Yugoslav Navy Yacht Galeb

Yugoslav Navy (JRM) Yacht "Galeb", also known as The Peace Ship "Galeb" ("Brod Mira"), was used by the late President of the Yugoslav Republic Marshal Tito on his numerous foreign trips and to entertain heads of state, as well as, other persons of worldwide renown. The ship attaining an iconic status among the peoples of Yugoslavia, as well as, among the many diverse nations and members of the Non-Aligned Movement. "Galeb" is Serbo-Croatian for "seagull" (the "Laridae" family).

History

Galeb started its tumultuous career in 1938 in Genoa, where it was built as a cooling – boat “Ramb III”. After the capitulation of Italy in World War II, it is being taken over by the Germans and they turn it into an accessory miner –cruiser under the name of “Kiebitz”. While it was in Rijeka, it was sank on the 25th November 1944 by the ally aviation, and “Brodospas” (SHIPSAVING) from Split, has taken out “Kiebitz” from the sea in 1948, after which it was taken to Pula ship building company “Uljanik” where in 1952 it was thoroughly reconstructed, and it came out as a school ship of Yugoslavian War Navy under a new name – “Galeb”. Tito for the first time embarked on it in 1952 year in Podgora where from the deck of the ship he conducted an introspection of the boats in YWN. In the next 27 years “Galeb” was in Tito’s service for totally 549 days of which for 318 day the Marsal (MASHAL) was on the ship, sailing totally 86.062 nautical miles over the Adriatic and many other world seas in the famous missions of peace and friendship. Until the Tito’s death, 102 world statesmen stayed on “Galeb”.

- Galeb is 117 meters long and 15, 13 m wide, and its displacement is 5.754 tones. With the speed of 17 knots it is moved by a two “fiat” diesel engines of totally 7.200 horse powers. The curiosity is that Italians, at one point, proud at the engines which were inside the Galeb since the launching of a ship in 1938, have offered to SFRJ to take them off the ship and expose them in the “FIAT” museum in Torino. In return, they offered to build an entirely new, modern, school ship, but the Yugoslavs have refused that smoothly. [http://www.visit-montenegro.com/article559.htm]

The yacht first came to international attention in 1953 when Tito sailed up the Thames to meet Churchill on the first visit to Britain of a communist head of state. He was greeted on board by the Duke of Edinburgh.Tito loved the glamour the 384ft yacht conferred on his regime. He used it for parties, foreign visits and diplomacy. World leaders entertained there included Khrushchev, Gadaffi and Gandhi. Tito was particularly excited to welcome Taylor and Burton, who played Tito in the 1973 war epic Sutjeska. [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article708328.ece]

The former Yugoslavian presidential yacht, "Galeb", at 384 feet, belonged to Marshall Tito from 1948 till his death in 1980. The yacht became the property of the Montenegrin government following the nation’s breakup in 1991. It was sold to John Paul Papanicolaou, the same Greek yachtsman who owns the yacht Christina O. It is currently moored on the quayside of the Croatian port of Rijeka. The Croatian authorities have made a preservation order on the ship and hope to turn it into a museum if they secure ownership at the auction. [http://www.sybarites.org/2006/05/08/marshall-titos-384-yacht-galeb-to-be-auctioned-off/] In September of 2008 the boat partially sank on its right side after a leak developed in its hull. [ [http://www.svevijesti.ba/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11781&Itemid=207 Tito's boat Galeb has begun to sink] ]

List of (guest) Heads of State

"(...entertained on "Galeb")"

* Mahatma Gandhi - India
* Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru - India
* President Gamal Abdel Nasser - Egypt
* Queen Elizabeth II - UK
* Secretary General Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev - USSR
* Secretary General Leonid Brezhnev - USSR
* Emperor Haille Selassie - Ethiopia
* UN Secretary General and President Kurt Waldheim - Austria
* President Nicolae Ceauşescu - Romania
* Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi - Libya
* Prime Minister Indira Gandhi - India

List of (guest) Famous People

"(...entertained on "Galeb")"

* Kirk Douglas
* Richard Burton
* Sophia Loren
* Elizabeth Taylor

Gallery

ee also

* SFR Yugoslav Navy
* Josip Broz - Tito
* SFR Yugoslavia
* Titoism
* Non-Aligned Movement

Notes

1. cite web |url=http://www.sybarites.org/2006/05/08/marshall-titos-384-yacht-galeb-to-be-auctioned-off |title=Marshall Tito’s 384″ Yacht, Galeb To Be Auctioned Off |accessdate=2008-08-14 |date=May 8th, 2006 |work=Yachting |publisher=The Times

2. cite web |url=http://www.visit-montenegro.com/article559.htm |title=Rijeka is buying Galeb |accessdate=2008-08-14 |author=S.L. |date=05 Dec 2006 |work=Daily Press |publisher= VIJESTI

3. cite web |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article708328.ece |title=Bid to rebuild Tito’s floating palace |accessdate=2008-08-14 |author=Bojan Pancevski |date=April 23, 2006 |work=timesonline.co.uk |publisher=From The Sunday Times

References

* http://www.photononstop.com/reportages.php?Id=20&P=2007-02
* http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article708328.ece
* http://arhiva.glas-javnosti.co.yu/arhiva/2005/06/13/srpski/VE05061201.shtml
* http://www.powerandmotoryacht.com/megayachts/0801world100/index1.aspx
* http://www.visit-montenegro.com/article559.htm
* http://www.paluba.info/galeb.html
* http://www.sybarites.org/2006/05/08/marshall-titos-384-yacht-galeb-to-be-auctioned-off/
* http://www.titoville.com/partthree.html
* http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,806610,00.html
* http://www.ybw.com/auto/newsdesk/20060430133154mbynews.html
* http://www.avijacijabezgranica.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2452&hilit=galeb
* http://www.avijacijabezgranica.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2923&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=galeb
* http://www.amazon.com/Red-Horizons-Ceausescus-Lifestyle-Corruption/dp/0895267462/