Vickers Armstrong in Barrow-in-Furness, United Kingdom
Commanders / Commanders:
captain marynarki Bolesław Romanowski (28.08.1942 - November 1944) Lieutenant Colonel Tadeusz Novorol (November 1944 - January 1945) Captain Andrzej Kłopotowski (January 1945 - 25.08.1946)
Sunken ships / Sunk ships:
Note:
Translation of name: divočák Crew: 4 officers + 27 NCOs and sailors
URL : https://www.valka.cz/SS-ORP-Dzik-P-52-t38862#250078
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Reklama
History of ORP "Dzik"
The submarine ORP "Dzik" was the second most successful Polish submarine II. World War II, one of the so-called The terrible twins - Terrible twins, two sister Polish submarines in British service, causing the Axis vessels great losses.
30. December 1941 another keel of a "U" class submarine was laid at the Vickers Armstrong shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness on the coast of the Irish Sea. This class of originally training submarines of simple construction has proved very successful, especially in the shallower waters of the Mediterranean. Because the exiled Poland Marynarka Wojenna had, after the loss ORP "Orzeł", reassignment ORP "Wilk" to School Division and Unfortunate Sinking ORP "Jastrząb", only one combat-capable submarine - ORP "Sokół", he requested kontradmirał Jerzy Świrski British Admiralty on the allocation of another ship. During the construction of the submarine with the tactical number "P 52", it was decided that the British would hand over this new ship to Poland. So was the new submarine 28. August 1942 officially handed over to the Polish Navy and the future commander appointed captain marynarki Bolesław Romanowski, an experienced submarineer who had completed service on submarines ORP "Żbik", ORP "Wilk" a ORP "Sokół". At the time of his appointment, he had just recovered from injuries sustained in the sinking of his last submarine - ORP "Jastrząb".
October 11, 1942 After the ceremonial christening, the hull of a new submarine, named ORP "Dzik" - "Wild Boar", slipped into the muddy waters of the port of Barrow-in-Furness and intensive work began. Already December 12 the Polish flag could be hoisted on the mast of a brand new submarine and December 16, after the completion of handover tests, ORP "Dzik" officially taken over from the shipyard. December 18, 1942 a new Polish submarine sailed to the base of Holy Loch and was included in the 2nd submarine fleet.
Until 20. January 1943 at the base were tested tests of the ORP "Dzik" and also the crew trained intensively on board the ship to get used to the new submarine. 30. January the submarine was transferred to the 9th submarine fleet in Dundee and on the same day sailed on its first combat voyage to the shores of Norway. Its task was to remotely protect the convoys. ORP "Dzik" returned from patrol 13. February 1943 and again he was reassigned, this time to the 7th Submarine Fleet. 23. February 1943 sailed ORP "Dzik" on patrol into the waters of the Arctic Ocean, again primarily to protect Arctic convoys. At that time, the British were mainly afraid of attacks by a German battle cruiser "Scharnhorst" and a battleship "Tirpitz". Upon his return, March 2, it was decided to move the submarine to the Mediterranean.
6. March 1943 therefore ORP "Dzik" sailed to Portsmouth, where spare parts and supplies were loaded on board. 10. March 1943 then a Polish submarine left Portsmouth and headed for Gibraltar, where it escaped 24. March. After the necessary rest of the crew, ORP "Dzik from 26. to on March 30 participated in exercises with escort ships, fully the role of the target ship. 31. March then the submarine set out for another combat patrol, from which it returned until April 20, 1943. 24. April 1943 left ORP "Dzik" Gibraltar and went to Algiers. From there, after a short stay in the port, the submarine set sail for Malta. 5.May 1943 ORP "Dzik" arrived in Malta and was included in the 10th submarine fleet, in which fought his sister submarine ORP "Sokół".
16. May 1943 sailed ORP "Dzik" on his first combat voyage in the Mediterranean. During this voyage, the submarine discovered 24. May at Cape Spartivento Italian tanker "Carnaro" (8357 GRT). Commander Romanovski ordered fire from all four torpedo launchers, two torpedoes then hit the target and severely damaged the tanker. The burning ship was later towed to Messina for repair. The submarine immediately had to seek shelter below the surface, because it was attacked by two accompanying Italian corvettes, which dropped over 60 depth charges. However, ORP "Dzik" happily escaped.
On another voyage on which the submarine sailed 8. June to the Aeolian (Aeolian) Islands, attacked ORP "Dzik" 15. June 1943 unsuccessfully three torpedoes on the Italian minesweeper "Vieste". Two days later, 17. June 1943, a Polish submarine fired three more torpedoes at a transport ship near Cape Milazzo, but probably did not hit. There was no time to find out the results of the attack, because the ship was accompanied by an Italian torpedo boat "Orione", which immediately attacked ORP "Dzik", fortunately for the Poles unsuccessfully.
During the next patrol, the submarine became part of the fleet, providing Operation "Husky" - an allied landing in Sicily, which began 9. July 1943. Later, 19. July 1943 evening, Captain marynarki Romanowski received a telegram, alerting him to the possible presence of Italian submarines in his sector. After midnight, 20. July 1943, discovered ORP "Dzik" submarine object, which fired 2 torpedoes. Fortunately, it passed, because a little later it turned out that the unknown ship was a sister British submarine HMS "Unshaken".
