The Polish Navy ( pl, Marynarka Wojenna, , War Navy; often abbreviated to ''Marynarka'') is the naval

branch A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term ''twig'' usually ...

of the

Polish Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Siły Zbrojne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, abbreviated ''SZ RP''; popularly called ''Wojsko Polskie'' in Poland, abbreviated ''WP''—roughly, the "Polish Military") are the national armed forces of ...

. The Polish Navy consists of 46 ships and about 12,000 commissioned and enlisted personnel. The traditional ship prefix in the Polish Navy is ORP (''Okręt Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej'', "Warship of the Republic of Poland").

Origins

The Polish Navy has its roots in naval vessels that were largely employed on Poland's main rivers in defense of trade and commerce. During the Thirteen Years' War (1454–66), a small force of ships that primarily operated on rivers and lakes saw real open sea battles for the first time. At the

Battle of Vistula Lagoon The Battle of Vistula Lagoon ( pl, Bitwa na Zalewie Wiślanym or pl, Bitwa w Zatoce Świeżej) was fought on September 15, 1463 between the navy of the Teutonic Order, and the navy of the Prussian Confederation which was allied with the King of ...

, a combined fleet of the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exi ...

and the pro-Polish

Prussian Confederation The Prussian Confederation (german: Preußischer Bund, pl, Związek Pruski) was an organization formed on 21 February 1440 at Kwidzyn (then officially ''Marienwerder'') by a group of 53 nobles and clergy and 19 cities in Prussia (region), Prussi ...

decisively defeated the navy of the

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians o ...

, and secured permanent access to the Baltic Sea. In 1454, the maritime city of Gdańsk was re-incorporated to Poland after being previously occupied by the Teutonic Knights since 1308. The reintegration was confirmed in the

Second Peace of Thorn (1466) The Peace of Thorn or Toruń of 1466, also known as the Second Peace of Thorn or Toruń ( pl, drugi pokój toruński; german: Zweiter Friede von Thorn), was a peace treaty signed in the Hanseatic city of Thorn (Toruń) on 19 October 1466 betwe ...

, and Poland acquired the means of maintaining a large fleet on the Baltic. In 1561, following a victory over a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

fleet in the Baltic, the Polish Navy acquired a second key port at Riga, in modern-day Latvia. Battle of Oliwa 1627 II

At that time, as the Kingdom of Poland and the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lit ...

( Polish–Lithuanian union) became involved in conflicts in Livonia, Polish king

Sigismund II Augustus Sigismund II Augustus ( pl, Zygmunt II August, lt, Žygimantas Augustas; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler ...

organized a Sea Commission (''Komisja Morska'') which operated between 1568 and 1572, and supported the operations of Polish

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

s, but that met with opposition of the Poland's primary port, Gdańsk, which saw them as a threat to its trade operations (see Hanseatic League).Juliusz Bardach, Boguslaw Lesnodorski, and Michal Pietrzak, ''Historia panstwa i prawa polskiego'' (Warsaw: Paristwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe), 1987, p.231 This led to the development of a privateer port in Puck. Around the start of the 17th century, Poland became ruled by the House of Vasa, and was involved in a series of wars with Sweden (see also dominium maris baltici). The Polish kings of the period attempted to create a proper naval fleet, but their attempts met with repeated failures, due to lack of funds in the royal treasury (Polish nobility saw little need for the fleet and refused to raise taxes for its construction, and Gdańsk continued its opposition to the idea of a royal fleet). During the reign of

Sigismund III of Poland Sigismund III Vasa ( pl, Zygmunt III Waza, lt, Žygimantas Vaza; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland from 1592 t ...

, the most celebrated victory of the Commonwealth Navy took place at the

Battle of Oliwa The Battle of Oliwa, also known as the Battle of Oliva or the Battle of Gdańsk Roadstead, was a naval battle that took place on 28 November, 1627, slightly north of the port of Danzig off of the coast of the village of Oliva during the Polis ...

in 1627 against the

Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire was a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region during the 17th and early 18th centuries ( sv, Stormaktstiden, "the Era of Great Power"). The beginning of the empire is usually ta ...

