ORP Ślązak (L26)

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This article is about a Polish World War II destroyer. For other ships of that name, see ORP Ślązak (disambiguation).

Career (UK)
ORP Ślązak returning home after the Dieppe Raid
Name:	HMS Bedale
Career (Poland)
Name:	ORP Ślązak (L26)
Commissioned:	1942-04-17
Decommissioned:	1946-09-28
Career (India)
Name:	INS Godavari (D92)
Acquired:	April 1959
Commissioned:	1953-04-27
Out of service:	1976, after running ashore in the Maldives
Fate:	scrapped in 1979
General characteristics
Displacement:	1050 tons standard 1490 tons full load
Length:	85.3 m
Beam:	9.6 m
Draught:	2.4/3.9 m
Speed:	27 knots (50 km/h)
Range:	2,500 nautical miles (4,600 km) at 20 knots (40 km/h) 3,700 nautical miles (6,900 km) at 14 knots (26 km/h)
Complement:	160
Armament:	6 x 102 mm QF 4 inch Mk XVI naval guns (3 twin turrets) 4 x 40 mm pom-pom cannons 2 to 4 20 mm Anti Aircraft cannons 2 depth charge launchers 4 depth charge throwers
Notes:	powered by 2 shaft steam turbines 19,000 hp (14,200 kW)

Wounded soldiers evacuated after the Dieppe Raid unloaded from ORP Ślązak

The ORP Ślązak (Polish for Silesian) was a World War II Hunt II-class destroyer escort. Initially laid down in 1940 for the Royal Navy as HMS Bedale, in 1942 she was commissioned by the Polish Navy.

During the World War II she took part in 32 patrols and escorted 104 convoys. ORP Ślązak is best known for her role in the Dieppe Raid. As a convoy escort her crew shot five enemy aircraft (and possibly three more). After the war she was transferred back to the Royal Navy and then sold to India (as INS Godavari) in the 1950s. She served with the Indian Navy until 1976 when she was damaged beyond repair and scrapped in 1979.