Polish Navy order of battle in 1939
Encyclopedia
This article details the Order of Battle
of the Polish Navy
prior to the outbreak of World War II
and the Polish Defensive War
of 1939. Following World War I, Poland's shoreline was relatively short and included no major seaports. In the 1920s and 1930s, such ports were built in Gdynia
and Hel
, and the Polish Navy underwent a modernisation program under the leadership of Counter-Admiral Józef Unrug
(CO of the Fleet) and Vice-Admiral Jerzy Świrski
(Chief of Naval Staff). Ships were acquired from France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, and the Navy was to be able to secure the Polish supply lines in case of a war against the Soviet Union
. By September 1939 the Polish Navy consisted of 5 submarines, 4 destroyers, and various support vessels and mine-warfare ships.
This force was no match for the large German Navy, and so a strategy of harassment and indirect engagement was implemented. Lacking numerical superiority, Polish naval commanders decided to execute the Peking Plan
, an operation to withdraw most of the naval vessels to British ports, from where the ships were to secure convoys with aid for Poland, either bound for Gdynia or for Constanca in Romania.
was organized into a Warsaw
-based Naval Command, subordinate to the Commander in Chief of the Polish forces, and several naval and riverine bases and flotillas. The Navy was commanded by Counter Admiral Józef Unrug
and his Chief of Naval Staff Jerzy Świrski
. Apart from its own bases, the Navy also commanded the Westerplatte
Transit Wharf, an extraterritorial base and depot in the Free City of Danzig
, commanded by Henryk Sucharski
and Franciszek Dąbrowski
. The naval bases included:
The Navy itself was divided onto four flotilla
s:
Finally, under the influence of French maritime traditions the Naval Officers' School in Gdynia (under Capt. Tadeusz Podjazd-Morgenstern) was considered a separate naval base. It used a variety of school ship
s, including most of the Polish surface vessels.
, on July 10, 1939 the defence of the Polish Pomerania
was reorganized into two separate commands under the leadership of Ctr. Adm. Unrug. The Land Coastal Command (Lądowa Obrona Wybrzeża, also translated as Land Coastal Defence) and Naval Coastal Command (Morska Obrona Wybrzeża, also translated as Naval Coastal Defence) formed the Coastal Defence Group (Grupa Obrony Wybrzeża). They were supported by the Naval Air Squadron
(Morski Dywizjon Lotniczy).
-based military area command led by Gen. Władysław Bortnowski, was led by Col. Józef Sass-Hoszowski and, since July 23, by Col. Stanisław Dąbek. It was to organize the defence of the Polish seashore, the borders with Nazi Germany
and Free City of Danzig
, as well as to prepare the defence of the Polish naval bases and the Westerplatte
outpost in Danzig.
As it was clear that the Polish defenders of the so-called Polish Corridor
would be cut off from the Polish mainland, the defence was organized into several fortified lines that were to shield the naval base of Hel Peninsula
and the city of Gdynia
from all sides, and moved from Gen. Bortnowski command to that of counter-admiral Józef Unrug
. The units included:
Altogether, the forces subordinate to Col. Dąbek numbered ca. 15,000 men.
Separate from the Land Coastal Defence were:
The remainder of the Polish forces, including the improvised units, the mobilized Police
, Border Guards, Border Defence Corps and the volunteers, were to defend the outskirts of Gdynia and the Oksywie
Heights, while the 4th battalion of the Border Defence Corps was to defend Hel
. The anti-air defence was provided by the 1st and 2nd battalion of AA artillery, with 14 75 mm guns wz.22/24 and 14 40 mm wz. 38 guns
.
batteries of Hel and Oksywie. Out of the destroyer flotilla, all but one were withdrawn to Great Britain
during the Operation Peking. These included ORP Burza
under Lt. Cmdr. Stanisław Nahorski, ORP Błyskawica under Lt. Cmdr. Włodzimierz Kodrębski and ORP Grom under Lt. Cmdr. Aleksander Hulewicz.
