Packed with illustrations, this is a study of the Polish warships such
as the Grom-class destroyers that were developed and built in the
interwar years.
Newly independent Poland's naval force was created in 1920, initially
with six ex-German torpedo boats. However, after German-Soviet exercises
off the Polish coast in 1924, funding for warships was hastily
allocated. Two destroyers and three submarines were built in France but,
disappointed with their quality, Poland ordered new ships, mostly from
British and Dutch shipyards.
By summer 1939, the Polish Navy comprised four destroyers, five
submarines, one minelayer, six minesweepers and a handful of lesser
ships. Although the Grom-class destroyers were two of the fastest and
best-armed destroyers of the war, the tiny Polish fleet would stand
little chance against the Kriegsmarine, and on 30 August three
destroyers were dispatched to Britain, followed by two submarines that
escaped internment. The remaining Polish surface fleet was sunk by 3
September.
In exile, the Polish Navy operated not only their own ships, but also
Royal Navy warships, including a cruiser, destroyers, submarines and
motor torpedo boats which fought alongside the Allies in the Battle of
the Atlantic, the Arctic Convoys, and at the Normandy landings. This
detailed account not only describes the Polish Navy's contribution to
the Allied war effort but also the episode of the Polish destroyer
Piorun which took on the Bismarck in a lone gun duel leading to the
sinking of the great German battleship.
