SM - ORP Żbik (Ż)

Dělo ráže 100 mm typu Schneider vz.1917 L/40 z výzbroje ORP Żbik.
V současné době se nachází ve venkovní expozici lodních zbraní v Muzeum Marynarki Wojennej v přístavu Gdynia.


Zdroj: poznámky z návštěvy muzea a vlastní foto.

History of ORP Żbik


When in the 1920s the modern Polish Navy was created, it was decided that submarines should become a part of it. In 1924 Polish staff specialists worked out the requirements for the technical parameters of the future vessels. Initially it was supposed to be up to 9 submarines, but in the end it was decided to build 3. Since Polish shipyards were unable to produce the required type of ships, Poland turned to France, with which it was linked by military and economic agreements.
On 1 December 1926 a contract was signed for the construction of 3 universal submarines, capable of both offensive and defensive tasks. For this purpose they were to be equipped not only with torpedo tubes but also with mines. The project was based on the French "Pierre Chailley" type from 1917. Each submarine was to be built in a different shipyard. In the next years it turned out that this was not a very happy choice, the submarines were faulty, had many defects and imperfections that were removed only during service. The main cause was probably the complete inexperience of the selected shipyards in building ships of this type and size.


Sometime during the year 1927, probably as the last one, the keel of the third submarine of the Wilk class was laid. Construction began at the Chantiers Naval Francais shipyard in Caen. The construction progressed rather slowly and so the hull of the new submarine was not launched until 14 June 1930. During the christening ceremony the new ship was named ORP "Żbik". The commander of the submarine was appointed in September of the same year an experienced officer, Kapitan marynarki Eugeniusz Pławski.
The new submarine was being completed until May 1931, when the first trials began and defects and problems were being ironed out. In October 1931 the ORP "Żbik" went to sea for the first time and went on trials and test cruises until November.


At the beginning of 1932 the submarine was finally finished and ready to be handed over to Poland. On 20 February 1932 the Polish flag was raised on ORP "Żbik" and the submarine was incorporated into the Polish Navy. On the same day, ORP "Żbik" sailed to the port of Cherbourg. She remained in this French port until 15 March 1932, when she finally set sail for Poland.
On 18 March 1932, ORP "Żbik" entered Polish waters, where she met her sister ship ORP "Wilk" and the gunboat ORP "Generał Haller". He landed in Gdynia a day later, 19 March 1932.


On 1 May 1932, the Submarine Division was formed, which included, in addition to the ORP "Żbik", the sister submarines ORP "Wilk" and ORP "Ryś", as well as the torpedo boat ORP "Kujawiak" and the training sailing ship "Lwów". The commander of the entire division was appointed the then commander of ORP "Żbik", promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander, Eugeniusz Pławski. The ORP "Żbik" was given the identification emblem "Ż", which was placed on the turret.
Until the end of August, the submarine then went on training cruises around the coast to allow the crew to perfect their handling of the new ship. On 23 August 1932 all three submarines sailed for an official visit to Stockholm. On 25 August, they met the destroyers ORP "Storm" and ORP "Wicher" near the Swedish coast (at Sandhamn Lighthouse) and the entire fleet entered Stockholm.
The Polish ships remained on an interstate visit until 29 August, when they left the Swedish port. The submarines arrived back in Gdynia on 1 September 1932.
From September until December 1932 the ORP "Żbik" then sailed on training cruises to train the crew in combat readiness. In December 1932 the commanders also changed, the new commander became Kapitan marynarki Henryk Kłoczkowski.





ORP Żbik during the "Celebration of the Sea" in 1932



During the year 1933, apart from normal patrol cruises, ORP "Żbik" visited with her sister submarine ORP "Ryś" Helsinki, Finland.


In August 1934 ORP "Żbik", together with the other two submarines, visited successively Amsterdam, Holland, Oslo, Norway, Copenhagen, Denmark and Karlskrona, Sweden.


From March until June 1935, the submarine stayed at the torpedo training ground in Puck Bay, where she practiced torpedo attacks, emergency surfacing, gunnery and manoeuvring underwater and afloat.
On 14 July all three submarines sailed for Tallinn, where they stayed on an international visit from 17 to 20 July 1935. As early as 22 July the submarines were again in Gdynia.
From September 1935 until June 1936 the crew of ORP "Żbik" trained on the waters of the Baltic.
At the end of 1935, the Vickers anti-aircraft gun was also removed from the deck and replaced with a Hotchkiss double-barrelled machine gun.


On 14 June 1936 all three Polish submarines unofficially visited Estonia during a training cruise and landed in the Narva estuary.


On 1 July 1937, the identifying emblem was removed from the turret of the ORP "Żbik" (and from the turrets of the other submarines).
On 10 July 1937, ORP "Żbik", together with ORP "Ryś", took part in public demonstrations on the Gdynia River.