The only large surface vessels to be left in Poland before the outbreak of hostilities were the heavy minelayer ORP Gryf
under Stefan Kwiatkowski (later replaced by Lt. Cmdr. Wiktor Łomidze) and its escort, the destroyer ORP Wicher under Stefan de Walden
.
The submarine flotilla was left in Poland with the task of disrupting the enemy movement in the area of the Bay of Gdańsk, as well as to lay mines on the routes from Germany to East Prussia
n ports in the Operation Worek. Commanded by Lt. Cmdr. Adam Mohuczy
, the flotilla included:
Apart of the abovementioned ships, a number of other vessels were left in the Polish naval bases, including several smaller torpedo boats, mine trawlers, minelayers and auxiliary vessels. The Minelayer/Minesweeper Flotilla (Flotylla Minowców) was composed mostly of the so-called birdies (ptaszki, a nickname coined after the fact that all of the Jaskółka class ships were named after a different species of non-raptor birds).
Two obsolete gunboat
s, the ORP Generał Haller and ORP Komendant Piłsudski were grouped in the so-called group of gunboats. Other ships left in the bases of Gdynia and Hel included frogmen
support ship ORP Nurek, school artillery ship
ORP Mazur
and three mobilized patrol boats of the Border Guard, the ORP Batory
, ORP Mazur
and ORP Kaszub
.
(Morski Dywizjon Lotniczy) was composed of two escadrilles of seaplane
s, both based in Puck
and commanded by Lt. Cmdr. Edward Szystowski. The squadron consisted of roughly 17 obsoleted planes (mostly Lublin R-VIII
and Lublin R-XIII
Hydro of various versions), three liaison planes (one RWD-14 Czapla
and two RWD-17
), and a single modern CANT Z.506
Airone, purchased in Italy
.
Both escadrilles were to provide reconnaissance for the ships of the Polish Navy, while the fighter
cover was to be provided by the organic
squadrons of the Army Pomorze fighting in southern Pomerania
. However, the Naval Air Squadron was mostly destroyed on the ground on September 1, with its commander being the first Allied naval officer to be killed in action in World War II
.
proved to be almost impassable to troops of both sides. Lack of roads and railways posed a serious danger to infantry and cavalry that could easily be cut off both by the enemy and the weather. Because of that, a number of river monitor
s were either constructed or acquired from private owners and armed. They were used on the Pripiat River, as well as its extensive river basin. After the war, some of the ships were returned to their owners, while the rest remained in active service and were pressed into the so-called Pinsk Flotilla.
In the peace time the Riverine Flotilla of the Polish Navy
, as it was officially called, operated on the Pina River, as well as on Pripyat and Strumień. It served as a mobile reserve of the Border Defence Corps and was to support the front in case of a war with the Soviet Union
. Prior to the outbreak of the Polish Defensive War
, a number of ships and detachments of the Riverine Flotilla were moved to the Vistula
River as a Separated Detachment of the Vistula River (Oddział Wydzielony Rzeki Wisły), better known as the Vistula Flotilla. During the fights against the Soviets and the Germans, most of the ships were sunk by the crews to avoid enemy capture.
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 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...
prior to the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the Polish Defensive War
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
of 1939. Following World War I, Poland's shoreline was relatively short and included no major seaports. In the 1920s and 1930s, such ports were built in Gdynia
Gdynia
Gdynia is a city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland and an important seaport of Gdańsk Bay on the south coast of the Baltic Sea.Located in Kashubia in Eastern Pomerania, Gdynia is part of a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdańsk and suburban communities, which together...
and Hel
Hel, Poland
Hel is a town in Puck County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, located on the tip of the Hel Peninsula, some 33 kilometres from the Polish mainland.-Early developments:...
