Poznan

SS Poznań Monument

  ul. Jana Pawła II ,   Lake Malta         23 May 2023

No, not commemorating Nazi storm troopers (heaven forbid), the SS Poznań was a bulk carrier ship built in Caen, France, in 1927. The ship was part of a series of 5 new vessels along with its sister ships the SS Wilno, Kraków, Katowice and Toruń. Docked in Luleå, Sweden at the start of WWII it sailed to Gothenburg using the cover of Swedish ships before sailing for Newcastle in the UK, and is reputed to be the last Polish vessel to evade the Nazis and make it to friendly waters. During the Normandy invasion it sailed to one of the huge temporary Mulberry harbours built by the Allies off the coast of Normandy to land men, equipment and supplies where it was caught in a huge storm on June 18, 1944. Packed full of ammunition and under enemy fire it started to sink and despite being officially given up as lost it survived thanks to the heroic efforts of its crew, eventually returning to Cardiff under its own power. After a refit it returned to Poland after the war where it continued to sail on the Baltic until 1962. Decommissioned and used as a floating warehouse in Szczecin it was finally scrapped in Świnoujście in 1975, the last of the 5 vessels to survive. Today it has this lonely anchor as a monument to its military exploits, and an IYP description to remember it.

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13.04.2023


Hello, I am doing research on the SS Poznań and I am curious to the source for the above information. If you have any information (in English or Polish) please let me know by replying to this comment. Thank you for providing the information so far!
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