ORP Wilk

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ORP (Okręt Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej - "Polish Republic Naval Ship") Wilk was a French-built mine-laying submarine which saw service in the Polish Navy from 1931 to 1951. Her name meant "Wolf" in Polish.

She was laid down in 1927 and launched 12 April 1929. She was commissioned into the Polish Navy in 1931.

The Wilk's design was based on the French Naval class Pierre Chailey. She was built at Chantiers Augustine Normand shipyard at Le Havre in France. She was the first Polish submarine which successfully escaped from the Baltic Sea to Great Britain during World War II.

On June 20, 1940, the ORP Wilk rammed an unidentified German U-boat. The U-boat was U-22, which probably sank as the result of the collision.

Due to her poor mechanical shape, ORP Wilk was decommissioned as a reserve submarine on April 2, 1942.

In 1951, ORP Wilk was decommissioned from Polish Navy, then towed to Poland and scrapped.

[edit] General characteristics

• Displacement:
  • 980 tons (surfaced)
  • 1,250 tons (submerged)
• Length: 78.5 m
• Beam: 5.9 m
• Draft: 4.2 m
• Speed
  • 14.5 knots (27 km/h) surface
  • 9.5 knots (18 km/h) submerged
• Complement: 46 to 54
• Propulsion: Diesel-Vickers diesel and electric engines
  • Diesel 1,800 horsepower (1.3 megawatts)
  • Electric 1,200 horsepower (895 kilowatts)
• Range
  • 3,500 nautical miles (6,480 km) at 10 knots
  • 100 nautical miles (185 km) at 5 knots submerged
• Armament at September 1, 1939
  • 1 x 100 mm deck gun
  • 2 x the heaviest anti-aircraft machine guns
  • 4 x aft 550 mm torpedo tubs
  • 2 x stern 550 retractable torpedo tubes
  • 10 x 550 mm torpedoes
  • 38 mines
• Commanding officer September 1, 1939
  • Captain Boguslaw Krawczyk