, and the Polish Navy underwent a modernisation program under the leadership of Counter-Admiral Józef Unrug
Józef Unrug
Józef Michał Hubert Unrug was a German-born Polish vice 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.-Biography:...
(CO of the Fleet) and Vice-Admiral Jerzy Świrski
Jerzy Swirski
Jerzy Świrski was a Polish vice admiral and officer in the Russian Navy and Polish Navy....
(Chief of Naval Staff). Ships were acquired from France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, and the Navy was to be able to secure the Polish supply lines in case of a war against the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. By September 1939 the Polish Navy consisted of 5 submarines, 4 destroyers, and various support vessels and mine-warfare ships.
This force was no match for the large German Navy, and so a strategy of harassment and indirect engagement was implemented. Lacking numerical superiority, Polish naval commanders decided to execute the Peking Plan
Peking Plan
The Peking PlanThe "Peking" in the name is the traditional English spelling of the former name of the city that is now the capital of China, which is now spelled in the pinyin system 'Beijing'. At the time, the city was not the capital, and its name was Peiping. Before the Second World War in the...
, an operation to withdraw most of the naval vessels to British ports, from where the ships were to secure convoys with aid for Poland, either bound for Gdynia or for Constanca in Romania.
Peace-time organization
The Polish NavyPolish Navy
The Marynarka Wojenna Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej - MW RP Polish Navy, is the branch of Republic of Poland Armed Forces responsible for naval operations...
was organized into a 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...
-based Naval Command, subordinate to the Commander in Chief of the Polish forces, and several naval and riverine bases and flotillas. The Navy was commanded by Counter Admiral Józef Unrug
Józef Unrug
Józef Michał Hubert Unrug was a German-born Polish vice 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.-Biography:...
and his Chief of Naval Staff Jerzy Świrski
Jerzy Swirski
Jerzy Świrski was a Polish vice admiral and officer in the Russian Navy and Polish Navy....
. Apart from its own bases, the Navy also commanded the Westerplatte
Westerplatte
Westerplatte is a peninsula in Gdańsk, Poland, located on the Baltic Sea coast mouth of the Dead Vistula , in the Gdańsk harbour channel...
Transit Wharf, an extraterritorial base and depot in the Free City of Danzig
Free City of Danzig
The Free City of Danzig was a semi-autonomous city-state that existed between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig and surrounding areas....
, commanded by Henryk Sucharski
Henryk Sucharski
Henryk Sucharski was a Polish military officer and a major in the Polish Army. At the outbreak of World War II, he was one of the commanders of the Westerplatte position in Danzig, which troops under his command defended for seven days against overwhelming odds. Sucharski survived the war and was...
and Franciszek Dąbrowski
Franciszek Dąbrowski
Franciszek Dąbrowski – was an officer of the Polish Navy during the Polish Defensive War against the Nazi German aggression in 1939. In September 1939 he served at Westerplatte military transit depot which took part in the Battle of Westerplatte...
. The naval bases included:
- GdyniaGdyniaGdynia is a city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland and an important seaport of Gdańsk Bay on the south coast of the Baltic Sea.Located in Kashubia in Eastern Pomerania, Gdynia is part of a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdańsk and suburban communities, which together...
-OksywieOksywieOksywie is a neighbourhood of the city of Gdynia, Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland. Formerly a separate settlement, it is actually several centuries older than the city it is a part of currently.-Etymology:...
kmdr por. Mieczysław Adamowicz - HelHel, PolandHel is a town in Puck County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, located on the tip of the Hel Peninsula, some 33 kilometres from the Polish mainland.-Early developments:...
kmdr Włodzimierz Steyer - PuckPuck, PolandPuck is a town in northwestern Poland with 11,350 inhabitants. It is in Gdańsk Pomerania on the south coast of the Baltic Sea . Previously in the Gdańsk Voivodeship , Puck has been the capital of Puck County in the Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999.-History:The settlement became a marketplace...
