ORP Błyskawica
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ORP ''Błyskawica'' (Lightning) is a which served in the Polish Navy during
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 ...
. It is the only Polish Navy ship to have been decorated with the ''
Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', pl, Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was created in 1792 by Polish King Stan ...
'', Poland's highest military order for gallantry, and in 2012 was given the
Pro Memoria Medal The Pro Memoria Medal is a Polish civil state decoration awarded by the head of the Office for War Veterans and Victims of Oppression. Established 25 January 2005, the medal is awarded for outstanding contributions in perpetuating the memory of th ...
. ''Błyskawica'' is preserved as a
museum ship A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...
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 ...
and is the oldest preserved destroyer in the world. ''Błyskawica'' is moored next to the ''
Dar Pomorza The ''Dar Pomorza'' ( en, Gift of Pomerania) is a Polish full-rigged sailing ship built in 1909 which is preserved in Gdynia as a museum ship. She has served as a sail training ship in Germany, France, and Poland. ''Dar Pomorza'' won the Cutty ...
''. She was the second of two ''Grom'' (Thunderbolt)-class destroyers built for the Polish Navy by
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 ...
, of
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 ...
, in 1935–37. The ''Grom'' class were two of the most heavily armed and fastest destroyers in World War II.


Construction and design

In 1934 the British shipbuilder
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 ...
won a competition to design and build large destroyers for the Polish Navy, beating a proposal from fellow British shipbuilder
Swan Hunter Swan Hunter, formerly known as Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, is a shipbuilding design, engineering, and management company, based in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England. At its apex, the company represented the combined forces of three powe ...
. (A design by the French shipyard
Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire (ACL) was a French shipbuilding company of the late 19th and early 20th century. The name translates roughly to English as "Workshops and Shipyard of the Loire". Early years In the eighteenth century Nantes h ...
had been rejected in 1933).Friedman 2009, p. 35. An order for two destroyers of the ''Grom'' class was placed on 29 March 1935.Gardiner and Chesneau 1980, p. 349. At the turn of the 1920s and 1930s, the Naval Directorate (KMW) made efforts to acquire other destroyers after the ''Wicher'' and ''Burza''. The 1932 Danzig crisis led to a navalist turn in Poland, and Poland's de facto leader, Marshal
Józef Piłsudski ), Vilna Governorate, Russian Empire (now Lithuania) , death_date = , death_place = Warsaw, Poland , constituency = , party = None (formerly PPS) , spouse = , children = Wan ...
, became more willing to allocate funds for the navy. On November 24, 1932, the head of the KMW Rear Admiral Jerzy Świrski obtained, after a personal conversation with Marshal Piłsudski, his oral consent to expand the existing fleet. Poszukując nowych niszczycieli: Przedwojenne przetargi na polskie niszczyciele. „Morza, Statki i Okręty”. 4/2000. s. 46–53. As a result, in May 1933, a tender for the supply of two destroyers was issued among the French shipyards, and after its fiasco, the next in January 1934 among the Swedish shipyards, also failed in disagreement. During this time, tactical and technical assumptions for the planned ships crystallized, including, among others, the use of the artillery department of the Bofors section, 120 mm, as the main artillery. At the time of their construction, the ''Grom''s were amongst the fastest and most heavily armed destroyers to be built.Whitley 2000, p. 219. ''Błyskawica'' was
long overall __NOTOC__ Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, an ...
and
between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the stern ...
, with a
beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...
of and a draught of . Displacement was
standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...
and
full load The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...
.Kolesnick 1977, p. 5. Three 3-drum boilers fed steam to two sets of geared steam turbines which were rated at , driving two propeller shafts to give a design speed of . Main gun armament consisted of seven 120 mm (4.7 in) guns (50
calibre In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the finished bore match ...
M34/36 guns supplied by
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 ...
of Sweden) in three twin and one single mounts, with an anti-aircraft armament of two twin
Bofors 40 mm gun Bofors 40 mm gun is a name or designation given to two models of 40 mm calibre anti-aircraft guns designed and developed by the Swedish company Bofors: *Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun - developed in the 1930s, widely used in World War II and into the 1990s ...
s and eight 13.2 mm machine guns. Six
torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s were carried, compatible with the French torpedoes used by the preceding s. Anti-submarine armament consisted of two
depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...
chutes with 40 depth charges, while rails were fitted to permit up to 44 mines to be carried. The ship's complement consisted of 180 officers and men. ''Błyskawica'', the second of the two destroyers, was
laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...
on 1 October 1935 at J. Samuel White's
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 ...
,
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...
shipyard, and was launched on 1 October 1936.
Sea trials A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and i ...
were successful, with the ship exceeding the design speed of 39 knots.Kolesnick 1977, p.3. ''Błyskawica'' was commissioned on 1 October 1937.


