The improved ''Grom''-class destroyers of 1939 were the third and fourth planned ships of the ''Grom'' class of

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s ordered for the Polish Navy shortly before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. They were to be built in Poland, the first destroyers so constructed, and were to be named ''Huragan'' ("

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

") and ''Orkan'' ("

windstorm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstorm) ...

"), respectively. Their design included greater power and displacement than the first two ships of the class. Their construction was interrupted by the beginning of

and they were never completed.

History

In the late 1930s, the Polish Navy decided to expand its destroyer fleet. With positive reviews of the operational service of the two British-built s, ''

Grom Grom may refer to: Military * JW GROM, a Polish special forces unit * ORP ''Grom'', several ships of the Polish Navy * Grom (missile), a Polish anti-aircraft missile * A Yugoslav/Serbian version of the Kh-23 (AS-9 'Kyle') air-to-surface missi ...

'' and '' Błyskawica'', the Navy decided to order two more ships of that type. This time, however, the order was given (on 1 May 1939) to the recently expanded Polish Naval Yard (''Stocznia Marynarki Wojennej'') in

Gdynia Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and ...

rather than to the British

J. Samuel White J. Samuel White was a British shipbuilding firm based in Cowes, taking its name from John Samuel White (1838–1915). It came to prominence during the Victorian era. During the 20th century it built destroyers and other naval craft for both the ...

shipyard in

Cowes Cowes () is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked by the Cowes Floa ...

, responsible for the two previous ships. They would have been the first

-class warships to be built in Poland (till then, the Polish shipyards have been building smaller ships, such as

minelayer A minelayer is any warship, submarine or military aircraft deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for installing controll ...

s and

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

s). The White shipyards were to provide the turbines, and some armament was also ordered abroad (main and secondary guns from Swedish

Bofors AB Bofors ( , , ) is a former Swedish arms manufacturer which today is part of the British arms concern BAE Systems. The name has been associated with the iron industry and artillery manufacturing for more than 350 years. History Located in ...

, and machine guns from the French company

Hotchkiss et Cie Société Anonyme des Anciens Etablissements Hotchkiss et Compagnie was a French arms and, in the 20th century, automobile manufacturer first established by United States gunsmith Benjamin B. Hotchkiss. He moved to France and set up a factory, ...

). The cost of the destroyers was 32 million zlotys, of which 55% was to be spent in Poland. The two new destroyers were planned with several changes in the design. The superstructure and funnels were to be grouped together, and crew quarters layout was changed.

Welding Welding is a fabrication (metal), fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by using high heat to melt the parts together and allowing them to cool, causing Fusion welding, fusion. Welding is distinct from lower ...

was to be used more prominently in the construction. Engine power was to be increased by 2,500 horsepower; the displacement would be increased by 70 tons. ''Huragan'' was to be ready for April 1942 (36 months after being ordered), and ''Orkan'', for October of that year. Construction work on ''Huragan'' begun on 15 July 1939, when its

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

was laid down. The

German invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week afte ...

on 1 September 1939 interrupted the construction; some materials were diverted to the improvised

armoured train An armoured train is a railway train protected with armour. Armoured trains usually include railway wagons armed with artillery, machine guns and autocannons. Some also had slits used to fire small arms from the inside of the train, a facilit ...

"Kashubian Dragon".Tadeusz Krawczak, Jerzy Odziemkowski: Polskie pociągi pancerne w wojnie 1939. Wyd. I. Warszawa: Książka i Wiedza, 1987, seria: Biblioteka Pamięci Pokoleń. . pp. 172–207 Within the next few weeks, the Gdynia and Polish Navy shipyards were captured by the Germans. The construction of the two destroyers, barely started, was never resumed, as the materials were scrapped or re-purposed by the occupier.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grom Improved Grom World War II destroyers of Poland