Since the television broadcast of the Haganah immigrant ship Exodus, I (E Argyle)have received three letters from readers who all thought that this was the ship shown on the Israeli stamp issued in 1964 to commemorate blockade runners. Allowing for the usual artist's licence, I would agree that this is the ship intended to be honoured on the stamp. Certainly the angle of the funnel and mast correspond with the documentary film, which showed the ship heeling over at this unusual angle.
The Exodus 1947 was formerly the flagship of the Baltimore Steam Packet Company, the President War-field, built in 1928 by the Pusey and Jones Company at Wilmington, Delaware, and registered at Baltimore, where the company was founded in 1839, and is more familiarly known as the Old Bay Line. The ship had a gross tonnage of 1,814, net 706 tons. Length was 320 ft., beam 56.6 ft. and depth 16.9 ft. She had a triple-expansion engine of 4 cylinders, developing 286 n.h.p. Cylinder sizes were 24 in., 40 in., and two 47 in. with a stroke of 42 in. She was bought by the underground movement Haganah and renamed Exodus 1947. The stamp commemorates her valiant attempt to land 4,500 "illegal" Jewish immigrants near Tel Aviv before Israel became an independent country. She was captured whilst trying to run the British blockade and was taken into the port of Haifa under escort. The Exodus 1947 was burnt-out in the abortive attempt.
SG286 Sea Breezes Sept 1973