Modifications

When ''Błyskawica'' and arrived in the United Kingdom in September 1939, it was found that the ships, designed for operations in the sheltered
Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...
, were top-heavy for operations in the rougher North Atlantic, so the ships were modified to reduce topweight. A searchlight tower on top of the ship's bridge was removed, as was a deck house aft carrying a second searchlight, and the distinctive
funnel cap A cowl is a usually hood-shaped covering used to increase the draft of a chimney and prevent backflow. The cowl, usually made of galvanized iron, is fitted to the chimney pot to prevent wind blowing the smoke back down into the room below. Un ...
. In addition, the aft set of torpedo tubes was removed to allow fitting of a anti-aircraft gun.Whitley 2000, pp. 219–220.Kolesnik 1977, p. 6. In December 1941, ''Błyskawica'' was rearmed, with the 120 mm guns for which ammunition was not available replaced by four twin Mk XVI dual-purpose guns. The 13.2 mm machine guns were replaced by four
Oerlikon 20 mm cannon The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original German Becker Type M2 20 mm cannon design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models emplo ...
and the second set of torpedo tubes were reinstated.Whitley 2000, p. 220.


Operational history

Two days before the war, on 30 August 1939, ''Błyskawica'' withdrew, along with the destroyers and , 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 from ...
to
Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
in accordance with 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 "P ...
to avoid open conflict with Germany and possible destruction. The three destroyers were sighted by German warships, including the cruiser on 30 and 31 August, but hostilities had not yet started, and the Polish destroyers passed by unhindered, reaching
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 at 17:30 on 1 September 1939.Rohwer and Hümmelchen 1992, p. 1.Kolesnik 1977, pp. 3–4. From then on they acted in tandem with the
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 F ...
's
Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...
. On 7 September 1939, ''Błyskawica'' made contact with and attacked a
U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
. In early May 1940, ''Błyskawica'' took part in the Norwegian Campaign, shelling German positions and downing two
Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
aircraft. Her sister ship ''Grom'' was bombed and sunk during the campaign. Later that month, she took part in covering
Operation Dynamo Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...
, the successful British led evacuation from Dunkirk. During the rest of the war, ''Błyskawica'' took part in convoy and patrol duties, engaging both
U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
s and the
Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
in the
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
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
. In 1941 her 120 mm guns were replaced with British dual-purpose guns. The ship was also given escort duties for troop transports, notably , being one of the few ships that could keep up with the liner. On the night of 4–5 May 1942, ''Błyskawica'' was instrumental in defending the
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...
town of
East Cowes East Cowes is a town and civil parish in the north of the Isle of Wight, on the east bank of the River Medina, next to its west bank neighbour Cowes. The two towns are connected by the Cowes Floating Bridge, a chain ferry operated by the Isle ...
from an air raid by 160 German bombers. The ship was undergoing an emergency refit at the
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 ...
yard where she had been built and, on the night of the raid, fired repeated rounds at the German bombers from outside the harbour; her guns became so hot they had to be doused with water from the
River Medina The River Medina is the main river of the Isle of Wight, England, rising at St Catherine's Down near Chale, and flowing northwards through the county town Newport, towards the Solent at Cowes. The river is a navigable tidal estuary from Newpor ...
. Extra ammunition had to be ferried over from
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...
. This forced the bombers to stay high, making it difficult for them to target properly. The ship also laid down a smokescreen hiding Cowes from sight. The town and the shipyard were badly damaged, but it is generally considered that without this defensive action, it would have been far worse. In 2002 the crew's courage was honoured by a local commemoration lasting several days to mark the 60th anniversary of the event. In 2004 an area of Cowes was named Francki Place in honour of the ship's commander. The Isle of Wight Council approved the idea of having ''Błyskawica'' return to Cowes in 2012 to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the event and the 75th anniversary of the ship's commissioning. There were large celebrations commemorating the 70th anniversary of Cowes's defence in 2012 lasting several days and attended by Polish warship . Another large event to commemorate Błyskawica's 75th anniversary was organised by Friends of the ORP Błyskawica Society in May 2017, the Polish Navy minelayer arrived at the port to take part in the celebrations. In March 1943 ''Błyskawica'' replaced , which was sunk by
E-boat E-boat was the Western Allies' designation for the fast attack craft (German: ''Schnellboot'', or ''S-Boot'', meaning "fast boat") of the Kriegsmarine during World War II; ''E-boat'' could refer to a patrol craft from an armed motorboat to a lar ...
s on 12 March 1943, in Cruiser Force Q based at