, during the Polish–Swedish War. The victory over the Swedish fleet secured for Poland permanent access to the Baltic, and laid the foundations for potential expeditions beyond Europe. The plans for the permanent naval fleet fell through shortly afterwards due to a badly executed alliance with the Habsburgs who in 1629 forcibly took over the fleet. The Commission of Royal Ships (''Komisja Okrętów Królewskich'') was created in 1625. This commission, along with the ultimate allocation of funds by the

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland ( Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of ...

in 1637, created a permanent Commonwealth Navy.

Władysław IV Vasa Władysław IV Vasa; lt, Vladislovas Vaza; sv, Vladislav IV av Polen; rus, Владислав IV Ваза, r=Vladislav IV Vaza; la, Ladislaus IV Vasa or Ladislaus IV of Poland (9 June 1595 – 20 May 1648) was King of Poland, Grand Duke of ...

, Sigismund's son and successor who took the throne in 1632, purchased 12 ships and built a dedicated port for the royal navy called

Władysławowo Władysławowo ( Kashubian/ Pomeranian: ''Wiôlgô Wies'', german: Großendorf) is a city on the south coast of the Baltic Sea in Kashubia in the Pomerelia region, northern Poland, with 15,015 (2009) inhabitants. History In 1634 engineer Fryd ...

. The fleet, however, was entirely destroyed in 1637 by Denmark-Norway, despite the Danish not issuing a formal declaration of war. Support for the idea of a Polish-Lithuanian navy was weak and it largely withered away by the 1640s; the remaining ships were sold in the years 1641–1643, which marked the end of the Commonwealth Navy. A small navy was also created by

Augustus II the Strong Augustus II; german: August der Starke; lt, Augustas II; in Saxony also known as Frederick Augustus I – Friedrich August I (12 May 16701 February 1733), most commonly known as Augustus the Strong, was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as K ...

in 1700 during the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swed ...

. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, though the dominant force in Central and Eastern Europe during the 16th–18th centuries, never developed its navy to its full potential. The proportionally small Polish coastline and the limited access to the Atlantic never allowed for a massive buildup of naval forces to the level of maritime great powers such as the

Kingdom of Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a Sovereign state, sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of ...

and the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period ...

. The Partitions of Poland at the end of the 18th century brought an end to the possibility of an independent Polish Navy.

20th century

Following

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 ...

, the Second Polish Republic on 28 November 1918, by the order of

Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Naczelnik państwa, Chief of State (1918–1922) and Marshal of Poland, First Marshal of Second Polish Republic, Poland (from 1920). He was ...

, commander of the Armed Forces of Poland, founded the modern Polish Navy. The small naval force was placed under the command of Captain Bogumił Nowotny as its first chief. The first ships, which included several

torpedo boats 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 s ...

, were acquired from the former Imperial German Navy. In the 1920s and 1930s the Polish Navy underwent a modernisation program under the leadership of Vice-Admiral Jerzy Świrski (Chief of Naval Staff) and

Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Józef Unrug Józef Unrug (; 7 October 1884 – 28 February 1973) was a Polish admiral who helped reestablish Poland's navy after World War I. During the opening stages of World War II, he served as the Polish Navy's commander-in-chief. As a German POW, he ...

(CO of the

Fleet Fleet may refer to: Vehicles *Fishing fleet *Naval fleet *Fleet vehicles, a pool of motor vehicles *Fleet Aircraft, the aircraft manufacturing company Places Canada * Fleet, Alberta, Canada, a hamlet England * The Fleet Lagoon, at Chesil Beach ...

). A number of modern ships were built in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Despite ambitious plans (including 2 cruisers and 12 destroyers), the budgetary limitations placed on the government by the Great Depression never allowed the navy to expand beyond a small Baltic force. The building of one submarine, , was partly funded by a public collection. One of the main goals of the Polish Navy was to protect the Polish coast against the Soviet Baltic Fleet, therefore it put emphasis on fast submarines, large and heavily armed destroyers and mine warfare. By September 1939 the Polish Navy consisted of 5 submarines, 4 destroyers, 1 big

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 control ...

and various smaller support vessels and mine-warfare ships. This force was no match for the larger Kriegsmarine, and so a strategy of harassment and indirect engagement was implemented.

