The ship, which was part of the Polish Navy during the interwar period, was deliberately sunk in September 1939 to prevent it from falling into German hands when the defenders of the Modlin Fortress near Warsaw were forced to surrender.
Co-discoverer Sławomir Kaliński, speaking about the find, emphasized the historical significance of the wreck.
"All the secrets of the Polish Navy were sunk there to avoid them being seized by the Germans," he explained.
A ship with a storied past
Built in 1887 in Warsaw for the Maurycy Fajans Steam Navigation Company, the ship was originally named Henryk and served as a river vessel on the Vistula, capable of carrying 150 passengers and 25 tons of cargo.
In the late 19th century, it was sold to Russia, where it was renamed Zvezda (Star) and operated on the Pripyat River.
In April 1920, during a Polish-Ukrainian offensive on Kiev, the ship was captured by Polish forces near Chernobyl and later incorporated into the newly formed Pinsk River Flotilla.
After a brief period in Polish hands, it was scuttled during a Bolshevik offensive but was raised by Soviet forces. The ship returned to Poland later that year and was initially used as floating barracks before being renamed Gwiazda (Star) in 1921.
By 1922, it was reclassified as the armed tugboat ORP Hetman Żółkiewski, serving the Pinsk Flotilla before being transferred to a military engineering battalion, where it operated until the outbreak of World War II.
A discovery decades in the making
The discovery was made by the Triglav Exploration Group, a team dedicated to uncovering historical artifacts in and around Modlin Fortress.
The wreck was identified after years of research and sonar scans in the river.
"It took us about three years to positively identify the Hetman Żółkiewski," said Kaliński, adding that the river's shifting sands and changing water levels made the search particularly challenging.
Sonar images revealed six submerged vessels in the area, but one stood out—positioned along the Narew's flow, about 50 meters from the shore. Its bow pointed toward the Pancera Bridge, and its stern faced the confluence of the Narew and Vistula rivers.
"We could see portholes typical of combat ships, as well as parts of the engine and steam boiler," Kaliński said.
The decisive moment came on October 5, when diver Artur Sobczak, working with the team, discovered a nameplate confirming the wreck's identity as Hetman Żółkiewski. The wreck bore signs of an explosion and is partially embedded 3 to 4 meters into the riverbed.
Secrets of Polish navy resting in Narew River
The sinking of the Hetman Żółkiewski and other vessels of the Polish River Flotilla was a desperate measure to prevent the equipment from falling into Nazi hands.
According to Kaliński, local historian Edward Rak, who died in 2014, was one of the first to suggest that much of the Polish Navy's equipment was intentionally submerged in the river in 1939.
Research by the Triglav team supports this theory. "Our theory, based on documents and testimonies, is that the Polish Navy’s equipment, including machine guns, torpedoes, and depth charges, was stored at various forts around Modlin and later sunk in the Narew," said Kaliński.
The discovery of documents confirming the presence of Polish Navy stockpiles at the Modlin Fortress has reinforced their belief that this area holds many more naval secrets.
(jh/gs)
Source: PAP