Polish Navy destroyer
ORP
Piorun
was an
N-class
destroyer
operated by the
Polish Navy
in
World War II
. The word
piorun
is
Polish
for "
Thunderbolt
". Ordered by the
Royal Navy
in 1939, the ship was laid down as
HMS
Nerissa
before being loaned to the Poles in October 1940 while still under construction.
In May 1941 ORP
Piorun
located the
German battleship
Bismarck
, and drew its fire, while other units of the Royal Navy task force caught up to sink the
Bismarck
.
After World War II,
Piorun
was returned to the Royal Navy and recommissioned as
HMS
Noble
before being scrapped in 1955.
Design
[
edit
]
The eight ships of the N-class were ordered on 15 April 1939. They were a repeat of the J- and K-class destroyers, 16 of which were ordered in 1937.
[1]
[2]
The N-class were 339 feet 6 inches (103.48 m) long
between perpendiculars
and 356 feet 6 inches (108.66 m)
overall
, with a
beam
of 35 feet 8 inches (10.87 m) and a
draught
of 9 feet (2.7 m).
[3]
Displacement
was 1,773 long tons (1,801 t) standard and 2,384 long tons (2,422 t) full load. Two
Admiralty three-drum boilers
fed steam at 300 pounds per square inch (2,100 kPa) and 620 °F (327 °C) to two sets of
Parsons
single-reduction geared-
steam turbines
, rated at 40,000 shaft horsepower (30,000 kW). This gave a design speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph) at trials displacement and 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph) at full load. 491 tons of oil were carried, giving a range of 5,500 nmi (6,300 mi; 10,200 km) at 15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h) and 3,700 nmi (4,300 mi; 6,900 km) at 20 kn (23 mph; 37 km/h).
[4]
As designed, the N-class were to be armed with six 4.7 in (120 mm)
QF Mark XII
guns in three twin mountings, two forward and one aft. These guns could only elevate to an angle of 40 degrees, and so were of limited use in the anti-aircraft role. A short range anti-aircraft armament of a four-barrelled
2-pounder "pom-pom"
anti-aircraft mount and eight
.50 in machine guns
in two quadruple mounts on the bridge wings was to be fitted, while torpedo armament was to be ten 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes in two quintuple mounts.
[5]
Early experience of the vulnerability of destroyers to air attack off Norway and during the
evacuation from Dunkirk
in 1940 resulted in the armament of the N-class being revised during construction. The aft set of torpedo-tubes was removed and replaced by a single 4 in (102 mm)
QF Mark V
anti-aircraft gun,
[6]
while the quadruple .50 in machine guns on the bridge wings were replaced by two single
Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
, with two more Oerlikons abaft the searchlight, while two twin .50 inch machine guns were mounted on the ships'
quarterdeck
.
[7]
History
[
edit
]
The ship was built by
John Brown & Company
of
Clydebank
, Glasgow. She was
laid down
on 26 July 1939,
launched
on 7 May 1940.
[8]
[5]
While initially ordered and launched under the name
Nerissa
, the ship was transferred to the
Polish Navy
in October 1940 and renamed
Piorun
.
[9]
She was completed on 4 November 1940.
[8]
[5]
Piorun
was based in
Great Britain
and commanded by Commander
Eugeniusz Pławski
. Between 13 and 15 March 1941, while undergoing repairs in John Brown's shipyard, she took part in the defence of Clydebank in the
Clydebank Blitz
against
air raids
by the
Luftwaffe
. A memorial to the ship's crew was later erected in Clydebank.
[10]
Bismarck
action
[
edit
]
On 22 May 1941,
Piorun
, with ships of the British
4th Destroyer Flotilla
(
HMS
Cossack
,
HMS
Maori
,
HMS
Sikh
and
HMS
Zulu
), commanded by Captain
Philip Vian
, provided additional escort to troop convoy WS8B en route from
Glasgow
to the
Indian Ocean
. On 25 May, Vian's destroyers (including
Piorun
) were detached from the convoy to join the search for the
German battleship
Bismarck
.
Piorun
took part, along with the British destroyers, in the search for
Bismarck
(she was the first of the destroyers to spot the German ship). She joined in the shadowing of and torpedo attacks on the German battleship the night before
Bismarck
was sunk. Arriving first on the scene with the British Tribal-class destroyer
Maori
,
Piorun
charged at
Bismarck
by herself, while
Maori
manoeuvred for position to fire torpedoes. Alone,
Piorun
exchanged fire with
Bismarck
for an hour, with neither side scoring any hits?although after the third salvo,
Bismarck
missed by only 20 yards (18 m), causing Pławski to pull away.
