„Wodnik“ („Meerman“) - the galleon of the Republic of the Two Nations

"Wodnik" is a Polish warship (small galleon), probably built in 1623 in Gdańsk. This ship is usually mentioned in written sources by the German name - "Meerman", which also means "Aquarius". During the war with Sweden the ship was commanded by (presumably) Captain Herman Wit and the "Wodnik", together with the ships "Król Dawid" and "Arka Noego", took part in the first skirmish with Swedish ships, which took place on May 17, 1627, when they encountered twice the Swedish force at Hel , sailing to Pilava. After exchanging several volleys, the opponents separated - the Poles swam to the west. The next day there was a skirmish near Bialogori at Lemba - a Swedish convoy of 24 ships was encountered. After a firefight, in which several sailors from both sides were killed, the Poles managed to break away from their enemies and sailed towards Kolobrzeg. A few days later the Polish ships returned to the Vistula, breaking through the Swedish forces, blockading the Gulf of Gdańsk. "Wodnik" distinguished itself in the victorious battle near Oliva with the Swedish escadre, which took place on November 28, 1627. Its captain, Herman Wit, was promoted to vice admiral before the battle and appointed commander of the artillery of the Polish warships, and the "Wodnik" became the vice admiral's flagship. His skipper was Petr Wedeman. During the battle, "Wodnik" attacked and tried to board the larger Swedish galleon "Solen". After a stormy battle, when the Poles had already begun to gain the upper hand, the crew of the Swedish ship blew up the "Solen". 23 "Wodnik" crew members were also killed in the explosion (another 10 had been killed in the clash earlier). On May 2, 1628 Hans Schreder was appointed as the new captain of the ship, instead of Wit, who died in December 1627. When on July 2, 1628 the Swedish army, supported by artillery, attacked the Polish ships, stationed at the mouth of the Vistula near the Vistula fortress, "Wodnik" retreated up the river, firing back and covering the retreat of the crew of the ship "Feniks", which was sitting aground. In January 1629 "Wodnik" was handed over to the Catholic League of Habsburg, participating in the "Thirty Years' War" by King Sigismund III Vasa, together with other Polish ships. The ships docked in Wismar on February 8. Polish ships in this harbor fought the combined forces of the Danish and Swedish fleets in rare small skirmishes. On January 22, 1632 Wismar capitulated and the Swedish captured the Polish ships and included them in their fleet. "Wodnik" renamed to "Meerman". The further fate of the ship is unknown.

A fairly complex model of a medium-sized sailship, that can be perfectly assembled by a modeler of average experience. We are not talking about experienced people - for them this model is like peeling sunflowers.