Orzeł-class submarine

The Orzeł class was a short series of submarines built in Dutch shipyards for the Polish Navy in the 1930s. Four submarines were planned but only two were completed. They saw service during World War II.

Class overview
Name: Orzeł class
Built: 1930s–
General characteristics
Type: Submarine
Displacement: 1100 tons surfaced, 1473 tons submerged
Length: 84 m (276 ft)
Height: 6.7 m (22 ft)
Draft: 4 m (13 ft)
Propulsion: Twin screws with diesel/electric motors
Range: 7,169 nmi (13,277 km; 8,250 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Crew: 56
Armament: 12 550mm (21.7 inch) torpedo tubes (4 bow 4 stern 2x2 trainable mounts), One 105mm (4 inch) deck gun, One twin retractable 40mm L/60 Bofors gun

Design

Initially the design was to be built in the United Kingdom, but the price proposed was too high and the British Admiralty announced that building a fast submarine with over 20 knots (37 km/h) of surface speed was technically impossible.[1] The two submarines were ordered in De Schelde and Rotterdamse Shipyards, ORP Orzeł (Eagle) and ORP Sęp (Vulture). Design was made in cooperation with a team from Polish Navy, and incorporated some features of the earlier Dutch submarine HNLMS O 16 including the external trainable mount. The hull was entirely welded, and all controls were hydraulically operated. The design was made to fulfill the Polish requirements for a multi-purpose vessel, to be used both in the shallow waters of the Baltic Sea and in the high seas. They were among the most modern submersibles in the Allied fleets at the outbreak of World War II. Their speed was 19.5 knots (36 km/h). This class of submarine was the basis for next Dutch O 19-class submarines.[2]

Two further submarines based upon the plans of the Orzeł class were ordered from France in 1938 and their construction began in 1939, but because of the outbreak of war, they were never completed.[3]

Service history
105 mm deck gun from ORP Sęp, on display at Museum of Polish Military Technology

Orzeł was ordered in 1935 and commissioned in February 1939. On 14 September 1939 Orzeł and Wilk (Wolf) were ordered to make for British ports. Wilk arrived on 20 September 1939 and Orzeł arrived on 14 October 1939 (after an adventurous voyage with no charts). On 8 April 1940 Orzeł sank two large troop transports at the start of the German invasion of Norway. Orzeł was lost with all hands due to unknown reasons while on patrol in North Sea. Orzeł's loss is one of the biggest mysteries in Polish naval history.

Boats in class

There were two boats of the Orzeł class built. Two more were ordered from France, but never completed.

Name Builder Launched Fate[4]
Orzeł
("eagle")		De Schelde, Vlissingen15 January 1938Missing 8 June 1940
Sęp
("vulture")		RDM, Rotterdam17 October 1938Interned Sept. 1939, stricken 1970

References
Citations
  1. MDK 2 - Okręt Lublin
  2. Fontenoy, Paul E. (2007). Submarines: An Illustrated History of Their Impact (Weapons and Warfare). ABC CLIO. p. 267. ISBN 978-1851095636.
  3. Stoker, Donald J. (2003). Britain, France and the Naval Arms Trade in the Baltic, 1919 -1939 : Grand Strategy and Failure. Frank Cass, London. ISBN 0-203-51964-7.
  4. Conway p.350
References
  • R Gardiner, R Chesnau (1980) Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, Conway Maritime Press ISBN 0 85177 146 7
  • Jackson, Robert. Submarines of the World. Barnes and Noble Books, New York.
  • Fontenoy, Paul E. (2007). Submarines: An Illustrated History of Their Impact (Weapons and Warfare). ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-85109-563-6.


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