Legie – first overseas ship flying the Czechoslovak flag, circa 1920
Legie – first overseas ship flying the Czechoslovak flag, circa 1920 from czech
Legie – first overseas ship flying the Czechoslovak flag, circa 1920
Legie – first overseas ship flying the Czechoslovak flag, circa 1920 from czech
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Czechoslovak Legion ship – one of the transport ships by which Czechoslovak troops were transported from the port of Vladivostok back to their homeland. Along with 21 ships provided by the Allies it took 1 year and 8 months to transport all 70.000 Czechoslovaks.
The ship Legie was purchased for money of soldiers (in the port of Kobe on the Japanese island of Honshu and its original name was “Taikai Maru”) and was historically the first overseas ship flying the Czechoslovak flag.
It was intended for trade relations of Czechoslovakia with the Far East and Asia. In 1920 the Legion passed from the property of the legionnaires to the ownership of the Legio Bank. In 1930, the economic crisis forced Legio Bank to sell the ship.
On 18 March 1933 the ship was purchased by the Greek shipowner Pateras and renamed it “Lily” after his wife. On March 9, 1942, on the way from Belfast to Halifax, the ship was hit by German submarine torpedo and was sunk.