Arend Dickmann

Who was Arend Dickmann?

Arend Dickmann, more correctly Dijckman, was briefly Admiral of the Polish Navy. He was a Dutchman, born in Delft. He lived in the Polish port of Danzig from 1608, and owned a merchant ship engaged in Baltic trade. Shortly after the outbreak of war with Sweden in 1626 he entered the service of the Polish king Sigismund III Vasa, and on 24 November 1627 was appointed admiral of the fledgling Polish Navy.

From his flagship the galleon Ritter Sankt Georg, he commanded the Polish fleet during its only major encounter with the Swedish fleet at the Battle of Oliwa on 28 November 1627. In this action the Poles captured the Swedish galleon Tigern and forced the crew of another, the Solen, to scuttle their vessel. Dickmann, now aboard the captured Tigern, was killed when a cannonball, possibly fired from galleon Pelikanen, smashed his legs. His funeral, with full honours, took place at the Marienkirche in Danzig on 2 December.