The ''Grom''-class destroyers were two destroyers, built for the Polish Navy by the British company of

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 ...

, Cowes. They were laid down in 1935 and commissioned in 1937. The two ''Grom''s were some of the fastest and most heavily armed destroyers 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 ...

Design

Despite having ordered its previous pair of destroyers ( and ) from

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 ...

, a country with which it had strong ties, Poland decided to acquire the second pair from 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 ...

, possibly in recognition of the excellence of British destroyer designs at the time. The selected design resulted in large and powerful ships, superior to German and Soviet destroyers of the time, and comparable to the famous British of 1936. The main armament was changed from the 130 mm used on the to the standard British destroyer calibre of 4.7 inch (120 mm). However, the guns were not British, but were instead 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 ...

50cal QF M34/36, the same as those used previously on the minelayer . Approximate cost for refurbishing of the ORP Blyskawica is around 650million zlotys.

Original ''Grom'' class

There were two ships built: * - Sunk on 4 May 1940 in

Ofotfjord Ofotfjord ( or ) is a fjord in Nordland county, Norway. It is an inlet of the Norwegian Sea, located about north of the Arctic Circle. The long Ofotfjord is Norway's 12th longest fjord and it is also the 18th deepest, with a maximum depth of . ...

near Narvik * - Currently preserved as a museum ship 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 ...

Improved ''Grom'' class

Two more ships of this class (''Huragan'' and ''Orkan'') were ordered in 1939 to be built in

, but war broke out soon after the first was laid down. They would have been the first major modern warships to be built in Poland.

Operational service

Just before the war broke out, the two destroyers were evacuated to Britain to fight alongside the Royal Navy. Since they were designed for Baltic operations, they had to be modified soon after their arrival there to improve stability, to enable them to operate successfully in the rough waters of the North Sea and the Atlantic. ''Grom'' was lost in this state in 1940. In December 1941 the remaining ship, ''Błyskawica'', had the original 4.7 inch guns replaced by eight 4-inch (102 mm) guns in twin mountings. Various other modifications of armaments and sensors were made as the war progressed.

Specifications

*Displacement: 2,144t, 2,560t full load *Dimensions: 114 m x 11.3 m x 3.3 m *Armament (initial): 7-4.7 in (120 mm) (3 × 2,1 × 1), 4–40 mm AA (2 × 2), 8 13,2 mm MG (4 × 2), 6-21 in (533 mm) TT (2 × 3), DCTs *Propulsion: 54,000 shp Parson geared turbine engines = 39 kt *Complement: 192

References

{{WWII Polish ships Destroyer classes