World War II

The outbreak 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 ...

caught the Polish Navy in a state of expansion. Lacking numerical superiority, Polish Naval commanders decided to withdraw main surface ships to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

to join the Allied war effort and prevent them from being destroyed in a closed Baltic (the

Peking Plan The Peking Plan"Peking" was one contemporary spelling for the city now spelled 'Beijing' in English. In modern Polish the name is written as "Pekin". Some modern Polish works refer to the "Pekin Plan". The original orders used the spelling " ...

). On 30 August 1939, three destroyers, (, , and ) sailed to the British naval base at

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

in Scotland. They then operated in combination with

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

vessels against Germany. Also two submarines managed to flee from the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

through the

Danish straits The Danish straits are the straits connecting the Baltic Sea to the North Sea through the Kattegat and Skagerrak. Historically, the Danish straits were internal waterways of Denmark; however, following territorial losses, Øresund and Fehmarn B ...

to Great Britain during the

Polish September Campaign 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 af ...

(one of them, , made a daring escape from internment in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

, and traveled without charts). Three submarines were interned in Sweden, while remaining surface vessels were sunk by German aircraft. During the war the Polish Navy in exile was supplemented with leased British ships, including two cruisers ( HMS Danae/''ORP Conrad'', and HMS Dragon/''ORP Dragon''), seven destroyers, three submarines, and a number of smaller fast-attack vessels. The Polish Navy fought alongside the Allied navies in Norway, the North Sea, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and aided in the escort of

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

and

Arctic convoys The Arctic convoys of World War II were oceangoing convoys which sailed from the United Kingdom, Iceland, and North America to northern ports in the Soviet Union – primarily Arkhangelsk (Archangel) and Murmansk in Russia. There were 78 convoys ...

, in which was lost in 1943. Polish naval vessels played a part in the sinking of the , and in the landings in Normandy during D-Day. During the course of the war, one cruiser, four destroyers, one minelayer, one torpedo boat, two submarines and some smaller vessels (gunboats, mine hunters etc.) were sunk; in total, twenty-six ships were lost, mostly in September 1939. In addition to participating in the sinking of ''Bismarck'', the Polish Navy sank an enemy destroyer and six other surface ships, two submarines and a number of merchant vessels.

Postwar

After World War II, on 7 July 1945, the new Soviet-imposed Communist government revived the Polish Navy with headquarters 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 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in th ...

. During the Communist period, Poland's navy experienced a great buildup, including the development of a separate amphibious force of Polish Marines. The Navy also acquired a number of

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

-made ships, including 2 destroyers, 2 missile destroyers, 13 submarines and 17 missile boats. Among them was a , and a modified Kashin-class missile destroyer, (). Polish shipyards produced mostly landing craft, minesweepers and auxiliary vessels. The primary role of the

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist repub ...

Polish Navy was to be Baltic Sea control, as well as amphibious operations along the entire Baltic coastline against

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

forces in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

and

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. The

collapse of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

, the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact, and the

fall of Communism The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Nat ...

ended this stance.

21st century

Poland's entrance into the

North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

has greatly changed the structure and role of the Polish Navy. Whereas before, most of Naval High Command was concerned with coastal defense and Baltic Sea Operations, the current mindset is for integration with international naval operations. To facilitate these changes the Republic of Poland undertook a number of modernization programs aimed at creating a force capable of power projection. This included the acquisition of two s from the United States. The Naval air arm has also acquired a number of

SH-2G Super Seasprite The Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprite is an American ship-based helicopter with anti-submarine, anti-surface threat capability, including over-the-horizon targeting. This aircraft extends and increases shipboard sensor and weapon capabilities against ...

helicopters. The Polish Navy continues to operate one Kilo-class attack submarine (). The Polish Navy has taken part in numerous joint force operations. In 1999 the naval base at Gdynia became the home base of all NATO submarine forces in the Baltic, codenamed "Cooperative Poseidon". That same year joint American-Polish submarine training manoeuvres codenamed "Baltic Porpoise" for the first time utilized the port in a multinational military exercise.

