Tracing Polish wartime navy legend

Kyt · Aug 1, 2008

Polskie Radio dla zagranicy - Tracing Polish wartime navy legend

An expedition of divers, maritime historians and scientists has set out from the port of Gdynia to search for the legendary Polish Navy submarine Orzel, or The Eagle, which went missing in the North Sea during the Second World War.

Slawek Szefs reports

The expedition members will attempt to locate the place where the ship might have sunk. Several possibilities must be checked as there have been various hypotheses concerning the circumstances of Orzel's disappearance in North Sea waters in the final days of May 1940. Only then will the sophisticated equipment come handy in penetrating the wreck and searching for clues to support any of the speculations about the direct cause of the submarine's sinking. One of the most probable is that the ship ran into a mine field, says Krzysztof Piwnicki, head of the expedition. Another possibility is that Orzel had become the accidental victim of an attack by a friendly ship.

'This theory was put forth by Mr. Przadak who was the bosun from Orzeł. He did not go to sea on what turned out to be its final voyage because he was in hospital at the time. He later passed information that the communications officer from the base ship of the 2nd submarine fleet to which Orzel had been assigned heard a radio exchange stating the Polish sub had been hit by four torpedoes fired from a Dutch submarine.'

Once the wreck is located, and this is something the the expedition members are absolutely certain of, on-the-spot examination is sure to solve many of the mysteries.

Orzel was launched on January 15th 1938 at De Schelde shipyard in Holland and commissioned on February 2nd 1939, just months before the outbreak of World War Two. The submarine was designed by Dutch and Polish engineers. Though modern for its time, it encountered some difficulty in the shallow Baltic waters because of its size.

During the less than one year duty Orzel and its crew managed a fine war service record becoming a legend of the Polish Navy. When Nazi Germany attacked Poland in September 1939 Orzel put up a lonely fight with Kriegsmarine units on the Baltic. Due to the illness of its captain, the ship had to seek shelter in the port of Tallin in neutral Estonia. Placed under arrest due to pressure from Berlin, the crew managed a daring escape. Deprived of navigation equipment Orzel literally drifted towards Rosyth in Scotland where it was subsequently based joining the ranks of British Royal Navy. The incident had been later used by the Soviet Union to justify its annexation of Estonia on claims it had not adhered to principles of neutrality. Serving in the British naval forces Orzel took part in numerous convoys. It is also credited with sinking the clandestine German troop carrier Rio de Janeiro in April 1940 which revealed Nazi plans of invading Norway. On May 23rd Orzel set out on a succesive patrol mission never to return.

What makes the history of the Orzel important for so many generations of Poles? Pofessor Jan Ciechanowski from London, a member of the Anglo-Polish Historical Commission.

'First of all, it testifies to patriotism and saemanship of the Polish submariners. It is a very unique and inspiring story. The Polish Navy was attached to the British Navy at that time. And the services of the Polish Navy were highly valued by the British. Of course, not only Polish sailors and Polish airmen. Obviously the closest cooperation was between Polish and British intelligence services, which lasted from the begining until the end of the war.'

The present expedition is not the first one to search for the legendary Orzel submarine. Several, including a British team, have not been able to spot it on the bottom of the cold North Sea waters. But the Poles are confident this time will be different.

Members of the Polish search expedition have pledged to leave the ship and its crew to rest in the place of their war tragedy. Only the plaque with the submarine's name is to be brought back to Gdynia, Orzel's home naval base. The exact location of the ship will not be made public to protect it from being plundered by adventure seekers.
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Tracing Polish wartime navy legend

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