Polish troopships WW2

[greendragon]

Just couple of information about the Polish Merchant Navy liners employed under HM supervision/command in troop transport.
PL merchant lines had couple of liners, the most modern were four of them, two (Pilsudski and Chrobry) sunk quickly on mines and Luftwaffe air attack respectively in 1940, Norwegian campaign period.
Pilsudski sister ship was m/s Batory , launched July 1935,14500BRT, 20 kts Sulzer Diesel engines.
Both built in Italy Montfalcone shipyard.
During the war the ship was employed by the British War authorities and transported 120 000 troops across Atlantic, Med (all landings there as an assault ship, 12 LCP(S) or (R) ) and Pacific. She was called "lucky ship" being spared from damages and casualties . During the N. Africa operations the ship was attacked in Algiers with a torpedo but it missed and hit an ammunition ship.
He became famous ( and nicknamed "singing ship" ) in the Britich media when in 73 days long trip Batory delivered hundreds of British children evacuated to Australia from their homes in the UK.
In a dispatch (from the Dispatches from Front line series of books) by ADM Cunningham (Sommervile), I have poor memory for names) M/s Batory (Master Zygmunt Deyczkowski) is mentioned as an excellent ship in convoy: "...during the trip to Africa I have carried out an intensive exercises of maneuvering by the ships of the convoy....Batory was outstanding, responding to signals with skill and speed of a well commanded warship...." .
I have found in this dispatch also something negative as "....HMS Penelope gunnery performed poorly using 400(or so as my memory serves) rounds of 6 in against a French DD and scored no hit.

The other one and also survivor of war, MS Sobieski , Swan-Hunter, brand new in Septembr 1939, 11500 BRT, 17kts was used initially as troop ship, but later modified to an assault landing ship role and took part in all the landings in the Med .
There are very interesting memories of one of her officers, from that part of the ship life.

The Polish assault ships had numerous members of their crews being HM personnel, as LNOs, signalers, gunners etc and LCP crews, about 250 of them.

Sobieski was spared any other of pure troop transport task action being too valuable for amphibious operation so for weeks together with other ships of the same type was anchored and waiting for a call on the Red Sea.
The most senior British LNO officer (Brigadier or Captain N , I do not remember his service) liked and popular by the British and Polish was then a victim of his popularity.
He loved getting bath in sea water in his cabin and some officers put to the tube a jelly fish which was unseen due to its ability to change colour.
As fast as the Senior LNO jumped to his bath tube he rocketed back having his rear "damaged" by the jellyfish stings.
Anyway, there was (one sided) fun and none was put in front of a firing squad !!!
It was not all mayhem in WW2!!!
gd