ORP ''Mazur'' was a

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...

, then gunnery

training ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house class ...

of the Polish Navy. She was the former German torpedo boat ''V-105''.Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–192
Google Books page
/ref> She took part in the Polish Defensive War and was sunk by German bombers on September 1, 1939, as the first combat ship lost in the war.

History

She was built in 1914 by Stettiner Maschinenbau A.G. Vulcan in Stettin, Germany (now in Poland). She was begun for a

Dutch Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world an ...

order, as ''Z-1'' (along with three sister ships ''Z-2'' – ''Z-4''), but after the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

she was confiscated by Germany and commissioned as torpedo boat ''V-105''. During a division of the German ships after the war in December 1919, Poland was assigned only six torpedo boats, due to a reluctance of the British to strengthen newborn navies.Michał Kochan (in Polish): ''Przyznanie i remont torpedowców w Wielkiej Brytanii oraz ich rejs do Polski'' ssignment and refit of torpedo boats in Great Britain and their trip to Poland in: Okręty Wojenne Nr. 4/2001, p. 33-34 ''V-105'' was first assigned to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, but then bought by a British dockyard and finally in 1921 exchanged with Poland for another torpedo boat (''A-69''), needed for spares, for extra charge £900 from the Poles. Poland also received her sister ship, ''V-108'' as well (later the Polish ), and four smaller torpedo boats. ''V-105'' was in a bad condition and after some repairs in

Rosyth Rosyth ( gd, Ros Fhìobh, "headland of Fife") is a town on the Firth of Forth, south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to the census of 2011, the town has a population of 13,440. The new town was founded as a Garden city-style suburb ...

, in September 1921 she was towed from Great Britain to Free City of Danzig, now Gdańsk.

Polish service

After a refit, she was commissioned in the Polish Navy on August 2, 1922, under the name ORP ''Mazur'' (named after the Mazurian people). She served in a torpedo boat unit (''Dywizjon Torpedowców'') and wore identification letters MR. In 1931 she was rebuilt as a gunnery training ship, and her armament changed. From 1935 she underwent a modernization, during which the ship lost a second funnel, returning to service in 1937.

Demise

On the first day of

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 opposing ...

, September 1, 1939, ORP ''Mazur'', commanded by Lieutenant Tadeusz Rutkowski, was in a port of

Oksywie Oksywie (german: Oxhöft, csb, Òksëwiô) is a neighbourhood of the city of Gdynia, Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland. Formerly a separate settlement, it is older than Gdynia by several centuries. Etymology Both the Polish and then Ger ...

. At 2 pm she was at a pier, preparing to leave port, when she was attacked by German Junkers Ju 87s from IV./LG.1.Jürgen Rohwer, ''Chronik des Seekrieges 1939–1945''
/ref> The ship suffered one close hit and a hit amidships, and sunk still firing at the German aircraft. A crew member, although the ship was sinking, kept firing until waves washed him overboard, which was First Lieutenant Jacek Dehnel, the grandfather of the Polish poet and writer

Jacek Dehnel Jacek Maria Dehnel (born 1 May 1980 in Gdańsk, Poland) is a Polish poet, writer, translator and painter. Life and work He graduated from the Stefan Żeromski High School No. 5 in Gdańsk, where he excelled in Humanities. Dehnel studied at t ...

.Pertek, Jerzy: ''Mała flota wielka duchem'', Poznań 1989, page 13–17.Przeglad Morski naval magazine December 2008 Nr 1
magazine as pdf document
/ref> About 40 of the crew were killed. She was one of the first two ships sunk during the war, the other was an auxiliary ship (divers' tender) ORP ''Nurek''. The wreck was scrapped by the Germans.

Gallery

File:ORP Mazur 75mm.jpg, Bow 75 mm guns after refit

History

Polish service

Demise

Gallery

References

Bibliography

See also