Haapalah / Aliyah Bet

MS Sobieski was a Polish passenger ship, crewed by Polish sailers.
Built: 1938 by Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson, Wallsend
Built for Gdynia-Ameryka Linie Żeglugowe SA, Gdynia America Line GAL
Launched: August 25, 1938
Completed: June 15, 1939
Length: 155,8 meters
Beam: 20,4 meters
Draft: 8,3 meters
Engine: Twin screw, by J. G. Kincaid & Co, Greenock
Speed: 17 knots
Eric Koch cites Sobieski had been in the emigrant trade before the war, and had a kosher kitchen and kosher dishes.

From June 22-24, 1940, MS Sobieski was part of Operation Ariel, with MS Batory, Ettrick, Arandora and Star, evacuating Allied forces from western France.

In May, 1940, MS Sobieski took part in Operation Alphabet, along with MS Batory and MS Chobry, evacuating troops from Narvik.
In late June, 1940, she sailed from Narvik. well stocked with liquor and cigarettes.

On July 4, 1940, MS Sobieski sailed from Greenock, carrying 982 Category B and C internees, and 548 POWs, in a convoy with 2 other ships.
Martin F. Auger cites MS Sobieski sailed from Greenock, carrying 980 Category B and C internees, 450 German POWs and 400 Italians,
MS Batory, was part of the convoy; she carried a part of Poland's art treasures to safety in Canada, including Szczerbiec, the 1320 Polish Coronation sword, a Gutenberg Bible, 136 huge tapestries which had been commissioned by King Sigismund 11 Augustus in the 16th century (collection of the Wawel Castle in Krakov), 36 Chopin manuscripts, plus several hundreds of millions of dollars worth of gold bars, reserves of the Bank of England sent to the Bank of Canada for safe keeping; probably the richest treasure afloat - ever.
The Royal Navy provided a convoy of heavily armed escorts for MS Batory, a battleship and assorted destroyers and cruisers.
On day four of the crossing, MS Sobieski developed engine trouble, and she became separated from the 2 other ships.
At 0:00AM, midnight, July 8, 1940, battleship HMS Revenge sailed from Greenock with cruiser HMS Bonaventure and destroyer HMS Garth, carrying a cargo of gold bullion.
At 5:45AM, day break, they made a rendezvous in the north channel off Scotland with Monarch of Bermuda, MS Sobieski and MS Batory; four destroyers served as escorts, under command of Admiral Sir Ernest Russell Archer.

On July 4, 1940, Gerald Frey and Siegmund Loeffeholz sailed from Greenock for Canada, aboard MS Sobieski.

On July 4, 1940, Walter Hirschfeld sailed from Greenock for Canada. aboard MS Sobieski.
Eric Koch cites "Walter Hitschfeld developed a particularly warm feeling for the ship because he remembered who Sobieski was."

On July 4, 1940, Helmutt Kalmann sailed from Greenock for Canada. aboard MS Sobieski.

On July 4, 1940, Hans Reichenfeld, age 17 years, separated from his father, sailed from Greenock for Canada, aboard MS Sobiesli.

On July 4, 1940, Captain Frank Staff, serving as British liaison officer, in charge of escorting internees and POWs, sailed on MS Sobieski, from Greenock.
Captain Staff cites: "The Sobieski is awonderfulmemory for me...I went up to Glasgow where to my dismay, there was a Polish boat."

MS Sobieski stopped in St. John's to repair the failing engine.
U Boat.net cites MS Batory was slowed down by an engine defect and was diverted to St. John's, escorted by HMS Bonaventure.

On July 15, 1940, MS Sobieski landed in Québec, 2 days after Ettrick, a boat in the convoy.
On July 13, 1940, MS Batory docked in Halifax, and the treasures filled two rail cars and transported to Ottawa to safety.
U Boat.net cites on July 13, 1940, the three ships arrived in Halifax, followed by MS Batory and HMS Bonaventure, and the gold was transported train from Halifax to Montreal, where it was stored.
The 715 internees aboard MS Sobieski were transported by train to Trois-Rivieres.

On July 23, 1940, MS Sobieksi sailed from Halifax with troopships MS Batory, Antonia, Monarch of Bermuda, Duchess of York and Samaria, in a convoy carrying 8,077 Canadian troops bound for Britain, escorted by destroyers HMCS Assiniboine and HMCS Saguenay, and Royal Nay cruiser HMS Emerald.

On August 1, 1940, MS Sobieksi arrived in Scotland, with the convoy.

In 1942, MS Sobieski took part in Operation Ironclad, the Invasion of Madagascar, sailing in Convoy WS17 from Greenock to Freetown.