According to one report (detailed at the
Auschwitz I
exhibition,
O?wi?cim
,
Poland
), Pławski transmitted the message "I am a Pole" before commencing fire on
Bismarck
; other sources say the signal to commence fire was
"Trzy salwy na cze?? Polski"
("Three salvoes in honour of Poland").
[11]
[12]
This manoeuvre and the subsequent withdrawal caused
Piorun
to lose contact with
Bismarck
.
Another often repeated story, possibly an embellishment, mentions that the
Piorun
constantly signaled "I am a Pole" using her signal lights for the entirety of the engagement.
[
citation needed
]
It does remain possible, perhaps even likely, due to the fact that the signalman would be posted at the light during Battle Stations.
Piorun
was very low on fuel, so at 05:00 she was ordered home before she had used her torpedoes. Pławski was reluctant to leave the area and ignored Vian's order for an hour before returning to the United Kingdom.
[13]
Subsequent activity
[
edit
]
Piorun
subsequently operated in the Mediterranean, taking part in
Operation Halberd
, one of the
Malta convoys
and
Operation Husky
, the invasion of Sicily. In 1944 she was transferred to the
Home Fleet
. On 8 June 1944, the Piorun took part in the
Battle of Ushant
against Kriegsmarine destroyers.
Piorun
took part in
Operation Deadlight
, and took part in the sinking of the captured
German Type XXI submarines
U-2329
,
U-2334
,
U-2335
,
U-2337
,
U-2350
and
U-2363
.
She was returned to the Royal Navy in 1946, as HMS
Noble
and scrapped in 1955.
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
English 2001
, p. 127
- ^
Friedman 2008
, pp. 326?327
- ^
Whitley 2000
, p. 117
- ^
Lenton 1970
, p. 136
- ^
a
b
c
Whitley 2000
, pp. 117?118
- ^
Friedman 2008
, pp. 48, 94
- ^
Lenton 1970
, p. 135
- ^
a
b
English 2001
, p. 129
- ^
Whitley 2000
, p. 220
- ^
MacPhail, I.M.M.
The Clydebank Blitz
- ^
Jerzy Pertek,
Wielkie dni małej floty
(Great Days of a Small Fleet), Wydawnictwo Pozna?skie, 1990.
- ^
Damski, Z.
Atakuje was Piorun
, Wydawnictwo MON, 1981.
- ^
Pursuit: the Sinking of the
Bismarck
. UK: Book Club Associates. 1975. p. 175.
References
[
edit
]
- Colledge, J. J.
; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969].
Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy
(Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing.
ISBN
978-1-86176-281-8
.
- English, John (2001).
Afridi to Nizam: British Fleet Destroyers 1937?43
. Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society.
ISBN
0-905617-64-9
.
- Friedman, Norman (2006).
British Destroyers & Frigates: The Second World War and After
. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.
ISBN
1-86176-137-6
.
- Friedman, Norman
(2008).
British Destroyers and Frigates: The Second World War and After
. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing.
ISBN
978-1-84832-015-4
.
- Hodges, Peter; Friedman, Norman (1979).
Destroyer Weapons of World War 2
. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press.
ISBN
978-0-85177-137-3
.
- Langtree, Charles (2002).
The Kelly's: British J, K, and N Class Destroyers of World War II
. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.
ISBN
1-55750-422-9
.
- Lenton, H. T. (1998).
British & Empire Warships of the Second World War
. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.
ISBN
1-55750-048-7
.
- Lenton, H.T.
(1970).
Navies of the Second World War: British Fleet & Escort Destroyers Volume One
. London: Macdonald & Co.
ISBN
0-356-02950-6
.
- March, Edgar J. (1966).
British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892?1953; Drawn by Admiralty Permission From Official Records & Returns, Ships' Covers & Building Plans
. London: Seeley Service.
OCLC
164893555
.
- Rohwer, Jurgen (2005).
Chronology of the War at Sea 1939?1945: The Naval History of World War Two
(Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.
ISBN
1-59114-119-2
.
- Whitley, M. J. (1988).
Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia
. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.
ISBN
0-87021-326-1
.
- Whitley, M. J. (2000).
Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia
. London: Cassell & Co.
ISBN
1-85409-521-8
.