Bône Annaba ( ar, عنّابة,  "Place of the Jujubes"; ber, Aânavaen), formerly known as Bon, Bona and Bône, is a seaport city in the northeastern corner of Algeria, close to the border with Tunisia. Annaba is near the small Seybouse River ...
, North Africa. In January 1944, the ''Błyskawica'' was assigned to the Anglo-Polish-Canadian 10th Destroyer Flotilla that battled the ''Kriegsmarine'' for the control of the English Channel. The Canadian sailors could not pronounce the name of the ''Błyskawica'' correctly and always called her the "bottle of whiskey". On 8 June 1944, the ''Błyskawica'' took part in the Battle of Ushant against ''
Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...
'' destroyers. During the war, she logged and escorted 83 convoys. In combat, she damaged three U-boats, helped sink other ships, and shot down at least four aircraft. In late 1945 and early 1946 ''Błyskawica'', along with the destroyer , took part in
Operation Deadlight Operation Deadlight was the code name for the Royal Navy operation of November 1945 – February 1946 to scuttle German U-boats surrendered to the Allies after the defeat of Germany near the end of World War II. Operation Of the 156 U-boats ...
, the scuttling of over 100 German U-boats. In the spring of 1947, ''Błyskawica'' was transferred to the new Polish government, but it was not until 1 July 1947 that she sailed out of
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 ...
under the Polish People's Navy flag. A few days later on July 4, ''Błyskawica'' docked 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 ...
.Kolesnik 1977, p. 4. In the first few years of its return to Poland, ''Błyskawica'' was used as a training ship and cruised with officer cadets on board. In 1951 ''Błyskawica'' visited
Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
.Komorowski & Wojcik p. 148 In 1951-52 ''Błyskawica'' was modernized. The ship's British 4-inch gun barrels were replaced by Soviet B-34 100 mm gun barrels in the same mountings to allow Soviet ammunition to be used, while Soviet 37 mm AA guns in four twin and two single mountings replaced the old 40 mm and 20 mm mountings. A single Soviet triple 533.4 mm torpedo tube mount replaced the British mount. Soviet radar was added, including a Soviet copy of the British type 291 radar set.Kolesnik 1977, p. 7. In September 1955, ORP ''Błyskawica'' along with ORP ''Burza'' paid a courtesy visit to
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...
, England. In July 1957, ''Błyskawica'', along with two
Kronshtadt-class submarine chaser Project 122bis ( NATO codename Kronshtadt class) submarine chasers were a Soviet design which were exported throughout the communist bloc in the 1950s. The first ship, BO-270, was built at Zelenodolsk in 1945-1947 and a total of 227 were built f ...
visited Stockholm, Sweden. During this visit, two Polish sailors jumped ship and asked for political asylum in Sweden. ''Błyskawica'' underwent a second modernization in late 1957–1960 to address issues with her propulsion system as well as radio and electronic equipment and updated radar. At the same time, her Soviet B-34 100 mm main guns were replaced with upgraded B-34 U 100mm guns. ORP ''Błyskawica'' continued to make courtesy visits to foreign ports in the decade of the 60s. She made a visit to
Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
, Finland in 1961, followed by a visit to
Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...
, England in 1962. In September 1963, ''Błyskawica'' made a port call to Copenhagen, Denmark. The ship also visited
Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...
, England in 1964 and Narvik, Norway in 1965. On August 9, 1967, destroyer ''Błyskawica'' had a tragic accident at sea while on an exercise. A high-pressure steam pipe ruptured in one of her boiler rooms, killing seven sailors. After this accident, ''Błyskawica'' remained immobilized and it was decided she would not undergo repairs. Instead, she was reclassified as an anti-aircraft defense ship for the port of
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 ...
in June 1969. In May 1976 she became a museum ship, part of the Naval Museum in Gdynia – replacing the other WW2 veteran, the aging ORP ''Burza''. In July 2006 the preserved Canadian destroyer was "twinned" with ''Błyskawica'' in a ceremony in Gdynia, Poland. Both ships served in the 10th Destroyer Flotilla during the Second World War. The ceremony was attended by former crew members of both ships and the general public. The ship was visited in 2009 by
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...
, and his wife,
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. She became queen consort on 8 September 2022, upon the acc ...
, and on 29 June 2010, at
Government House Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. The name is also used in some other countries. Gover ...
in
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...
,
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...
, presented to representatives of HMCS ''Haida'' the World Ship Trust Certificate.


References


Citations


Sources

* * * * * * *


External links


ORP Blyskawica timeline, photos, and a video of her in action.

Cowes street named after Commander of ORP Blyskawica.



Gdynia Naval Museum Błyskawica page

Polish Ship Saved An English Town

Polish Ship Saved An English Town
*
ORP Burza ORP ''Burza'' was a of the Polish Navy which saw action in World War II. Building ORP ''Burza'' (squall ''or'' storm) was ordered on 2 April 1926 from the French shipyard Chantiers Navals Français together with her sister ship . She entered ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blyskawica Grom-class destroyers World War II destroyers of Poland Cold War destroyers of Poland *Blyskawica Museum ships in Poland 1936 ships Ships built on the Isle of Wight Operation Overlord Gdynia