ORP Sęp (1939)

**Sęp**
Ship data
flag	Poland
Ship type	Submarine
class	Orzeł class
Shipyard	Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij , Rotterdam
Order	January 29, 1936
Keel laying	November 1936
Launch	October 17, 1938
Commissioning	April 1939 (unofficial)
Whereabouts	Wrecked in 1972
Ship dimensions and crew
length	84.0 m ( Lüa )
width	6.7 m
Draft	Max. 4.17 m
displacement	above water: 1,110 ts; under water: 1,473 ts ; maximum: 1,650 ts
crew	60 men
Machine system
machine	Diesel engine , electric motor (1,100 PS / 809 kW)
Machine ; performance	4,740 PS (3,486 kW)
Mission data submarine
Duration of use	90 days
Dive time	50 s
Diving depth, normal	80 m
Immersion depth, max.	100 m
Top ; speed ; submerged	9.0 kn (17 km / h)
Top ; speed ; surfaced	19.4 kn (36 km / h)
Armament
	1 × deck gun 105 mm Bofors; 2 × Flak 40 mm Bofors ; 12 × torpedo tube ⌀ 533 mm;

ORP Sęp was a submarine used by the Polish Navy during World War II and the decades that followed. The Sęp (Eng. "Vulture") was built in the Netherlands and belonged to the Orzeł class .

history

The construction contract was awarded on January 29, 1936 by the Polish Navy to Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij N.V. awarded in Rotterdam . Between 1936 and 1939, Sęp was built at the same time as its sister ship Orzeł , which was launched at Koninklijke Maatschappij De Schelde in Vlissingen . The construction costs for the two Orzeł- class boats amounted to over 20 million złoty and were mainly financed by the supply of Polish agricultural products.

The Sęp was completed a little later than that of the sister ship Orzeł . In view of the looming war with the German Reich , the Polish naval command had to fear that the neutral Netherlands would not deliver the boat. There were also German acts of sabotage, which slowed down production. Therefore, during a test drive in April 1939, the boat was "hijacked" by hand, and two Dutch engineers were arrested. The later commander of the Orzeł Jan Grudziński was instrumental in the coup. The boat was escorted by the destroyer Burza and reached Gdynia on April 18th.

At the beginning of the war on September 1, 1939, the boat ran out of action. On September 2, the German destroyer Friedrich Ihn was attacked unsuccessfully with a torpedo. The destroyer counterattacked and caused minor damage to the submarine.

On September 3, the Sęp suffered severe machine damage as a result of German attacks. Further attacks followed on September 4th. On September 8, the submarine was ordered off the coast of Gotland . Badly damaged, the boat reached neutral Sweden on September 16 , where it was interned .

After the war ended, the Sęp returned to Poland on October 24, 1945. By December 1946, the boat was repaired and rebuilt in the dock. The 105 mm deck gun was replaced by a Soviet 100 mm gun, which was removed in 1958. In early 1949, Sęp received the tactical number B-11, which was changed to P-55 in 1955. The submarine was used as a backdrop for the production of the Polish film Unterseeboot Orzel in 1958 .

The Sęp was used as a training boat until it was decommissioned on September 15, 1969 . It was scrapped in 1971/1972.

Commanders

komandor podporucznik Władysław Salamon (1938–1945)
komandor podporucznik Bolesław Romanowski
captain marynarki Bronisław Szul
captain marynarki Henryk Pietraszkiewicz
porucznik marynarki Marian Załoga
porucznik marynarki Jerzy Missima
porucznik marynarki Ryszard Płużyczka
captain marynarki Michał Zawadzki
captain marynarki Lucjan Matysiak

literature

Erminio Bagnasco: Submarines in World War II. Motorbuchverlag, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-613-01252-9 .

Web links

Commons : Sęp - collection of images, videos and audio files

Sęp in uboat.net ( engl. )
Sęp at polishnavy.pl (engl.)
www.dutchsubmarines.com ( Submarines built in the Netherlands)

Footnotes

^ "ORP" is the abbreviation for "Okręt Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej" and the name prefix of Polish ships. ORP means "Warship of the Republic of Poland".
↑ "komandor podporucznik" corresponds to lieutenant commander .
↑ "kapitan marynarki" is comparable to first lieutenant at sea .
↑ "porucznik marynarki" is comparable to first lieutenant at sea .

[1] "ORP" is the abbreviation for "Okręt Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej" and the name prefix of Polish ships. ORP means "Warship of the Republic of Poland".

[2] "komandor podporucznik" corresponds to lieutenant commander .

[3] "kapitan marynarki" is comparable to first lieutenant at sea .

[4] "porucznik marynarki" is comparable to first lieutenant at sea .