The vessel depict on this stamp, entering the Volga – Don Canal lock No 1 in 1952, is the river- passenger ship JOSEPH STALIN.
Built at the Red Sormovo plant at Gorki in 1937 for the ERM, Soviet Union. She was the lead vessel of her class, and her hull was welded
Launched as JOSEPH STALIN, four sisters
Tonnage and dimensions?
Powered by two 6-BK-43 four-stroke 6-cyl diesel engines of 350 hp. each, speed 20 km/h
The two propellers were housed particular in tunnels to protect the propeller blades.
Bunker capacity 35 ton.
Flat bottomed, did have eight bulkheads, a round stern.
She was fitted out with a steering wheel fore and aft to pass easily through the many locks in the 128 km long canal.
For heating she was fitted out with a steam boiler.
Fitted out with berths for 18 passengers and eight four person cabins used by passengers without a berth.
One cargo hold of 108 m³.
Behind the engine room there were cabins for crew, a dinning room, hairdressing saloon and an other small cargo hold of 11 m³.
Also had a cinema and concert hall and a restaurant with seats for 100 persons.
1937 The Moscow Canal was opened and for this canal this five vessels were special built to pass through this canal from Moscow to the great rivers of Russia.
In 1938 she was featured in the Russian film Volga-Volga. Some scenes of the film are showed on a envelop of Russia issued in 2003, which shows also the director of the movie Mr. G. Alexandrov.
She got the honour to open op 27 July 1952 the Volga Don canal, as seen on the stamps.
During World War II attacked by enemy bombers.
After the war in 1947 again in-service in the Moscow River.
After Stalin died, was she in 1958 renamed in MIKHAIL FRUNZE.
1971 Out of service?
A model of the ship today you can find in a hall of the Red Sormovo plant at Gorky, were you can see also the movie Volga-Volga.
Russia 1947 50k sg1273, scott. (she is one of the JOSHEP STALIN class)
Russia 1952 8k sg?, scott? (cargo vessel leaving the Volga-Don Canal)
Russia 1952 40k sg 1783, scott?
Russia1r sg1806, scott? (also a photo after which this stamp was designed)
Russia 1956 envelope for the Volga-Volga film.
Rumania 1955 1.55 lei sg?, scott? (looks a Joshep Stalin class vessel?)
Source: info and images supplied by Mr. Gennadiy Sitnikov.
What is fiction, facts or legends on pirates and pirate ships is very difficult to say and most of the stories are fabrications.
When on a pirate voyage with the REVENGE with on board Dampier, they arrived off the West African coast in 1683, the REVENGE in a bad shape and rotten was not more suitable for a voyage and they were looking for a replacement.
In the Sierra Leona River they found a new Danish ship at anchor a slaver, and how they got the vessel, some sources give with a chard game other she captured the vessel.
The new vessel was renamed in BACHELORS DELIGHT she was a pretty vessel and by some sources given as a frigate armed with 40 guns. There exist two painting of the ship which I not have seen and there it looks more a corvette armed with 14 guns.
Under command of Captain John Cook the BACHELORS DELIGHT sailed to the west coast of South America via Cape Horn, and the next years she raided coastal places and ships along the South African coast from Chile to California.
As a hiding place they often used the Galapagos Islands. Dampier made there the first chart of the islands.
When Captain Cook died off the coast of Costa Rica on scurvy in 1684, Edward Davis was appointed by the crew as captain.
In the meantime more privateers had crossed the Panama Isthmus by foot joined the pirates, and the captured ships were manned by these men. They formed an alliance to attack a Spanish treasure convoy, but when some pirate ships failed to support the attack the BACHELORS DELIGHT was hammered with gunshots and heavily damaged and many crewmembers killed.
The Spaniards warned of the pirates in there waters gave chase, and the BACHELORS DELIGHT escape to the west, when seeing an unknown land, which they named Davisland after their captain, (till today it is not sure which land they sighted) they then returned to South America taken an more southerly route to have a much more favourable wind.
After arrival there they attacked Guayaquil in Ecuador and raided various other ports on the coast under which Leon, El Realejo in Nicaragua and Paita and Sana in Peru and Arica in Chile. Not all attacks were successful.
Dampier left the BACHELOR DELIGHT and joined the crew of the CYGNET (on Norfolk Island) which sailed west across the Pacific.
In the mid-1687 the crew of the BACHELOR DELIGHT decided that she had gathered enough loot, and planned to sail home. After burying one third of there loot at Chatham Bay on the North coast of Cocos Islands 300 miles off the coast of Costa Rica in case the ship was lost or captured on her way home.
Several of the crew who had lost their shares in the loot through gambling asked to be put ashore on Juan Fernandez Island, Chile.
In the autumn of 1687 they rounded Cape Horn and set sail to the north, and it was decided that some of the crew with there loot was put on shore, that when the vessel arrived in a English controlled port with all the loot it would be suspicious, and they could be hanged at pirates.
The first three were set on shore at Jamaica, an other three in the Bahamas, etc at all the ports they made a call more crew was set on shore.
The plan was to sell the ship in Philadelphia at that time under British control and sail with other ships at passengers to British colonies. After a few years when the dust had settled they could return to England.
The ship was sold in Philadelphia to some members of the crew and she reappears again as a pirate vessel on the other side of the world in the Far East.
In 1692 near Bombay the BACHELOR DELIGHT seized the UNITY near Bombay, which is the latest what I can find on her.
Ecuador 2006 $1.50 sg?, scott?
Source: Various web-sites.
