A magyar kereskedelmi flotta első világháborús veszteségei az Adrián és Európán túl

Absztrakt

The Hungarian merchant navy of Fiume, though not small by international standards, consisted mainly of modern steamships engaged in international trade. At the outbreak of World War I, Hungarian and Austro-Hungarian authorities, along with shipowners, worked to return these valuable vessels to home ports. Some were repurposed for military transport in the Adriatic, while others were hidden in safe Dalmatian harbors. However, by the end of 1914, 36 of the 74 most valuable ships had not reached home ports. Many were seized early on by enemy forces or later confiscated when previously neutral countries, such as Italy, Portugal, or the United States, entered the war. These ships were renamed, put to work, and their crews taken as prisoners. The remaining vessels spent the war interned in far-off ports, including Brazil, Argentina, and Sumatra. Very little is known about their eventual fate, and many details remain unclear to this day. Drawing on archival sources from Fiume/Rijeka, this study seeks to shed light on the fate of these ships and their crews, focusing particularly on those taken outside Europe. It aims to contribute to our understanding of the Hungarian merchant navy’s wartime experience, especially in regions beyond the Adriatic.