During the August patrol voyage, a Polish submarine ( 15.8.) attacked a lone ship, later the commander reported 2 interventions, but nothing was known about the fate of the ship. That same evening, 24 Nm east of Bari, the ORP "Dzik" attacked two Italian ships "Citta di Spezia" (2474 GRT) and "Goggiam" (1994 BRT). A fan of four torpedoes found its target and "Goggiam" was hit. So that she would not sink, her commander ordered the ship to run aground. After the attack, the ship was written off as destroyed and taken out of service. On his return to Malta, 19. August 1943, saw ORP "Dzik" sinking a large submarine. The commander ordered the remaining two torpedoes to be fired, but no action was recorded.
ORP "Dzik" in an undated picture on the shores of Malta
However, the ensuing combat cruise finally brought the long-awaited success. Due to the ongoing Allied invasion of Italy, the ORP "Dzik" had the task of blocking the enemy naval base Bastia in Corsica to prevent German forces from sailing to Italy. Captain marynarki Romanowski decided that he would best accomplish the task by trying to prevent any ship from leaving port. It operates near this port, 21. September 1943, took advantage of the ORP "Dzik" confusion, which prevailed after the Allied raid and slipped under the surface into port. Commander Romanowski saw in the periscope two large ships moored at the quay close to each other. A salvo of 4 torpedoes found its target and the former French steamer "Tiberiade" (2696 GRT) and the German tanker "Nicolaus" (originally Greek Nicolaou Ourania - 6486 BRT) sank to the bottom of the port. One of the torpedoes also hit the nearby tug "Kraft" (514 GRT) and destroyed it, along with four landing craft located nearby. After leaving the port, they saw another explosion from the submarine from where both ships were sinking. The next evening, 22.September 1943, ORP "Dzik" torpedoes attacked a group of landing craft and probably sank three of them, although in later surveys, this success of the Polish submarine proved debatable. On return from the voyage, in the morning 24. September 1943, a patrol on the ORP "Dzik" near Bastia saw a large transport ship "Champagne" (9946 GRT). The submarine fired the remaining two torpedoes, and Commander Romanowski reported two hits when he returned to Malta. However, the same success was reported at the same time by the British submarine HMS "Ultor", so it is not certain who was the real author interventions. The hit ship ran aground and was later definitively destroyed by another British submarine - HMS "Uproar". After returning from this successful voyage, the British began to nickname ORP "Dzik" and its sister submarines ORP "Sokół" [i ] "The terrible twins" - Scary twins.
At the beginning of November 1943, the ORP "Dzik" was transferred to the 1st submarine fleet based in Beirut. The Aegean Sea thus became an operational area, where the task of the submarine was to disrupt and block German traffic between the occupied Greek islands. During the first combat voyage in the new place of work, ORP "Dzik" commanded the current deputy commander - lieutenant marynarki Andrzej Kłopotowski, because Bolesław Romanowski was choosing a vacation. 17. November 1943 ORP "Dzik" while sailing on the surface saw a small sailboat near the Greek port of Monemvasia. When the ship did not respond to the stop signal, the commander ordered it sunk with cannon fire.
In December 1943 visited GeneralP "Dzik" in Beirut, General Sosnkowski.
For the first time in the new year 1944 ORP "Dzik sailed on January 2 and headed for the island of Lesbos. A few days later, 7. January 1944, a submarine fired 4 torpedoes on the German steamer "Brunhilde" (former Greek steamer-5600 GRT), operating off the island of Tenedos and accompanied by German speedboats. Commander Romanowski ordered immersion of the torpedoes to a greater depth immediately after firing to prevent counter-action by the escort. Although an explosion was heard, sinking or damage to the ship was not detected. On the contrary, one of the fired torpedoes damaged the outer closure of the torpedo launcher, leaving it flooded. The next day, 8. January 1944, during an evening voyage back to the base, a submarine near the island of Lesbos spotted the three - masted Greek schooner "Elleni" (300 GRT). ORP "Dzik" opened fire from cannons and machine guns. The Greek ship was hit several times before stopping and signaling that it was giving up. An overflow group boarded the rubber boats aboard the submarine and occupied the schooner. The Greek garrison and 10 Germans were taken captive. Once the sailboat was empty, the submarine sank it with cannon fire. 9. January 1944 then ORP "Dzik" saw another small sailing ship. The submarine signaled to stop and sent a raiding party back on board. Polish sailors found German ammunition on board the sailboat, and the Greek crew explained that the Germans had forced them to transport the ammunition, under threat of torturing their families. Captain marynarki Romanowski landed the Greek crew in a lifeboat and ordered the sailboat to sink again with a deck cannon. ORP "Dzik" did not return to Beirut until 28. January 1944, without further incidents.
