ORP Jaskółka

ORP Jaskółka was the lead ship of her class of minelayers in the Polish Navy at the outset of World War II. Jaskółka was sunk during the Nazi invasion of 1939.

History
Poland
Name:	ORP Jaskółka
Launched:	11 September 1934
Commissioned:	27 August 1935
Fate:	Sunk, 15 September 1939
General characteristics
Class and type:	Jaskółka-class minesweeper
Displacement:	183 tons
Length:	48 m (157 ft 6 in)
Beam:	5.5 m (18 ft 1 in)
Draft:	2.4 m (7 ft 10 in)
Speed:	16–18 knots (18–21 mph; 30–33 km/h)
Complement:	30
Armament:	1 × 3 in (76 mm) 2 × anti-aircraft guns 20 × mines

History

Jaskółka was built at Gdynia; launched 11 September 1934; and commissioned 27 August 1935.[1]

On 1 September 1939, Jaskółka under the command of captain Tadeusz Borysiewicz, along with other minelayers, engaged in combat with German aircraft on their way to execute a bombing raid of the Hel Peninsula, in what became known as the Battle of the Gdańsk Bay. During the battle, sister ship Mewa was damaged. On the night of 12 September, Jaskółka and Czajka fired upon German positions. During the next two days, the same ships installed mines around the Hel peninsula to keep German ships from bombarding the defenders. On 14 September, Jaskółka was sunk after it was hit by a German bomb in the port of Jastarnia.[2]

References

1. Piaskowski, Stanisław M. Okręty Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej 1920-1946. p. 43.
2. Twardowski, Marek. "Pod trzema banderami: Dzieje trałowców typu Jaskółka". Morza, Statki i Okręty. 6/1999. ISSN 1426-529X.

Further reading

• Dyskant, Józef Wiesław (2000). Polska Marynarka Wojenna w 1939 roku cz. 1: W przededniu wojny. Gdańsk. ISBN 83-7237-044-3.
• Piaskowski, Stanisław M. (1996). Okręty Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej 1920-1946. Warszawa. ISBN 83-900217-2-2.