:36 AM M/S PILSUDSKI struck a mine and is sinking - vision of the Polish artist Adam Werka |
SAW BOATS SAFELY LAUNCHED Then Jumped For It CAPTAIN HERO OF PILSUDSKI DRAMA Northern Daily Mail, Monday, November 27, 1939 The captain was the hero of another sea drama off the North-East coast yesterday, when the Polish Liner Pilsudski (14,294 tons) is believed to have struck a mine. A British destroyer landed about 100 survivors at one North-East port, and a British trawler picked up another 68. The 14 Britons who were aboard were all saved, but several of the crew are unaccounted for, and it is believed that three died, including the captain who was the last to leave the ship. The Pilsudski was under charter to the British Admiralty since the war. Survivors told dramatic stories of how the ship was crippled by successive explosions which wrecked the lighting system and stopped the engines and gave the vessel a pronounced list to starboard. Britons and Poles alike praised the brave conduct of the skipper, Capt. Mamert Stankiewicz (58), whose bravery in remaining aboard until the last of the crew had left undoubtedly cost him his life. Though slightly wounded in the explosion, he gave the order to abandon ship and then stood by until all six lifeboats two motor launches and four rowing boats had been lowered and filled. He then dived into the sea and was helped to a raft by two Polish seamen, who saw that he was in no condition to swim. Battered by the waves and almost wholly immersed in the icy cold water, these three men clung to the raft for more than an hour until the destroyer spotted them. By then the two were completely exhausted, and the captain was on the verge of collapse. A gunner named J Bell dived overboard and brought them one by one to the side , where they were hauled aboard. The other two men, much younger than the master, quickly recovered, but Capt. Stankiewicz died within a few minutes, after being assured that practically all his crew had been saved. THREE HOURS ON RAFT The most fluent English speaker was one of the ship stewards, Milewski Bronislaw, who received part of his education in England. Milewski stated that he was asleep when the first explosion occurred. A second explosion followed within a couple of minutes. He hurried to the deck in his night attire, plunged into the water, and managed to get to a raft to which he clung for three hours before being rescued. The ships wireless operator stated that immediately the explosion occurred all lights were extinguished, and it was impossible to radio a message. He, too, managed to get on a raft and was rescued after over two hours exposure. The youngest member of the crew, a shy curly-haired boy Marian ----, aged 15, was also suffering from exposure but quickly revived after a good meal of hot soup. Perhaps the most concise story was told by the second officer, Jan Michalski, who said: "We left a North-East port on Saturday night, and early to-day there was a terrific explosion at the bows, followed two minutes later by another explosion admidships". "All the lights went out, the engines stopped, and the ship rocked under the shock of the explosions. Furniture in the cabins was scattered and broken, the bridge telegraph was smashed, and the ship at once took a list of ten degrees. The ship showed signs of settling down, and the captain gave the order for the boats to be launched." "This was extremely difficult because it was blowing half a gale from the South-West, and the sea was very rough. Of a crew of 181 I think about 140 got away in these boats. Some had been injured when parts of the upper berths collapsed following the explosion. I think several people were killed or hopelessly pinned by wreckage, but I could be sure of very little in the wreckage. BRITISH TRIBUTE TO CREW British members of the crew paid high tribute to the calm and ordely manner in which the Poles took to the boat. "There was no suggestion of panic", said Cook Nugent of Liverpool. "The men followed the captain's fine example in keeping their heads and carrying out his orders promptly and coolly". The men presented a sorry spectacle when they left the destoyer. Half clad and wrapped in blankets many were barefoot , others had limbs bandaged, and about a dozen were carried ashore on stretchers and taken immediately to hospital in waiting ambulances. A.R.P., volunteers, members of St John's Ambulance, police and authorities helped to get the men ashore and make them as comfortable as possible in public buildings, where they were given warm clothing and served with hot meals and coffee. Clothier shops in the port were hurredly asked to open and very soon after the men's arrival huge parcels of suits, underclothing and boots were at their disposal. The crew were intensely grateful for the kindness to which they were treated both aboard the destroyer and when they landed. Eight injured survivors who are receiving treatment in hospital are stated to-day to be "fairly comfortable". |
