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RV Vityaz (1939)

motor ship built in 1939

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionFeb 15, 2026
Entity authorityQ1516653 ↗
Source-derived summary

Vityaz (Russian: Витязь) is a research vessel that was built in 1939 by Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG, Bremen, Germany as Mars for Neptun Line, Bremen. She served with the Kriegsmarine during World War II and was seized by the United Kingdom in 1945. She was renamed Empire Forth for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT).

She was allocated to the Soviet Union in 1946 under the terms of the Potsdam Agreement and renamed Equator (Russian: Экватор) and later renamed Admiral Makarov (Russian: Адмирал Мака́ров). She was renamed Vityaz in 1949 and was used as a research vessel. Retired in 1979, she was preserved as a museum ship in 1982.

Description

When recorded in 1945, the ship was 101.50 m (333 ft 0 in) long, with a beam of 14.50 metres (47 ft 7 in). She had a depth of 4.72 metres (15 ft 6 in) and a draught of 5.84 metres (19 ft 2 in). She was assessed at 2,471 GRT, 1,821 NRT.

The ship was propelled by two two-stroke Single Cycle, Single Action diesel engines, which have seven cylinders of 247⁄16 inches (62 cm) diameter by 451⁄4 inches (115 cm) stroke driving twin screw propellers. The engines were built by Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft, Kiel.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “RV Vityaz (1939)” as motor ship built in 1939. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Vityaz, motor and ship.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1939, 1945, 1946, 1949—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1939. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Vityaz, motor and ship providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “RV Vityaz (1939)”, the useful work is to connect “motor ship built in 1939” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1516653. Authority coordinates are 54.706, 20.500. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1939, 1945, 1946 and 1949.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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  • Locating named sources
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  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “RV Vityaz (1939)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow RV Vityaz (1939) primary sources, RV Vityaz (1939) archive and Vityaz research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “RV Vityaz (1939)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.