Order of Battle of the Riverine Flotilla of the Polish Navy

The following is the Order of Battle
Order of battle
In modern use, the order of battle is the identification, command structure, strength, and disposition of personnel, equipment, and units of an armed force participating in field operations. Various abbreviations are in use, including OOB, O/B, or OB, while ORBAT remains the most common in the...

of the Riverine Flotilla of the Polish Navy
Riverine Flotilla of the Polish Navy
The Riverine Flotilla of the Polish Navy , better known as the Pinsk Flotilla, was the inland branch of the Polish Navy operating on the Vistula river and in the area of the Pinsk Marshes between the Polish-Bolshevik War and World War II...

, an integral part of the Polish Navy

Polish Navy

The Marynarka Wojenna Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej - MW RP Polish Navy, is the branch of Republic of Poland Armed Forces responsible for naval operations...

in the period between the world wars.

Staff and the Headquarters

Initially subordinate to the Referee of the Riverine Fleet in the Ministry of Military Affairs in Warsaw

Warsaw

Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...

, in 1932 it was separated as a semi-independent branch of the navy based in Pińsk

Pinsk

Pinsk , a town in Belarus, in the Polesia region, traversed by the river Pripyat, at the confluence of the Strumen and Pina rivers. The region was known as the Marsh of Pinsk. It is a fertile agricultural center. It lies south-west of Minsk. The population is about 130,000...

. In 1939 the commander of the Riverine Flotilla was Cmdr. Witold Zajączkowski and his chief of staff was Cmdr. Władysław Szczekowski. Other members of the staff were:

Deputy commanding officer Cmdr. Henryk Eibel
Artillery officer Cmdr. Włodzimierz Kleszczyński
Technical officer Cmdr. Wacław Trzebiński
Signals officer Cmdr. Bronisław Witkowski
Intelligence officer Cmdr. Narcyz Małuszyński
Head surgeon Cmdr. Władysław Kozłowski
Chaplain Maj. rev. Henryk Antonowicz
Flags officer Cmdr. Janusz Marciniewski

Staff vessels

ORP Admirał Sierpinek command vessel (armed paddle steamer
Paddle steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...

)
S 1 liaison motorboat
S 2 liaison motorboat
Nr. 5 speed-boat

1st Combat Group

ORP Kraków river monitor
River monitor
River monitors were heavily armored, and normally mounted the largest guns of all riverine warships. The name originated from the US Navy's Brown Water Navy's USS Monitor, which made her first appearance in the American Civil War, and being distinguished by a single revolving turret.On 18 December...

(Capt. Jerzy Wojciechowski)
ORP Wilno river monitor (Capt. Edmund Jodkowski)
ORP Zuchwała gunboat
Gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...
ORP Zaradna gunboat
KU 16 (KU being an acronym of Kuter Uzbrojony, that is armed cutter in Polish; similar in shape and armament to later PT boat
PT boat
PT Boats were a variety of motor torpedo boat , a small, fast vessel used by the United States Navy in World War II to attack larger surface ships. The PT boat squadrons were nicknamed "the mosquito fleet". The Japanese called them "Devil Boats".The original pre–World War I torpedo boats were...

s and PBRs)
KU 17 armed cutter
KU 18 armed cutter
KU 19 armed cutter
KU 21 armed cutter
K 20 barrack ship (krypa in Polish terminology)
ORP Generał Sikorski anti-air defence armed paddle steamer (Capt. Władysław Fidosz - name uncertain)
Nr. 1 speed-boat

2nd Combat Group

ORP Warszawa river monitor (Capt. Jan May)
ORP Horodyszcze river monitor (Capt. Andrzej Marzecki)
KU 22 armed cutter
KU 24 armed cutter
KU 25 armed cutter
KU 26 armed cutter
K 8 barrack ship
ORP Hetman Chodkiewicz anti-air defence armed paddle steamer (Capt. Edward Kulesza)
Nr. 2 speed-boat

3rd Combat Group

ORP Pińsk river monitor (Capt. Jan Kierkus)
ORP Toruń river monitor (Capt. Bolesław Parydzaj)
KU 7 armed cutter (reconnaissance)
KU 23 armed cutter (service)
KU 27 armed cutter
KU 28 armed cutter
KU 29 armed cutter
K 10 barrack ship
ORP Generał Szeptycki minelayer
Minelayer
Minelaying is the act of deploying explosive mines. Historically this has been carried out by ships, submarines and aircraft. Additionally, since World War I the term minelayer refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines...