Naval air base (2 escadrilles and 1 support air group under kmdr por. pil. Edward Szystowski) - GdyniaGdyniaGdynia is a city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland and an important seaport of Gdańsk Bay on the south coast of the Baltic Sea.Located in Kashubia in Eastern Pomerania, Gdynia is part of a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdańsk and suburban communities, which together...
Naval Officers' School
The Navy itself was divided onto four flotilla
Flotilla
A flotilla , or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class of warship, such as frigates, destroyers, torpedo boats, submarines, gunboats, or minesweepers...
s:
- Destroyer flotilla under Lt. Cmdr. Roman Stankiewicz
- Submarine flotilla under Ctr-Adm. Adam MohuczyAdam MohuczyAdam Mohuczy was a Polish Navy officer. Captain of several ships and squadrons, Counter Admiral from 1946 and Chief of Staff and Commander of the Polish Navy from 1945-1947. In 1949 arrested by Polish secret police, accused of sabotage, tortured. Died in prison in 1953. In 1957 he was...
- PińskPinskPinsk , 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...
river flotilla under Cmdr. Witold Zajączkowski - VistulaVistulaThe Vistula is the longest and the most important river in Poland, at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is , of which lies within Poland ....
river detachment under Lt. Cmdr. Roman Kanafoyski
Finally, under the influence of French maritime traditions the Naval Officers' School in Gdynia (under Capt. Tadeusz Podjazd-Morgenstern) was considered a separate naval base. It used a variety of school ship
School ship
A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is especially used for 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 classrooms....
s, including most of the Polish surface vessels.
War-time organization
Prior to the outbreak of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, on July 10, 1939 the defence of the Polish Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
was reorganized into two separate commands under the leadership of Ctr. Adm. Unrug. The Land Coastal Command (Lądowa Obrona Wybrzeża, also translated as Land Coastal Defence) and Naval Coastal Command (Morska Obrona Wybrzeża, also translated as Naval Coastal Defence) formed the Coastal Defence Group (Grupa Obrony Wybrzeża). They were supported by the Naval Air Squadron
Naval Air Squadron
Naval Air Squadron was a unit of the Polish Air Force between the wars. The unit was formed in 1920 in Puck. In 1939 it was composed of the:* Long Range Reconnaissance Escadrille...
(Morski Dywizjon Lotniczy).
Land Coastal Command
The Land Coastal Command (Lądowa Obrona Wybrzeża, LOW), subordinate to the ToruńTorun
Toruń is an ancient city in northern Poland, on the Vistula River. Its population is more than 205,934 as of June 2009. Toruń is one of the oldest cities in Poland. The medieval old town of Toruń is the birthplace of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus....
-based military area command led by Gen. Władysław Bortnowski, was led by Col. Józef Sass-Hoszowski and, since July 23, by Col. Stanisław Dąbek. It was to organize the defence of the Polish seashore, the borders with Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
and Free City of Danzig
Free City of Danzig
The Free City of Danzig was a semi-autonomous city-state that existed between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig and surrounding areas....
, as well as to prepare the defence of the Polish naval bases and the Westerplatte
Westerplatte
Westerplatte is a peninsula in Gdańsk, Poland, located on the Baltic Sea coast mouth of the Dead Vistula , in the Gdańsk harbour channel...
outpost in Danzig.
As it was clear that the Polish defenders of the so-called Polish Corridor
Polish Corridor
The Polish Corridor , also known as Danzig Corridor, Corridor to the Sea or Gdańsk Corridor, was a territory located in the region of Pomerelia , which provided the Second Republic of Poland with access to the Baltic Sea, thus dividing the bulk of Germany from the province of East...
would be cut off from the Polish mainland, the defence was organized into several fortified lines that were to shield the naval base of Hel Peninsula
Hel Peninsula
Hel Peninsula |Nehrung]]) is a 35-km-long sand bar peninsula in northern Poland separating the Bay of Puck from the open Baltic Sea. It is located in Puck County of the Pomeranian Voivodeship.- Geography :...
and the city of Gdynia
Gdynia
Gdynia is a city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland and an important seaport of Gdańsk Bay on the south coast of the Baltic Sea.Located in Kashubia in Eastern Pomerania, Gdynia is part of a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdańsk and suburban communities, which together...
from all sides, and moved from Gen. Bortnowski command to that of counter-admiral Józef Unrug
Józef Unrug
Józef Michał Hubert Unrug was a German-born Polish vice 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.-Biography:...
