SS Olza
Encyclopedia
SS Olza was the first dry cargo freighter
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...

 built in Poland after the country regained independence - and the only large commercial ship built before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Owned by Żegluga Polska company, she was named after the Olza River
Olza River
is a river in Poland and the Czech Republic, the right tributary of the Oder River. It flows from the Silesian Beskids through southern Cieszyn Silesia in Poland and Frýdek-Místek and Karviná districts of the Czech Republic, often forming the border with Poland. It flows into the Oder River north...

 flowing through Cieszyn Silesia
Cieszyn Silesia
Cieszyn Silesia or Těšín Silesia or Teschen Silesia is a historical region in south-eastern Silesia, centered around the towns of Cieszyn and Český Těšín and bisected by the Olza River. Since 1920 it has been divided between Poland and Czechoslovakia, and later the Czech Republic...

.

In 1918 Poland regained independence and a tiny strip of Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

 coast. However, the traditional Polish port at Gdańsk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...

 was turned into a Free City of Danzig
Free City of Danzig
The Free City of Danzig was a semi-autonomous city-state that existed between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig and surrounding areas....

 and so Poland had no port of her own - nor any shipyard
Shipyard
Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...

s. Thanks to the efforts of Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski
Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski
Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski was a Polish politician and economist, Deputy Prime Minister of Poland, government minister and manager of the Second Polish Republic....

 the port of Gdynia
Gdynia
Gdynia is a city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland and an important seaport of Gdańsk Bay on the south coast of the Baltic Sea.Located in Kashubia in Eastern Pomerania, Gdynia is part of a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdańsk and suburban communities, which together...

 was built, along with several shipyards serving both the Polish Navy
Polish Navy
The Marynarka Wojenna Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej - MW RP Polish Navy, is the branch of Republic of Poland Armed Forces responsible for naval operations...

 and the merchant marine. Simultaneously, various Polish universities started to teach a cadre of future naval engineers. Among them was Henryk Giełdzik, a young engineer and a graduate of the Danzig university of technology.

The shipyards at Gdynia initially focused on smaller vessels, suitable for off-shore duty of Baltic Sea cruises, but not for the high seas. However, by the late 1930s the shipyards gathered enough experience and a decision was made to build a large dry cargo ship for the Polish merchant marine, the first such vessel built entirely at home. Designed by Henryk Giełdzik, the ship was named SS Olza, after an eponymous river flowing through Cieszyn Silesia.

The keel was laid August 28, 1938 in the Gdynia Shipyard. Most of the elements were produced by Świętochłowice-based Zgoda Steel Works, while minor parts were purchased from other contractors in Poland and the United Kingdom. The works continued as planned and launching was scheduled for mid-September 1939. However, on September 1, 1939 Germany invaded Poland
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...

 starting World War II. As the Polish-German border was only a dozen-or-so kilometres from Gdynia, the shipyard was almost on the front-line. Because of that, it was decided to launch the ship prematurely on September 8, 1939, in order to block the slipway
Slipway
A slipway, boat slip or just a slip, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats. They are also used for launching and retrieving small boats on trailers and flying boats on their undercarriage. The...

 in case the shipyard got under German control.

Following the German takeover of Gdynia, the ship was finished and drafted into the German marine. However, her eventual fate is unknown. She was not returned to Poland after the war and no trace of her has been found in German archives. Last of such investigations, intended to find the ship, were carried out in the 1980s by the Polish Television.
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