ORP "Dzik" on return from one of the combat cruises
After the necessary correction, he graduated from 8. to 28. February 1944 ORP "Dzik" two more voyages, but this time without success. Upon his return, the Polish submarine was sent back to Malta, where it arrived 5. March 1944. However, on March 11 set out for the sea again, this time in the direction of Gibraltar. Here she was temporarily transferred to the reserve and remained untied until April 1944.
In April 1944 came another order, on the basis of which the submarine returned to England, specifically to the port of Plymouth. 25. May 1944 ORP "Dzik" sailed to Rothesay and later to Londonderry, where he participated in exercises as a target ship in the 7th Submarine Fleet.
Because the long operational deployment signed the technical condition of the submarine, sailed in August 1944 ORP "Dzik" to Dundee to undergo the necessary repairs. These lasted until December and during the repairs, a "snorkel" was also installed - a tube allowing the supply of air for diesel engines of a submarine sailing at periscope depth. In November 1944 also replaced the captain of the navy Bolesław Romanowski new interim commander - lieutenant marynarki Tadeusz Novorol. In December 1944 repairs and modifications of the submarine were completed and ORP "Dzik" returned to service.
At the beginning of January 1945 with the commander of the ORP "Dzik" became Captain Maryrzej Andrzej Kłopotowski and the submarine sailed on patrol to the Skagerrak. However, it did not succeed. From February 1945 until almost the end of the war, ORP "Dzik" participated in several combat cruises and also exercises with surface vessels and aircraft.
After the end of combat operations after 8. May 1945 ORP "Dzik" was deployed to the base of West Hartlepool and moored at the waterfront. At this base, the submarine remained idle until April the following year.
In April 1946 ORP "Dzik" sailed to Harwich, where he met other Polish submarines - ORP "Wilk" and ORP "Sokół" and they were tied together at the side of the destroyer ORP "Burza", which at that time served as a floating submarine base. In July 1946 the British then ordered the return of all chartered and leased ships back to the Royal Navy. In August 1946 ORP "Dzik" sailed to Portsmouth, where the submarine's successful career in exile in the Polish Navy ended. 25. August 1946 was launched from the mast of the ship the Polish flag and the submarine officially returned to the Royal Navy. The Polish flag, the "Jolly Roger" flag depicting the war successes of the submarine and also the metal letters forming the inscription "Dzik" on the tower were preserved by the Poles and are currently housed in the Marynarki Wojennej Museum in Gdynia.
However, as early as September 1946, the British leased the submarine to the newly formed Danish Navy. In October 1946 the submarine arrived in Copenhagen.
After the necessary repairs, the submarine 16. June 1947 renamed "U-1" and flew over the Danish flag. During July and August 1947 she stayed again in Portsmouth, due to the appropriate training of the new crew. In September 1947 then "U-1" together with the supply ship "Tyr" visited the Swedish ports of Stockholm and Karlskrona.
During the year 1948 the submarine "U-1" set sail for training and patrol cruises.
At the turn of summer and autumn of 1949, the submarine spent three weeks at sea without once connecting with the shore.
1. April 1951 the name was changed and "U-1" became "Springeren". In May 1951 "Springeren" together with another Danish submarine "U-2" and supply ship "Ryt" participated in a joint exercise of the Danish and Norwegian fleets. The ships visited Kristiansand together. During another joint exercise in October and November 1951 "Springeren" visited the Norwegian ports of Stavanger and Horten.
June 1952 a submarine spent time at sea training an Danish fleet. During the cruise, she also visited the British ports of Portsmouth and Portland. In October and November 1952, the crew of the submarine "Springeren" trained at the Joint Anti Submarine School in Londonderry, Northern Ireland.The submarine also visited the base of the 3rd Submarine Fleet in Rothesay and Belfast.
During the year 1953 the deck cannon and machine guns were removed from the submarine and also the "snorkel" was rebuilt, which was dismantled after the war.
submarine "Springeren" (ex.ORP "Dzik") with already removed deck cannon during one of the training voyages
During the June and July 1954 "Springeren" completed a long training voyage, associated with a visit to the ports of Copenhagen-Penland Frith-Londonderry-Rothesay and Dutch Day Helder. She then returned to Copenhagen via the Kiel Canal.
In August 1955 they welcomed a Danish submarine in Stockholm, Sweden.
During the March and April 1956, a fleet of Danish ships visited, along with the submarine "Springeren", the Norwegian bases of Stavanger, Kristiansand, Horten and Oslo.
The year 1957 was the last year of service of the submarine "Springeren" in the Danish fleet. During the voyage in March and April the ship visited the British bases of Portland and Portsmouth, and in November she set out on her last voyage under the Danish flag to Portsmouth. Here was 19. November 1957 handed back to the Royal Navy.
During April 1958 the fate of a successful submarine, which gradually served under the flag of three states, was closed and the ship was dismantled and scrapped.
ORP commanders "Dzik" captain marynarki Bolesław Romanowski (August 28, 1942 - November 1944) Lieutenant Colonel Tadeusz Novorol (November 1944 - January 1945) Captain Andrzej Kłopotowski (January 1945 - August 25, 1946)
URL : https://www.valka.cz/SS-ORP-Dzik-P-52-t38862#257818
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