. The units included:
- WejherowoWejherowoWejherowo is a town in Gdańsk Pomerania, northern Poland, with 47,435 inhabitants . It has been the capital of Wejherowo County in Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999; previously, it was a town in Gdańsk Voivodeship .-History:...
Independent Detachment (Odział Wydzielony Wejherowo; west of WejherowoWejherowoWejherowo is a town in Gdańsk Pomerania, northern Poland, with 47,435 inhabitants . It has been the capital of Wejherowo County in Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999; previously, it was a town in Gdańsk Voivodeship .-History:...
) under Lt. Col. Kazimierz Pruszkowski- 1st Marine Rifles Regiment
- PuckPuck, PolandPuck is a town in northwestern Poland with 11,350 inhabitants. It is in Gdańsk Pomerania on the south coast of the Baltic Sea . Previously in the Gdańsk Voivodeship , Puck has been the capital of Puck County in the Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999.-History:The settlement became a marketplace...
National Defence battalion
- Redłowo Independent Detachment (Odział Wydzielony Redłowo; south of GdyniaGdyniaGdynia is a city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland and an important seaport of Gdańsk Bay on the south coast of the Baltic Sea.Located in Kashubia in Eastern Pomerania, Gdynia is part of a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdańsk and suburban communities, which together...
) under Lt. Col. Ignacy Szpunar- 2nd Marine Rifles Regiment
- 1st reserve infantry battalion
- KartuzyKartuzyKartuzy is a town in the historic Eastern Pomerania region of northwestern Poland, located about west of Gdańsk with a population of 15,472...
Independent Detachment (Odział Wydzielony Kartuzy) under Cpt. Marian Mordawski- Gdynia II National Defence battalion
- Kartuzy National Defence battalion
- Gdynia I National Defence battalion (near KoleczkowoKoleczkowoKoleczkowo is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Szemud, within Wejherowo County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately east of Szemud, south-east of Wejherowo, and north-west of the regional capital Gdańsk....
)
Altogether, the forces subordinate to Col. Dąbek numbered ca. 15,000 men.
Separate from the Land Coastal Defence were:
- the HelHel, PolandHel is a town in Puck County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, located on the tip of the Hel Peninsula, some 33 kilometres from the Polish mainland.-Early developments:...
Fortified Area (Rejon Umocniony Hel, ca. 3,000 men) under Ctr. Adm. Włodzimierz Steyer- supported by 4th battalion of the Border Defence Corps;
- WesterplatteWesterplatteWesterplatte is a peninsula in Gdańsk, Poland, located on the Baltic Sea coast mouth of the Dead Vistula , in the Gdańsk harbour channel...
garrison (ca. 200 men)
The remainder of the Polish forces, including the improvised units, the mobilized Police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
, Border Guards, Border Defence Corps and the volunteers, were to defend the outskirts of Gdynia and the Oksywie
Oksywie
Oksywie is a neighbourhood of the city of Gdynia, Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland. Formerly a separate settlement, it is actually several centuries older than the city it is a part of currently.-Etymology:...
Heights, while the 4th battalion of the Border Defence Corps was to defend Hel
Hel, Poland
Hel is a town in Puck County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, located on the tip of the Hel Peninsula, some 33 kilometres from the Polish mainland.-Early developments:...
