MS Piłsudski

Marker: recorded wreck position (Date not recorded).
Key facts
| Name | MS Piłsudski | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Ship type | motor ship, ocean liner | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Nationality / flag | Poland | Wikidata P8047 country of registry |
| Operator | Gdynia-Ameryka Linie | Wikidata P137 operator |
| Sea / ocean | North Sea | Natural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon |
| Nearest coast | England | Natural Earth (public domain); approx. 47 km from land |
| Position | 53.7625, 0.7612 | Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0) |
About the wreck
MS Piłsudski (later renamed ORP Piłsudski) was a medium-size ocean liner of the Polish Merchant Marine, named for Marshal Józef Piłsudski, a national hero of Poland. While transporting troops, the ship was sunk off the coast of England during World War II.
Diving & visiting
In 1939, she was taken over for war service by the Polish Navy and scheduled to be converted into an armed merchant cruiser. The plans of that conversion were dropped, the ship being instead converted into a troop transport ship. During her first wartime voyage on 26 November 1939 sailing out of Newcastle, she struck a naval mine (most likely) or was torpedoed (lack of confirmation in German sources). Abandoned too soon by her crew, quite capable of being saved, she sank off the Humber.
Mamert Stankiewicz remained on the ship until all his crew had safely escaped. He later died of exhaustion and hypothermia.
Location
- Recorded position: 53.7625, 0.7612 (Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0); may be approximate)
- Sea / ocean: North Sea
- Nearest coast: England
Wreck positions on this site are for interest only and are not for navigation. Many wrecks are war graves or legally protected: never disturb human remains or remove artefacts, and check local law before diving.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article MS Piłsudski (revision 1376219179), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “War service and wreck”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby wrecks
- HMS Cobra 1901 · 43 km
- La Combattante 47 km
- HMS Falmouth 1916 · 60 km
- Filey Bay Wreck 80 km
- Ferriby Boats 84 km
- HMS Vortigern 1942 · 86 km
Browse more: UK & Ireland wrecks · wrecks off England · North Sea