Galeb, or the Ship of Peace, was a training ship of the Yugoslav Navy and a presidential yacht used by Josip Broz Tito during his numerous journeys and for hosting many foreign leaders and famous personalities. In the territory of the former Yugoslavia, as well as in many countries of the Non-Aligned Movement, the ship became one of the symbols of Yugoslavia.
It was built in Genoa in 1938 and launched under the name RAMB III. It was reconstructed for Marshal Tito’s use in 1951.
After the liberation of Rijeka and the end of the war, efforts began to clear the port of shipwrecks. In 1947, the wreck of the Kibic was raised from a depth of 22 meters. The operation was carried out by the Split-based company Brodospas. During the salvage, the technique of raising a ship using cylinders and compressed air was used for the first time on the eastern Adriatic coast.
The ship was finally raised in early 1948, partially dismantled and reconstructed at the Pula shipyard. It was completely refurbished in a luxurious and modern style and handed over to the Yugoslav Navy as the training ship Galeb, while also becoming the presidential yacht of Josip Broz Tito. In this new role, which was very different from its original purpose, Galeb served for the next 30 years.
Tito first stepped aboard Galeb in 1952 in Podgora, when he inspected Yugoslav Navy ships from the deck. Over the following 27 years, Galeb spent exactly 549 days in Tito’s service. During those 549 days, Tito spent 318 days aboard the ship, traveling 86,062 nautical miles (157,420 km) on voyages across the Adriatic and the world’s seas as part of missions of peace and friendship. By the time of Tito’s death, 102 world leaders had visited the ship.
Galeb first attracted international attention in March 1953, when Tito sailed it up the Thames on his way to meet Winston Churchill. Tito became the first communist leader in history to visit Great Britain. During the visit, the Duke of Edinburgh officially welcomed him aboard the ship.
From March 1953 onward, Tito travelled on Galeb 14 times, visiting 18 countries across three continents—Europe, Asia and Africa—and docking in 29 ports, some of them more than once.
Many statesmen and representatives of friendly countries visited Galeb, including British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, King Paul and Queen Frederica of Greece, Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie and Moroccan King Hassan II. Leaders of Non-Aligned countries such as Gamal Abdel Nasser, Jawaharlal Nehru, Ahmed Sukarno, Kwame Nkrumah, Habib Bourguiba, Sirimavo Bandaranaike and others also visited the ship, as did Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.
Besides political leaders, Galeb hosted many internationally renowned scientists and artists, including Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, who portrayed Tito in the 1973 partisan film Sutjeska, as well as senior military officials.
Tito’s final voyage aboard Galeb took place in 1979.
Today, Galeb is located in Rijeka. It has been declared protected cultural heritage, restored according to its original plans, and is being further renovated to become a museum.