. The anti-air defence was provided by the 1st and 2nd battalion of AA artillery, with 14 75 mm guns wz.22/24 and 14 40 mm wz. 38 guns
Bofors 40 mm gun
The Bofors 40 mm gun is an anti-aircraft autocannon designed by the Swedish defence firm of Bofors Defence...
.
Naval Coastal Command
The Naval Coastal Command (Morska Obrona Wybrzeża, MOW) included all of the Polish naval vessels, as well as the coastal artilleryCoastal artillery
Coastal artillery is the branch of armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications....
batteries of Hel and Oksywie. Out of the destroyer flotilla, all but one were withdrawn to Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
during the Operation Peking. These included ORP Burza
ORP Burza
ORP Burza was a of the Polish Navy which saw action in World War II.-History:ORP Burza was ordered on 2 April 1926 from the French shipyard Chantiers Naval Francais together with her sister ship Wicher...
under Lt. Cmdr. Stanisław Nahorski, ORP Błyskawica under Lt. Cmdr. Włodzimierz Kodrębski and ORP Grom under Lt. Cmdr. Aleksander Hulewicz.
The only large surface vessels to be left in Poland before the outbreak of hostilities were the heavy minelayer ORP Gryf
ORP Gryf
ORP Gryf was a large Polish Navy minelayer, sunk during the 1939 German invasion of Poland. She was one of two large Polish ships that were not evacuated to Great Britain during Operation Peking prior to the outbreak of the Polish Defensive War...
under Stefan Kwiatkowski (later replaced by Lt. Cmdr. Wiktor Łomidze) and its escort, the destroyer ORP Wicher under Stefan de Walden
Stefan de Walden
Stefan de Walden was a Polish military commander and engineer.He participated in the fights of the Riverine Flotilla of the Polish Navy during the Polish-Bolshevik War. During the Polish Defensive War of 1939, he served as the commanding officer of Wicher, one of the destroyers of the Polish Navy...
.
The submarine flotilla was left in Poland with the task of disrupting the enemy movement in the area of the Bay of Gdańsk, as well as to lay mines on the routes from Germany to East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
n ports in the Operation Worek. Commanded by Lt. Cmdr. Adam Mohuczy
Adam Mohuczy
Adam Mohuczy was a Polish Navy officer. Captain of several ships and squadrons, Counter Admiral from 1946 and Chief of Staff and Commander of the Polish Navy from 1945-1947. In 1949 arrested by Polish secret police, accused of sabotage, tortured. Died in prison in 1953. In 1957 he was...
, the flotilla included:
- ORP WilkORP WilkORP Wilk was the lead boat of her class of mine-laying submarines of the Polish Navy. The ship saw service in the Polish Navy from 1931 to 1951. Her name meant "Wolf" in Polish.-History:...
under Capt. Bogusław Krawczyk - ORP ŻbikORP ZbikORP Żbik was a which saw service in the Polish Navy from 1932 to 1955. Her name means "wildcat" in Polish.Żbik was laid down in 1927 in Caen, launched in 1930, and entered service in 1932. When World War II began on 1 September 1939, she took part in the Worek Plan for the defense of the Polish...
under Lt. Cmdr. Michał Żebrowski - ORP RyśORP RysORP Ryś was a which saw service in the Polish Navy from 1931 to 1955. Her name meant Lynx in Polish.-History:Ryś was laid down in 1927 in Nantes, France; launched in 1929; and entered service in 1932. When World War II began on September 1, 1939, she took part in the Worek Plan for the defense...
under Lt. Cmdr. Aleksander Grochowski - ORP SępORP SepFor the second ORP Sęp serving in the Polish Navy since 2002, see ORP Sęp .ORP Sęp was a serving in the Polish Navy during World War II. In Polish her name means Vulture.-Construction:...
under Lt. Cmdr. Władysław Salomon - ORP OrzełORP OrzełThree boats of the Polish Navy have been named ORP Orzeł :* ORP Orzeł was an commissioned in 1939 and lost in 1940.* ORP Orzeł was a commissioned in 1962 and decommissioned in 1983....
under Lt. Cmdr. Henryk Kłoczkowski
Apart of the abovementioned ships, a number of other vessels were left in the Polish naval bases, including several smaller torpedo boats, mine trawlers, minelayers and auxiliary vessels. The Minelayer/Minesweeper Flotilla (Flotylla Minowców) was composed mostly of the so-called birdies (ptaszki, a nickname coined after the fact that all of the Jaskółka class ships were named after a different species of non-raptor birds).
