Ocean liner Batory - Mirage Hobby 500602

The passenger and general cargo ship M / S (Motor Ship) Batory (previously the names Paderewski and Kościuszko were considered) was built in the Italian shipyard Monfalcone in Trieste and put into operation under the Polish flag after the twin ship M / S Piłsudski in 1936. Propulsion: two engines Diesel with a power of 12,680 KM each was driven by two propellers. Speed ​​17 knots. The crew of 343 people, 760 passenger seats. The home port of Gdynia. Poland paid for both ships (Piłsudski and Batory) with coal supplies due to the lack of financial resources (the world economy was just emerging from the crisis). M / S Batory sailed on the route Gdynia - Copenhagen - New York - Halifax. The beginning of the war found Batory in the port of Halifax, where he was taken over by the British admiralty. The ship was rebuilt and armed: 1 cannon 102 mm, 12 machine guns 7.7 mm later, additionally a 152 mm gun, 2 anti-aircraft guns 76 mm, 2 anti-aircraft guns 40 mm, 10 anti-aircraft guns 20 mm, 4 anti-aircraft missile launchers, depth charges, cutters and landing boats. It was used mainly for transporting the army, but not only: in a convoy from Greenock to Halifax, it transported English gold reserves and 36 boxes of Wawel tapestries, then transported evacuated children to Australia. After the end of the war, it was renovated, and in 1946 it was returned to the Polish flag. The shipowner was the Polish Ocean Lines. It operated on the Canadian route: Gdynia - Copenhagen - Southampton - Montreal until July 1969. Until the end of 1970, it served as a hotel hulk. This service was loss-making, and in March 1971 it was sold for scrap to a Hong Kong shipyard.