Captain Mamert Stankiewicz was the last man who left the stricken ship. He died from hypothermia and is buried in a cemetery in Hartlepool |
RAISE THE PILSUDSKI? ZYCIE WARSZAWY 1957, no 250 "Third try of lifting up a wreck of a ship "Consul Carl Fisser", which has sunk on a big depth in Norwegian [fiord] Allesund, has just been reported to fail again. Despite of attaching additional lift bags, the wreck sunk again shortly after reaching a surface, taking down most of the equipment set up by divers from National Ship Rescuing (?). At the moment it is not known whether attempts of lifting up this shipwreck are to be continued. It strongly depends on the result of further consulting, that has just been suspended due to a sudden illness of a director of National Ship Rescuing - cpt. W. Poinc. At the moment the divers are involved in attempts of rescuing another Norwegian shipwreck - "Log". A group of scientists from Technical University in Gdansk recently are giving a shape to a technical project of bringing up a wreck of a Polish motor ship "Pilsudski", which had been sunk by Germans near the east coast of England in first months on world war II. "Pilsudski", a twin sister of our "Batory", rests on a seabed - they say - only 22 meters below the surface. The grave problem with lifting the wreck up, may be a fact, that "Pilsudski" (which was on the way from UK to New Zealand to carry troops on the way back) had a cargo of a steel and iron. This heavy load caused [settling down and ] silting up a wreck. If the calculations and technical tests prove that it's possible to bring the shipwreck up and it's profitable to renovate it, then Polish Ocean Lines would shortly receive a second big and modern vessel to serve on North America line." PROBA WYDOBYCIA WRAKU M/S PILSUDSKI? ZYCIE WARSZAWY, 1957, numer 250 " Trzecia z kolei proba wydobycia wraku statku "Consul Carl Fisser", ktory zatopiony zostal na duzej glebokosci w norweskim fiordzie Allesund, znow sie nie powiodla. Mimo zalozenia dodatkowych pontonow, wrak, po ukazaniu sie na powierzchni morza, zatonal powtornie, niszczac rownoczesnie czesc sprzetu zalozonego przez nurkow z Panstwowego Ratownictwa Okretowego. W tej chwili nie wiadomo jeszcze, czy proby wydobycia tego wraku beda powtarzane. Zalezec to bedzie od wyniku konsultacji, ktore z powodu naglej choroby kierownika PRO kpt. W. Poinca musza byc odroczone. Obecnie nurkowie pracujacy dotychczas przy wydobywaniu "Consula" przystapili do prob wydobycia innego norweskiego wraku - statku "Log". Grupa pracownikow naukowych przy jednej z katedr Politechniki Gdanskiej opracowuje obecnie projekt techniczny wydobycia wraku polskiego motorowca m/s "Pilsudski", ktory w pierwszych miesiacach II wojny swiatowej zatopiony zostal przez Niemcow u wschodnich wybrzezy Anglii. "Pilsudski" - statek blizniak naszego "Batorego" - lezy na dnie -podobno- zaledwie 22 metry pod powierzchnia wody. Istotna trudnosc przy wydobyciu wraku moze stanowic to, ze "Pilsudski" (ktory plynal z Anglii do Nowej Zelandii po transport zolnierzy) wiozl ladunek zelaza i stali. Ciezki ten ladunek spowodowal znaczne zamulenie wraku. Jesli obliczenia i proby techniczne udowodnia, ze statek mozna jednak wydostac i oplaci sie jego remont, wowczas Polskie Linie Oceaniczne w krotkim czasie moglyby otrzymac druga, nowoczesna i duza jednostke do obslugi linii polnocno-amerykanskiej." The above Reports / Articles base on the information and documents presented on the web site M/S PILSUDSKI by Mike Oborski & Jan Ruszkowski Powyzsze Raporty / Artykuly bazuja na informacjach i dokumentach przedstawionych na stronie internetowej M/S PILSUDSKI autorstwa Mike Oborskiego i Jana Ruszkowskiego. More information about the wreck of M/S PILSUDSKI Wiecej informacji o wraku M/S PILSUDSKI |
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