- ORP CzajkaORP CzajkaORP Czajka was a Jaskółka class minesweeper of the Polish Navy at the outset of World War II. It was built by the riverine shipyard at Modlin. Czajka participated in the defense of Poland during the Nazi German invasion of 1939....
- ORP MewaORP MewaORP Mewa was a of the Polish Navy at the outset of World War II. Mewa participated in the defense of Poland during the Nazi German invasion of 1939. The ship was damaged on 1 September 1939 by a Nazi bomb. On 3 September she was again hit by bombs and sank. The ship was later refloated and...
- ORP Jaskółka
- ORP RybitwaORP RybitwaORP Rybitwa was a Jaskółka class minesweeper of the Polish Navy at the outset of World War II. Rybitwa participated in the defence of Poland during the Nazi German invasion of 1939. The ship was damaged by a German bomb on 14 September 1939...
- ORP Czapla
- ORP ŻurawORP ŻurawORP Żuraw was a of the Polish Navy at the outset of World War II. Żuraw participated in the defense of Poland during the German invasion of 1939.-Construction and service 1939:...
Two obsolete 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:...
s, the ORP Generał Haller and ORP Komendant Piłsudski were grouped in the so-called group of gunboats. Other ships left in the bases of Gdynia and Hel included 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 ship ORP Nurek, school artillery ship
School ship
A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is especially used for 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 classrooms....
ORP Mazur
ORP Mazur
ORP Mazur was a torpedo boat, then gunnery training ship of the Polish Navy. She was the former German torpedo boat V-105. She took part in the Polish Defensive War and was sunk by German bombers on September 1, 1939, as the first combat ship in the war....
and three mobilized patrol boats of the Border Guard, the ORP Batory
ORP Batory
ORP Batory was a patrol boat of the Polish Border Guard which operated from the 1930s into the 1950s.-Service history:The vessel was built by the State Engineering Works shipyard in Modlin, launched on 23 April 1932, and entered service with the Border Guard exactly two months later at Hel in the...
, ORP Mazur
ORP Mazur
ORP Mazur was a torpedo boat, then gunnery training ship of the Polish Navy. She was the former German torpedo boat V-105. She took part in the Polish Defensive War and was sunk by German bombers on September 1, 1939, as the first combat ship in the war....
and ORP Kaszub
ORP Kaszub
ORP Kaszub may refer to one of several ships of the Polish Navy:* ORP Kaszub , the ex-German torpedo boat, V-108, launched in 1914, transferred to Poland in 1921 and destroyed by a boiler explosion on 20 July 1925....
.
Naval Air Squadron
The Naval Air SquadronNaval Air Squadron
Naval Air Squadron was a unit of the Polish Air Force between the wars. The unit was formed in 1920 in Puck. In 1939 it was composed of the:* Long Range Reconnaissance Escadrille...
(Morski Dywizjon Lotniczy) was composed of two escadrilles of 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, both based in Puck
Puck, Poland
Puck is a town in northwestern Poland with 11,350 inhabitants. It is in Gdańsk Pomerania on the south coast of the Baltic Sea . Previously in the Gdańsk Voivodeship , Puck has been the capital of Puck County in the Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999.-History:The settlement became a marketplace...
and commanded by Lt. Cmdr. Edward Szystowski. The squadron consisted of roughly 17 obsoleted planes (mostly Lublin R-VIII
Lublin R-VIII
-References:*Andrzej Glass: "Polskie konstrukcje lotnicze 1893-1939" , WKiŁ, Warsaw 1977 -External links:*...
and Lublin R-XIII
Lublin R-XIII
The Lublin R-XIII was the Polish army-cooperation plane , designed in the early-1930s in the Plage i Laśkiewicz factory in Lublin. It was the main army cooperation plane in the Invasion of Poland...
