RV Vityaz (1939)

Vityaz
History
Name	Mars (1939–45) Empire Forth (1945–46) Equator (1946– ) Admiral Makarov ( –1949) Vityaz (since 1949)
Owner	Neptun Line (1939–40) Kriegsmarine (1940) Neptun Line (1940–42) Kriegsmarine (1942–45) Ministry of War Transport (1945–46) Ministry of Transport (1946) Soviet Government (1946–82) Museum of World Oceans (since 1982)
Operator	Neptun Line (1939–40) Kriegsmarine (1940) Neptun Line (1940–42) Kriegsmarine (1942–45) Prince Line (1945–46) Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, USSR Academy of Sciences (1946–82) Museum of World Oceans (since 1982)
Port of registry	Bremen, Germany (1939–40)  Kriegsmarine (1940) Bremen (1940–42) Kriegsmarine (1942–45) London, United Kingdom (1945–46) Vladivostok, Soviet Union (1946-91) Russia (since 1991)
Builder	Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG
Launched	August 1939
Out of service	1979
Identification	United Kingdom Official Number 180962 (1945–46) Code Letters GLTZ (1945–46) Code Letters UPJA (since 1946) IMO number: 5382609
Status	Museum ship
General characteristics
Class and type	Cargo liner (1939–42, 1945–48) Hospital ship (1942–45) Research vessel (1948–79) Museum ship (since 1994)
Tonnage	2,471 GRT, 1,821 NRT (as built)
Displacement	5,701 tonnes (as converted)
Length	101.50 m (333 ft 0 in) (as built) 109.44 metres (359 ft 1 in) (as converted)
Beam	14.50 m (47 ft 7 in) (as built) 14.56 metres (47 ft 9 in) (as converted)
Draught	5.84 m (19 ft 2 in) (as built) 5.86 metres (19 ft 3 in) (as converted)
Depth	4.72 m (15 ft 6 in) (as built)
Installed power	2 diesel engines
Propulsion	Twin screw propellers
Speed	14 knots (26 km/h)
Endurance	18,500 nautical miles (34,300 km) (Vityaz)
Capacity	12 passengers (Mars)
Crew	38 (Mars) 66, plus 70 research personnel (Vityaz)

Vityaz (Russian: Витязь) is a research vessel that was built in 1939 by Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG, Bremen, Germany as Mars for Neptun Line, Bremen. She served with the Kriegsmarine during World War II and was seized by the United Kingdom in 1945. She was renamed Empire Forth for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT).

She was allocated to the Soviet Union in 1946 under the terms of the Potsdam Agreement and renamed Equator (Russian: Экватор) and later renamed Admiral Makarov (Russian: Адмирал Мака́ров). She was renamed Vityaz in 1949 and was used as a research vessel. Retired in 1979, she was preserved as a museum ship in 1982.