ORP Jaskółka
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Ordered | |
| Laid down | |
| Launched: | |
| Commissioned | |
| Decommissioned | {{{decommissioned}}} |
| Fate | sunk 15th Sept, 1939 |
| Current position | |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 183 tons tons |
| Length | 48m |
| Beam | 5.5m |
| Draft | 2.4m |
| Speed | 16 knots ( km/h) |
| Complement | 30 |
| Armament | 1x3in(76mm) 2xAA machine guns 20xmines |
ORP Jaskółka was one in a series of Pre-World War II Polish minelayers. Other minelayers include, the Rybitwa, Czapla, Mewa, Czajką, and Żuraw — all of which were named after birds. These minelayers were built in the naval docks in Gdynia.
On September 1, 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, "Mewa" was damaged. On the night of the 12th, "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 the 15th, "Jaskółka" was sunk after it was hit by a German bomb in the port of Jastarnia.
Four of the class were captured and used by the Germans for odd jobs throughout the rest of the war. They were re-captured in 1945 at Lubeck but were free a year later. They rejoined the Polish Navy, in which they served until the sixties.
