ORP Orzel
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- For other ships of the Polish Navy named ORP Orzeł see: ORP Orzeł (disambiguation)
ORP Orzeł ("Eagle") was a Polish Navy submarine in service during the World War II.
The ship was built in the Dutch shipyard "De Schelde" in 1937-1938 together with her sister ship ORP Sęp ("Vulture"). A modern design (designed by Polish and Dutch engineers), albeit a bit too large for the shallow Baltic Sea.
At the start of hostilities Orzeł was on patrol in its designated sector of the Baltic Sea. Unable to return to the Polish Naval Bases at Gdynia or Hel, Orzeł had to make its way into a neutral port to offload its sick captain. The crew chose to go to Tallinn, Estonia on September 14, 1939. At the German insistence the Estonian authorities interned the crew, confiscated the maps and started to dismantle the armament. The crew elected to escape with ship and make the perilous journey to England. Under the new command of its former XO, Lt.Cdr. Jan Grudzinski VM DSO, Orzeł escaped on September 18 with two Estonian guards taken captive. The Estonian and German press declared them dead, yet the new captain carried them to Swedish shores and provided them with money and food for their safe return home saying that if one is returning from the underworld he should travel first class only.
Without the maps and most of navigation equipment, ORP Orzeł remained in the Baltic and the crew decided to look for some German ships to sink. No ships were sunk, but Orzeł remained in the Baltic long after all pockets of resistance on Polish teritory were conquered by the Nazis. She evaded the numerous Kriegsmarine ships hunting for her, and made it to England on October 14.
After refitting and rest, Orzel went immediately on patrol. It sank the German troop transport "Rio de Janeiro" that was heading for the invasion of Norway in early May 1940. The ship was lost with all hands on the next patrol somewhere in the North Sea, in late May 1940.
External links
- Association of the "ORZEL" submarine search group (http://www.orzel.one.pl/en/news.php)