The Polish ocean liner Batory seen here during a Baltic Sea cruise in the port of Leningrad in the pre-war years, about 1937 or 1938.

The Batory (14,287 grt/8167 nrt) was launched on July 3rd, 1935 by Cantieri Riuniti dell' Adriatico at Monfalcone/Triest, yard number 1127 and commissioned on May 17th, 1936. She was powered by two diesel engines with a total power of 12,680 H.P., giving a nominal speed of 18 kn.
Batory was the sister-ship of the ill-fated Pilsudski which sunk on a German mine on Nov. 26th, 1939 during her first wartime voyage.
She began regular service in May 1936 on the Gdynia—New York run for Gdynia-America Line, and by 1939 she had carried over 30,000 passengers.
Batory was mobilized at the outbreak of WW 2, and served as a troop transport and a hospital ship by the Allied Navy for the rest of the war. She became known as the "the lucky ship" as she managed to escape serious damage during the whole war.
Batory participated in the evacuation of Dunkirk, rescuing thousands of Allied troops in May 1940, in July secretly transported much of Britain's gold reserves to Montreal for safekeeping and in Aug. 1940 transported 480 children to Australia. Furthermore she was involved in the invasions of Algeria in Nov. 1942 and Sicily in July 1943 and was attacked there several times by German aircraft but suffered no hits. Additionally Batory transported Allied troops to India and luckily evaded all Japanese submarines, harassing the Indian Ocean in 1942 and 1943.
Batory returned to Polish authorities on Jan. 4th, 1946, and arrived at Gdynia on April 30th, 1947 for continuing in her civilian service. First the vessel was refitted and modernized at Antwerp in 1947 but a fire on board delayed the completion of repairs. From May 1949 through Jan. 1951, she was the subject of several political incidents in which dockers in the United States refused to unload cargo from her. After these incidents, she was withdrawn from the North Atlantic route, refurbished at Palmers Shipbuilding Co., Hebburn-on-Tyne for tropic service, and sailed in Aug. 1951 from Gdynia and Southampton to Bombay and Karachi. In 1957, Batory returned to the North Atlantic route. On Nov. 12th, 1960 she rescued the crew of the foundered Canadian timber-freighter Septilis Trader and on Jan. 22nd, 1967 Batory rescued the crew of the capsized Dutch bulker Jacob Verolme (18,743 grt/1957). Only tree months later she herself was involved in an accident when colliding with the Finnish ship Arcturus near the Цresund L.V. on April 17th, 1967, sustaining no damages.
Batory remained in service until 1968, when she was decommissioned in Dec. that year, considering the vessel being overaged. Between 1969 and 1971 served as a floating restaurant and hotel at Gdynia before she was scrapped in Hong Kong by Yau Wing Metal Junk, arriving there on May 11th, 1971. Batory was set aground on May 26th and on June 2nd, 1971 her flag was hauled down.
During his career the vessel conducted in all 222 peace-time voyages, transporting 270,000 passengers, 59 wartime trips, carrying more than 120,000 troops and 75 cruise trips in the 1950's with a total of 30,000 passengers.

The Soviet liner RUSS at Hong Kong, 14 April 1961. Originally Hamburg-America's CORDILLERA of 1933, she was bombed and sunk at Swinemьnde in 1945. Salvaged by the USSR, renamed RUSS and placed in service 1952. Scrapped at Inchon in 1979.
12,931 GRT, 524' x 66', twin-screw motorship, 17 knots.