Modernization

As of the 2020s, the Polish Navy is modernizing its fleet. The work was initially planned as a 9 billion zloty project, but this was reduced in 2012 to 5 billion zloty, causing delays and cancellations in the succeeding years. The navy's 2017 strategy called for spending 13 billion zloty and acquiring 22 new warships, including those completed since 2013.Nowy harmonogram modernizacji MW RP.
Altair, January 20, 2017. In addition, although the force considers larger warships unsuitable for the confines of the Baltic Sea, the strategy called for extending the operational lifespan of one ''Oliver Hazard Perry''-class frigate. 12 new ships worth around 10 billion PLN were to be acquired before 2026. The plan was updated in 2017 for 2013–2022 period to be worth 13 billion zloty and called to acquire 22 new vessels. These included three coast-defense vessels, code name ''Miecznik'', that would feature a displacement of 2600 tons; and three patrol/mine countermeasure vessels, code name ''Czapla'' with 1700 tons displacement. Other purchases include six

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

s, two tankers, two rescue ships, one

ELINT Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of '' signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ...

, one logistical support ship and one

joint support ship A joint support ship (JSS) is a multi-role naval ship capable of launching and supporting "joint" amphibious operations. It also provides sea-lift, underway support, sea-basing and logistics capabilities for combined army and naval missions. Feat ...

. However some deliveries are expected up to 2026. On 2 July 2015, was christened during official launching ceremony, becoming the first new Polish-built Navy ship in 21 years. In 2022, UK shipbuilder Babcock announced that the Polish Navy had selected its Arrowhead 140 design for its ''Miecznik'' program, which will equip the navy with three new-build multi-mission frigates. The vessels are expected to be built locally in Poland. In terms of armament, the Polish Navy has acquired 36 Swedish RBS15 Mk3. and 50 (50/74) Norwegian

Naval Strike Missile The Naval Strike Missile (NSM) is an anti-ship and land-attack missile developed by the Norwegian company Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA). The original Norwegian name was Nytt sjømålsmissil (literally ''New sea target missile'', indicatin ...

s for vessels and coastal defence units. , t is planned to reinforce the Navy's helicopter fleet with four to eight ASW/ SAR units. The s program was cancelled with the sole surviving unit to be built as a patrol vessel. In June 2013 the Coastal Missile Division (NDR) equipped initially with 12

s and two TRS-15C radars achieved initial readiness.

Mission and organization

The main mission of the Polish Navy is the defense of Poland's territorial waters, coastline and its interests abroad. Other missions include the support of NATO allied operations, and search and rescue operations throughout the Baltic Sea. In addition, the Polish Navy supplies nearly 40 ships as part of the NATO Rapid Reaction Force, designed to be a force projection and conflict response force around the world. The Polish Navy is organized into 2 separate

Flotilla A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' ( fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. Composition A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same clas ...

s and a Naval Air Brigade. Until January 1, 2014 the service had a Chief of the Navy (a three-star

Admirał floty Admirał Floty (''Fleet Admiral'') is a second-highest military rank in the Polish Navy, equivalent (in the Polish Army and Air Force) to Generał broni Generał broni (literally ''General of arms'', ''general of the branch'', abbreviated gen. ...

) and a Naval Command. On that date the branch-specific Land Forces, Air Forces, Naval and Special Forces Commands were disestablished and combined into two new commands. The functions of the three-star Chief of the Navy were split between two two-star officers (vice-admirals in the Polish system of military ranks) - an Inspector of the Navy under the Armed Forces General Command, responsible for manpower, materiel and combat readiness and a Commander of the Seaborne Component Command, responsible for naval operations. * Armed Forces Operational Command in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

** Seaborne Operations Center - Seaborne Component Command in

* Armed Forces General Command in

** Inspector of the Navy in Warsaw ***

3rd Ship Flotilla 3rd Ship Flotilla ( pl, 3 Flotylla Okrętów) is a tactical unit of the Polish Navy composed of 11 subunits. The unit is a main strike force of the Polish Navy, it operates various warships types such as frigates, corvettes, submarines or fast a ...

''"Commodore Bolesław Romanowski"'' in

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 ...

**** Flotilla Command **** Submarine Ships Division in Gdynia-Oksywie ***** ORP ''291 Orzeł'' -

Kilo-class submarine The Kilo class, Soviet designation Project 877 ''Paltus'' (russian: Па́лтус, meaning " halibut"), NATO reporting name Kilo, is a class of diesel-electric attack submarines originally designed in the 1970s and built in the Soviet Uni ...

