MS Morska Wola

The MS Morska Wola, (previously Consul Horn, Hindhead and Rio Negro), was a Polish freighter during the Second World War. She was purchased in Norway by the Polish shipping company Gdynia America Line and named after a Polish emigrants settlement in Brazil.[5]

History
Ensign of the Merchant navy of the Weimar RepublicGermany
NameConsul Horn
NamesakeHC Horn
OwnerHC Horn shipping
Port of registryWeimar Republic Hamburg[1]
Launched1924
Out of service1934
Identification
  • Code Letters RFJV[1]
Civil ensign of the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
NameMS Hindhead
OperatorKnoll Shipping Company[2]
Port of registryUnited Kingdom London[2]
Acquired1934
Out of service1935
Identification
  • Code Letters GWWT[2]
Norway
NameMS Rio Negro
OwnerA/S Sobral
Port of registryNorway Oslo[3]
Acquired1936
Out of service1938
Identification
  • Code Letters LJHN [3]
Naval Ensign of PolandPoland
NameMS Morska Wola
NamesakeMorska Wola
Operator
  • Gdynia America Line
  • Dalmor
Port of registryPoland Gdynia[4]
AcquiredJanuary 1939
Out of service14 January 1959
Reclassified1952, fish-boats supply base ship
Identification
  • Code Letters SPEJ [4]
FateScrapped, 1959
General characteristics
TypeBulk carrier, since 1952 supply ship
Tonnage3376 GRT, 1973 NRT
Length96.40 m (316 ft 3 in)
Beam14.50 m (47 ft 7 in)
Draft6.5 m (21 ft 4 in)
Installed powerdiesel, 1400 hp
Speed8.5 knots (15.7 km/h; 9.8 mph)
Capacity12
Crew28 (as a supply ship: 150)

Origins

The ship was built as Consul Horn in Kiel in 1924 by Friedrich Krupp AG for the HC Horn shipping company, which operated her out of Hamburg.[1] On 31 December 1927 the ship ran aground on Ven, Sweden.[6] She was refloated on 4 January 1928.[7]

In 1934 she was acquired by the Knoll Shipping Company, registered in London and renamed as Hindhead.[2] She was then acquired by A/S Sobral in 1936 and renamed Rio Negro, operating on shipping routes between Norway and South America.[3] In 1938 she was acquired by the Polish shipping company Gdynia America Line, renamed as the Morska Wola and based in Gdynia.[4]

World War II

In 1940, during the final days of the Battle of France, MS Morska Wola was in port in France, from which she escaped to the United Kingdom. She was then put to use in Northern Atlantic convoys. She took part in over 40 convoys, most notably, she was one of the ships who managed to escape, after the German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer attacked convoy HX 84, thanks to the delaying action fought by the armed merchant cruiser HMS Jervis Bay. She returned to Poland at end of the war, operating on shipping routes to South America and the Levant.[5]

Post war

In 1952 she was taken over by the Dalmor fishing company and converted to supply ship for fishing boats operating in the North Sea.[8] As such she had capacity of 150 people. After six years of such work, she was crippled by damage and judged unworthy of repair. She was scrapped in 1959.[5]

References
  1. "LLOYD'S REGISTER, STEAMERS & MOTORSHIPS 1931–32" (PDF). Plimsoll Ship Data. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  2. "LLOYD'S REGISTER, STEAMERS & MOTORSHIPS 1934–35" (PDF). Plimsoll Ship Data. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  3. "LLOYD'S REGISTER, STEAMERS & MOTORSHIPS 1936–37" (PDF). Plimsoll Ship Data. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  4. "LLOYD'S REGISTER, STEAMERS & MOTORSHIPS 1938–39" (PDF). Plimsoll Ship Data. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  5. Piwowoński, Jan (1989). Flota spod biało-czerwonej (in Polish). Warsaw: Nasz Księgarnia. pp. 48–51.
  6. "Casualty reports". The Times. No. 44779. London. 2 January 1928. col E-F, p. 24.
  7. "Casualty reports". The Times. No. 44782. London. 5 January 1928. col B-C, p. 22.
  8. "Mother base "Morska Wola"". Fishing Fleets of Communist and Post-Communist Countries. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
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