(armed paddle steamer)
Nr. 3 speed-boat

Mine and gas warfare detachment

ORP Mątwa minelayer, capable of gas warfare and supporting a troop of engineers
T 1, T 2 and T 3 T 5 class river minesweeper
Minesweeper (ship)
A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...

s
T 4, T 5, T 6 and T 7 T 1 class river minesweepers

Liaison unit

KM 14 liaison cutter
KM 15 liaison cutter
K 2 floating signals base (radio station)
P 3 motorboat
Two platoons of signal troops and recce squads

Base

KU 1 armed cutter
KU 2 armed cutter
KU 3 armed cutter
ORP Neptun tugboat
Tugboat
A tugboat is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal,or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for...
ORP Generał Sosnkowski hospital ship
Hospital ship
A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital; most are operated by the military forces of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones....
K 12 floating munitions depot
K 13 floating munitions depot
K 14 floating fuel depot
K 15 floating fuel depot
K 25 floating fuel depot
K 17 canteen
K 19 floating service and repair vessel
K 7 frogmen
Frogman
A frogman is someone who is trained to scuba diving or swim underwater in a military capacity which can include combat. Such personnel are also known by the more formal names of combat diver or combatant diver or combat swimmer....

support vessel
K 9 floating barracks
K 30 floating barracks

Riverine Air Escadrille

K 4 barrack vessel
P 4 motorboat
Nr. 7 speed-boat
Three R-17W seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...

s (mobilized separately)

Pińsk naval base

ORP Kiliński tugboat
Tugboat
A tugboat is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal,or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for...
P 1 motorboat
P 2 motorboat
Fifteen service vessels of various types
AA platoon
Signals platoon
Administrative service platoon

War-time reorganization

On September 15, 1939, the Riverine Flotilla received orders from the commanding officer of the Independent Operational Group Polesie

Independent Operational Group Polesie

Independent Operational Group Polesie was one of the Polish Army Corps that defended Poland during the Invasion of Poland in 1939. It was created on 11 September 1939 and was commanded by general Franciszek Kleeberg...

, Gen. Franciszek Kleeberg

Franciszek Kleeberg

Franciszek Kleeberg was a Polish general. He served in the Austro-Hungarian Army before joining the Polish Legions in World War I and later the Polish Army. During the German Invasion of Poland he commanded Independent Operational Group Polesie...

. Because of a possible breakthrough of the German forces in the northern sector of the front, the orders for the Flotilla were to prepare a defence of a 200 kilometres long front along the Prypeć

Pripyat River

The Pripyat River or Prypiat River is a river in Eastern Europe, approximately long. It flows east through Ukraine, Belarus, and Ukraine again, draining into the Dnieper....

river. The forces were to be divided into 8 semi-independent task forces, each defending a separate part of the river. However, a particularly dry and sunny summer resulted in shallow waters preventing many ships from reaching their area of operations. In addition, the Soviet invasion of September 17, 1939 made the plans obsolete.

Kaczanowicze Group

ORP Kraków river monitor
ORP Zuchwała gunboat
2 x armed cutters

Horodyszcze
Horodyszcze
Horodyszcze may refer to the following places:Horodyszcze, Biała Podlaska County in Lublin Voivodeship Horodyszcze, Chełm County in Lublin Voivodeship *Horodyszcze, Hrubieszów County in Lublin Voivodeship...

Group

ORP Wilno monitor
ORP Zawzięta gunboat
ORP Zaradna gunboat
2 x minesweepers
rifle company

Mosty Wolańskie Group

ORP Horodyszcze monitor
ORP Warszawa monitor
ORP Generał Sikorski AA ship
ORP Hetman Chodkiewicz AA ship
ORP Generał Sosnkowski hospital ship
2 x armed cutters

Przewóz Łachewski Group

ORP Pińsk monitor
ORP Toruń monitor
6 x armed cutters