****

Combatant Ships Division - Gdynia-Oksywie ***** ORP ''272'' ''Generał Kazimierz Pułaski'' and ORP ''273 Generał Tadeusz Kościuszko'' - ''Oliver Hazard Perry''-class frigates ***** ORP ''421 Orkan'', ORP ''422 Piorun'' and ORP ''423 Grom'' - ''Orkan''-class missile corvettes ***** ORP ''240 Kaszub'' - single ship ASW corvette Project 620 ***** ORP ''241 Ślązak'' - single ship multirole corvette Project Meko A-100, being fitted out until the end of 2018 **** Support Ships Division in Gdynia ***** ORP ''251 Wodnik'' - single ship ''Wodnik-class'' training vessel Project 888 ***** ORP ''281 Piast'' and ORP ''282 Lech - Piast-class'' rescue-salvage ships Project 570 ***** ORP ''R-14 Zbyszko'' and ORP ''R-15 Maćko -'' rescue cutters Project B823 **** Reconnaissance Ships Group in Gdynia ***** ORP ''262 Nawigator'' and ORP ''263 Hydrograf - Nawigator''-class reconnaissance ships **** Hydrographic Support Squadron in Gdynia ***** ORP ''265'' ''Heweliusz'' and ORP ''266 Arctowski'' ''- Heweliusz-class'' hydrographic survey ships ***** ORP ''253 Iskra'' - ''Iskra-class'' sail training ship ***** 2 hydrographic cutters K-4 and K-10 and 3 hydrographic motor launches M-38, M-39 and M-40 **** Coastal ASM Unit ''"Commodore Zbigniew Przybyszewski"'' in

Siemirowice Siemirowice (german: Schimmerwitz, csb, Szemrejce) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Cewice, within Lębork County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately south of Cewice, south of Lębork, and w ...

***** 1st Coastal ASM Division -

***** 2nd Coastal ASM Division -

**** 9th Anti-Aircraft Division in

Ustka Ustka (pronounced ; csb, Ùskô; german: Stolpmünde) is a spa town in the Middle Pomerania region of northern Poland with 17,100 inhabitants (2001). It is part of Słupsk County in Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is located on the Slovincian Coast o ...

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 ...

MANPADS and S-60 AAA guns **** 43rd Naval Combat Engineer Battalion in Rozewie **** Naval Technical Base in Gdynia **** Military Port Command ''"Brig. Gen. Stanisław Dąbek"'' in Gdynia ***** Base Location Hel **** Naval Sailing Training Center in Gdynia **** Naval Control and Measurement Range in Gdynia-Oksywie **** ORP ''H34 Błyskawica'' - ''Grom-class'' destroyer museum ship *** 8th Coastal Defense Flotilla ''"Vice admiral Kazimierz Porębski"'' in

Świnoujście Świnoujście (; german: Swinemünde ; nds, Swienemünn; all three meaning "Świna ivermouth"; csb, Swina) is a city and seaport on the Baltic Sea and Szczecin Lagoon, located in the extreme north-west of Poland. Situated mainly on the islands o ...

**** Flotilla Command **** 2nd Landing and

Minelaying 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 contro ...

Ships Division in Swinoujscie ***** ORP ''821 Lublin'', ORP ''822

Gniezno Gniezno (; german: Gnesen; la, Gnesna) is a city in central-western Poland, about east of Poznań. Its population in 2021 was 66,769, making it the sixth-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. One of the Piast dynasty's chief cities, ...

'', ORP ''823

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

'', ORP ''824

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...

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Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...

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Mielno Mielno (german: Groß Möllen or ) is a resort town in Koszalin County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Mielno. It lies approximately north-west of Koszali ...

'', ORP ''636 Wicko'', ORP ''637 Resko'', ORP ''638 Sarbsko'', ORP ''639 Necko'', ORP ''640 Nakło'', ORP ''641

Drużno Drużno ( pl, Jezioro Druzno; german: Drausensee, lt, Drūsuo) is a body of water historically considered a lake in northern Poland on the east side of the Vistula delta, near the city of Elbląg. As it is currently not deep enough to qualify ...

