ex „Vlissingen”, „St. Blanc”, „Pigmy”

Specifications:
A three-masted gaff schooner
Launched: 1917, G.M. Mueller shipyard, Foxhole, Holland  
Owner: Polish Navy 
LOA: 41.45 m  
Beam: 7.8 m  
Draught: 3.5 m
Sail surface: 693.3 m2  
Crew: 30, including 25-30 cadets


A three-masted gaff schooner, built in 1917 by the Dutch shipyard G.M. Mueller, Foxhole, for the navy. The Dutch named her Vlissingen; then she was bought by the English, who changed her name to St Blanc and used as a cargo vessel. 
In 1922, the Naval Officers School was established in Toruń, and its students had their practical training on the Lwów, the ship owned by the Maritime School in Tczew. However, the Navy wanted to have its own sailing ship, and the Navy's CO, Cdre. Józef Unrug, warmly supported the idea of sail training. Finally, after a year of efforts, in 1926, the Polish flag was hoisted on the St Blanc. The ship arrived in Gdynia in January 1927, commanded by Captain Konstanty Maciejewicz.
On 6 May 1928, during the commissioning ceremony, the ship was ceremonially blessed and named ORP Iskra. Her first commander was Captain Henryk Eibel. She made her first sea voyage in July 1928, and two years later, as the first Polish sailing ships, crossed North Atlantic and reached Cuba and the USA. Before World War II, the ORP Iskra made twelve voyages totalling nearly 73,000 nautical miles.
Following the outbreak of World War II, the ship sailed to Port Lyautey in Africa, and when France capitulated, she managed to get to Gibraltar, where she was leased to the British Royal Navy. Named HMS Pigmy, she served as a hostel for crews of English motor torpedo boats and submarines till the end of the war.  
In 1948, the Iskra returned to Gdynia under the white-and-red ensign, commanded by Captain Julian Czerwiński. In the following years she was a training ship for cadets. She did not make any overseas voyages until 1956, with trainees coming from the whole country. In 1975, she was withdrawn from service at sea and turned into barracks for the Naval Warrant Officer School cadets. On 16 November 1977, there was a farewell ceremony of lowering the ensign which she had flown for fifty years. During all those years, the ship sailed 250,000 nautical miles, calling 118 times at 64 ports in Europe, Africa and America. 4,000 sailors were trained on board her. The history and achievements of Iskra I were as outstanding as those of the Dar Pomorza, who sailed the seas at the same time. She was lucky though, and when her service came to an end, she was scrapped.      


Commanders of ORP Iskra:
Lt. Julian Laskowski, 1926 – 1927
Capt. Henryk Eibel, 1928 – 1930
Lt. Cdre. Stefan de Walden, 1930 – 1933
Lt. Cdre. Stanisław Nahorski, 1933 – 1936
Lt. Cdre. Aleksander Hulewicz, 1936 – 1937
Lt.  Stefan Filutowicz, 1937 – 1938
Capt. Romulad Nałęcz – Tymiński, 1938
Lt. Cdre. Jerzy Umecki, 1938 – 1939
Leon Wolny, Leading Seaman  1939 – 1940
(Lt, retired) Stefan Gorazdowski, MM  1940
Lt. Cdre. Tadeusz Konarski, 1947 – 1948, 1948 – 1949
Capt. Julian Czerwiński, 1948, 1958 – 1961
Capt. (Lt. Cdre.) Antoni Sobczyk, 1949 – 1953
Lt. (Capt.) Zbigniew Worytkiewicz, 1953 – 1956
Capt. Stefan Kucharski, Capt  1956 – 1957, 1961 – 1966
Capt. (Lt. Cdre.) Piotr Bigaj, 1966 – 1970
Lt. Cdre. (Cdre.) Ryszard Ułamek, 1970 – 1977

Dar Pomorza | Dar Młodzieży | Pogoria | Iskra I | Iskra II | Zawisza Czarny I | Zawisza Czarny II | Lwów