In July 1938 the new commander of the submarine was Lieutenant Commander Michał Żebrowski.


From January until May 1939 ORP "Żbik" participated in intensive combat exercises.


On 24 August 1939 the Submarine Division was ordered to mobilize, ORP "Żbik" was inspected for combat readiness, propulsion mechanisms were checked, 10 torpedoes, 22 mines, 114 rounds for the deck gun were loaded and refuelled.
On 26 August 1939, a few days before the outbreak of war, ORP "Żbik" was moved to the military port of Hel.


On 1 September 1939, early in the morning, the submarine received orders to put to sea. At 06:00, the ORP "Żbik" untied and sailed into the waters of the Baltic. Later, when the submarine's bow was already cutting the water, two orders came. The first one ordered all submarines to operate underwater, the second one ordered to open the sealed envelope X, containing the directives of the "Worek" plan.
According to this plan, ORP "Żbik" was to patrol the sector located northeast of Jastarnia, in the open sea. During the voyage, the submarine spotted several smaller enemy ships, but, in accordance with the orders and also because of the considerable distance, did not attack them.
On 2 September 1939 the submarine was patrolling in a marked sector, where she was momentarily spotted by a German U-boat "U-18".
Until 6 September ORP "Żbik" patrolled in the marked sector without any success. Ships and aircraft were searching for Polish submarines, and ORP "Żbik" found no target to attack. During the day it stayed underwater, at night it recharged its batteries on the surface. Almost every night, however, he had to dive because of the dark silhouette of a warship. On the evening of 6 September 1939 the submarine sailed to the next sector, north of Hel Hel Spit, where, according to the directives of the "Worek" plan, she was to lay a minefield.
On 7 September 1939, at 23:05, while ORP "Żbik" was recharging batteries on the surface, it was spotted by a German submarine U-22" at a distance of about 3 Nm. The German submarine approached and fired a torpedo, but it exploded prematurely about 200 metres from the side of the ORP "Żbik". The Polish submarine immediately submerged and the German commander Werner Winter later reported her sinking.
On 8 September 1939, the ORP "Żbik" slowly moved to the sector where it was to lay mines.
On 9 September 1939, during the day, ORP "Żbik" laid a minefield about 9 Nm from Helska Spit at the level of Jastarnia. In accordance with other orders, she then sailed to the next sector of the patrol, between 016°E and 017°E. In the minefield laid by ORP "Żbik", the German minesweeper "M-85" sank on 1 October 1939. It was the only success of Polish submarines during the invasion of Poland. Later, on 23 January 1940[/b:aaaa], probably in the same minefield, a German fishing boat blew up.
On 12 September, the Polish submarine, under new orders, approached the shores of Őland and some of the crew developed symptoms of poisoning, probably from food.
On 13 September 1939 the ORP "Żbik" changed course to the east and before midnight was off the island of Södramisjöbaken.
On 14 September 1939 the Polish submarine received an order instructing the commander to sail ORP "Żbik" to Great Britain or, after running out of fuel, to be interned in the nearest Swedish port. On the submarine, about a quarter of the crew was already sick.
On 16 September 1939, the submarine was damaged in a storm, and water began to seep through the main hatch on the turret into the interior of the ORP "Żbik".
On 17 September 1939 ORP "Żbik" was flooded by a wave during the storm and water got into the interior of the submarine. The batteries were flooded and leaking chlorine forced the crew to abandon this section. In addition, the submarine could not submerge. The technical condition of the submarine deteriorated rapidly and during the day most of the crew began to show symptoms of chlorine poisoning.
On 18 September 1939, Commander Second Lieutenant Żebrowski decided to sail with ORP "Żbik" to Great Britain. The crew of the submarine repaired much of the damage with their own forces, but unfortunately they failed to replace the rotten rubber seals of the hatches and water was still penetrating the interior of the submerged ship. ORP "Żbik" patrolled off Gotland and spotted several German transport ships.
On 24 September 1939, due to the poor technical condition of the submarine and the poor health of the crew, Commander Żebrowski decided to have the submarine interned in Sweden. ORP "Żbik" then headed for Swedish shores.
On 25 September 1939 ORP "Żbik" entered the Swedish port of Stavsnäs and was interned. Later the submarine was towed to the port of Vaxholm, where it joined the previously interned submarines ORP "Sęp" and ORP "Ryś".
On 26 September 1939 the Polish submarine was disarmed, the radio station was also sealed and the drive shafts were disconnected and partially dismantled.