'', ORP ''642 Hańcza'' - ''Gardno-class'' minesweepers Project 207P ***** TR-25 and TR-26 - minesweeping cutters Project B410-IVS ***** EOD Diver Group **** 13th Minesweeper Division "Fleet Admiral Andrzej Karweta" in Gdynia ***** ORP ''624 Czajka'' - minehunter Project 206FM ***** ORP ''601 Kormoran'' - minehunter Project 258 ***** ORP ''630 Gopło'', ORP ''643 Mamry'', ORP ''644 Wigry'', ORP ''645 Śniardwy'', ORP ''646 Wdzydze'' - coastal minesweepers Project 207M ***** EOD Diver Group **** 8th Anti-Aircraft Division in Dziwnów -

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ZU-23-2 The ZU-23-2, also known as ZU-23, is a Soviet towed 23×152mm anti-aircraft twin-barreled autocannon. ZU stands for ''Zenitnaya Ustanovka'' (Russian: Зенитная Установка) – anti-aircraft mount. The GRAU index is 2A13. Developm ...

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Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprite The Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprite is an American ship-based helicopter with anti-submarine, anti-surface threat capability, including over-the-horizon targeting. This aircraft extends and increases shipboard sensor and weapon capabilities agains ...

(3543, 3544, 3545 and 3546) ****** 6 SAR helicopters W-3WARM Anakonda (0505, 0506, 0511, 0813, 0815 and 0906) ****** 2 training and liaison helicopters Mi-2D (5245) and Mi-2R (5348) **** 44th ''Kaszubian''-''

Darłowo Darłowo (Polish pronunciation: ; ; ), in full The Royal City of Darłowo ( pl, Królewskie Miasto Darłowo), is a seaside town in the West Pomeranian Region, at the south coast of the Baltic Sea, north-western Poland, with 13,324 inhabitants as ...

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***** ''Kaszubian'' Air Group in Siemirowice ****** 7 maritime patrol aircraft M28B-1R Bryza M28B-1R (1006, 1008, 1017, 1022, 1114, 1115 and 1116) ****** 1 maritime patrol and submarine detection aircraft M28B-1RM/BIS Bryza (0810) ****** 2 environmental monitoring aircraft An-28E (0404 and 0405) ***** ''

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****** 2 SAR helicopters Mi-14PŁ/R (1009 and 1012) ****** 8 ASW helicopters Mi-14PŁ (1001, 1003, 1004, 1005, 1007, 1008, 1010 and 1011) ****** 2 SAR helicopters W-3WARM Anakonda (0209 and 0304) ****** 2 training and liaison helicopters Mi-2R (5828 and 5830) *** Naval Hydrographical Bureau in Gdynia *** 6th Oliwa Radioelectronic Reconnaissance Regiment ″Admiral Arendt Dickmann″ *** Naval Training Center ''"Vice Admiral Józef Unrug"'' in Ustka *** Naval NCO School in Ustka *** Diving and Deep Diving Training Center of the Polish Armed Forces ''"Commodore Stanisław Mielczarek"'' in Gdynia

Ranks and insignia

;Officers ;Other ranks

Equipment

Ships

Currently, the Polish Navy operates 48 ships, including: 3 submarines, 2 frigates, 2 corvettes, 3 fast-attack craft, 21 mine destroyers, 5 mine layers, 4 salvage ships, 6 auxiliary ships and 2 training vessels. Also, the navy operates 40 naval aircraft, including 10 maritime patrol planes, 4 transport planes, 10 search air-rescue helicopters, 12 anti-submarine warfare helicopters, 4 transport & training helicopters. The Polish Ministry of Defence has additionally started multiple programs to modernise and revive the Polish Navy such as the Miecznik programme, the Kormoran class minesweepers, the Orka submarine program and many more.

Aircraft

Coastal Defense

References

Bibliography

* * Peszke, Michael Alfred, ''Poland's Navy: 1918–1945'', New York, Hippocrene Books, 1999, .

External links

Official Marynarka Wojenna homepage

A history of the navy to 1945

Polish Navy Homepage 1939–1947
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