Hydro of various versions), three liaison planes (one RWD-14 Czapla
RWD-14 Czapla
|-References:*Andrzej Glass: "Polskie konstrukcje lotnicze 1893-1939" , WKiŁ, Warsaw 1977 -See also:...
and two RWD-17
RWD-17
-See also:-References:* Glass, Andrzej: "Polskie konstrukcje lotnicze 1893-1939" , WKiŁ, Warsaw 1977, p. 323-326 -External links:* and photos and drawings at Ugolok Neba site...
), and a single modern CANT Z.506
CANT Z.506
The CANT Z.506 Airone was a triple-engine floatplane produced by CANT from 1935. It served as a transport and postal aircraft with the Italian airline "Ala Littoria"...
Airone, purchased in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
Both escadrilles were to provide reconnaissance for the ships of the Polish Navy, while the fighter
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
cover was to be provided by the organic
Organic (military)
In military terminology, organic refers to a military unit that is a permanent part of a larger unit and provides some specialized capability to that parent unit...
squadrons of the Army Pomorze fighting in southern Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
. However, the Naval Air Squadron was mostly destroyed on the ground on September 1, with its commander being the first Allied naval officer to be killed in action in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Riverine flotillas
During the Polish-Bolshevik War the Pinsk Marshes in modern BelarusBelarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
proved to be almost impassable to troops of both sides. Lack of roads and railways posed a serious danger to infantry and cavalry that could easily be cut off both by the enemy and the weather. Because of that, a number of 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...
s were either constructed or acquired from private owners and armed. They were used on the Pripiat River, as well as its extensive river basin. After the war, some of the ships were returned to their owners, while the rest remained in active service and were pressed into the so-called Pinsk Flotilla.
In the peace time 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...
, as it was officially called, operated on the Pina River, as well as on Pripyat and Strumień. It served as a mobile reserve of the Border Defence Corps and was to support the front in case of a war with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Prior to the outbreak of the Polish Defensive War
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
, a number of ships and detachments of the Riverine Flotilla were moved to the Vistula
Vistula
The Vistula is the longest and the most important river in Poland, at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is , of which lies within Poland ....
River as a Separated Detachment of the Vistula River (Oddział Wydzielony Rzeki Wisły), better known as the Vistula Flotilla. During the fights against the Soviets and the Germans, most of the ships were sunk by the crews to avoid enemy capture.
See also
- Battle of the Gdańsk
- Battle of GdyniaBattle of GdyniaBattle of Gdynia was one of the major battles in northern Poland during the Invasion of Poland of 1939. The Germans' main push towards Gdynia began on 8 September and they captured Gdynia less than a week later on 14 September.- Before the battle :...
- Battle of Kępa OksywskaBattle of Kepa OksywskaThe Battle of Kępa Oksywska took place in the Oksywie Heights outside of the city of Gdynia between September 10 and September 19, 1939. The battle, fought by the Polish Army and the German Wehrmacht, was part of the Polish September Campaign during World War II...
- Battle of HelBattle of HelThe Battle of Hel was one of the longest battles of the Invasion of Poland during World War II.The Hel Peninsula, together with the town of Hel, was the pocket of Polish Army resistance that held out the longest against the German invasion...
- Orzeł incident
- Polish River Fleet
- Polish contribution to World War IIPolish contribution to World War IIThe European theater of World War II opened with the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. The Polish Army was defeated after over a month of fighting. After Poland had been overrun, a government-in-exile , armed forces, and an intelligence service were established outside of Poland....