In April 1940, the ORP "Żbik", along with two other submarines - ORP "Sęp" and ORP "Ryś", were moved to Stockholm, where they were repaired and the ship's equipment preserved. The exiled Polish Navy at the time attempted to recover the submarines and transport them to the UK. However, following the occupation of Norway by the German army in May, these attempts were rejected by the Swedes. The submarines, which were by then already equipped with torpedoes and guns, were disarmed again and on 10 June combat readiness was called off.
On 4 July 1940, ORP "Żbik", together with the others, was towed to the islet of Högholm on Lake Mälaren near Stockholm and on 18 July to another islet, Fallskör.
On 1 September 1940 the command structure of the interned submarines changed. A single detachment was formed from the crews, under the command of the commander of ORP "Sęp", Lieutenant Commander Salamon. The commander of ORP "Żbik", Lieutenant Commander Żebrowski, became his deputy.
Finally, in October 1940, the submarines and their crews moved to the town of Mariefred on the shores of Lake Mälaren.


All submarines were towed without crews on 26 June 1941 to Stockholm, but were returned to Mariefred during September.


In August 1942 and eventually in April 1944 ORP "Żbik" was towed to Stockholm. Necessary repairs and conservation work were carried out on the submarine.


On June 23, 1945 a Polish commission arrived in Sweden to recover the interned ships for Poland. After the contracts were signed, the technical condition of the submarines was examined and a schedule of necessary repairs was drawn up. A publicity campaign was also launched to persuade the submarine crews to return to their homeland.
On 5 September 1945, ORP "Żbik" and the remaining two submarines were officially taken over from the Swedish authorities.
On 6 September, the return of the ship to operational condition began, with some batteries being moved from ORP "Sęp" to make ORP "Żbik" seaworthy. Fuel was refueled, torpedoes and supplies were loaded. As the original commander of the submarine, Lieutenant Commander Żebrowski, refused to return to Poland, the command was temporarily taken over by Kapitan marynarki, reservist Mańkowski.
On 21 October 1945, the Polish flag was raised on the submarines again after many years and the ships set off for Gdynia, where they arrived on 25 October.
On 26 October, the submarines landed in the military port of Oksywie and on 28 October 1945 they were ceremonially welcomed by representatives of the government and the army.
On 30 October 1945 ORP "Żbik" was officially reintegrated into the Polish Navy. Captain Zygmunt Grabowski was appointed the commander.
On 15 December 1945 ORP "Żbik" was incorporated into the reconstituted Submarine Division, commanded by Lieutenant Commander Aleksander Mohuczy.


On 26 March 1946 the Minister of Defence, Marshal Żymierski, visited the submarine.
On 8 August 1946[/b:aaaa], ORP "Żbik" was towed to the Gdynia shipyard for refitting and repairs, which lasted almost three years, until March 1949[/b:aaaa]. During the rebuilding, the machine gun was dismantled and the torpedo tubes were adapted to Soviet torpedo types.


ORP "Żbik" was reinstated into service in April 1949.


From January until June 1951, intensive crew training took place on board ORP "Żbik".
In July 1951, during the exercise, the submarine dived to a depth of 70 metres, but the design depth of the dives was set at 50 metres.


Throughout 1952 the submarine's crew participated in combat exercises. The commander of the ORP "Żbik" was appointed Lieutenant of the Navy Leon Sałkowski.


In September 1953, ORP "Żbik" was inspected by a commission of the Polish Navy, which found that the propulsion mechanisms were badly worn and the hull in very poor condition. For this reason, the commission ordered a maximum immersion depth of 20 metres for the submarine.


During the year 1954 the submarine served mainly as a school ship.


On 10 January 1955, the submarine was again visited by a Navy commission and determined to be of minimal combat value.
On 9 September 1955 the Polish flag was lowered on ORP "Żbik" and the submarine was officially decommissioned from the PMW.


In 1956, the history of ORP "Żbik" came to an end when the submarine was gradually dismantled and scrapped.




Sources:
PEREPECZKO, Andrzej: Storm over the Atlantic, Volume 1. 1st edition. Prague: 200s. ISBN 80-206-0725-0, from the Polish original Burza nad Atlantykiem, Warszawa 1999 translated by Evžen Škňouřil
HRBEK, Ivan, HRBEK, Jaroslav: Salvy nad vlnami: Od výstřelů na Westerplatte po zkázu Bismarcka. 1st edition: 336s. ISBN 80-206-0319-0
http://en.wikipedia.org
http://pl.wikipedia.org
http://de.wikipedia.org
http://marynarkawojenna.pl/start_n.htm
www.polishnavy.pl
www.op.osw.pl/op/polskie_op/
www.militarium.net
www.iirp.prv.pl
www.bolas.prv.pl

Kulomety Hotchkiss vz.30 ráže 13,2mm z ORP Żbik v expozici Muzea Marynarki Wojennej ve Gdyni.