Grupa ścigaczy Polskiej Marynarki Wojennej na wodach brytyjskich (1940-1945)

Kondracki, Tadeusz (1956– )

doi:978-83-66911-44-4

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Grupa ścigaczy Polskiej Marynarki Wojennej na wodach brytyjskich (1940-1945)

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Tytuł: Grupa ścigaczy Polskiej Marynarki Wojennej na wodach brytyjskich (1940-1945)

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The genesis of the motor torpedo boats in the Polish Navy dates back to 1937. Aftera collection for submarines had been completed among the public (as part of the Maritime Defence Fund), it was decided to undertake fundraising to construct these smallest combat vessels. The increase in contributions to the Defence Fund made the Naval Management lodge a tender for building the first two vessels. The successful bidder was the British company J. Samuel White at Cowes on the Isle of Wight. The contract, signed in London in January 1939, set the delivery date for both ships in March 1940. At the outbreak of war in September 1939, the construction of the torpedo boats at Cowes was halted. It was only through the efforts of the Polish naval attaché in London that permission was given to man both vessels with Polish crews and for them to become part of the Polish fleet, fighting alongside the Royal Navy. On 4 December 1939, the first oƣcers scheduled (two each) to man both ships were sent to the Royal Navy for training. The necessary number of non-commissioned officers and seamen were also trained. At the final stage of construction, there was a change to the original plans. It was decided to finish one of the vessels not as a motor torpedo boat (MTB) but as a motor gunboat (MGB). It was due to the threat posed by the German diesel-powered torpedo boats called S-boote (Schnellboote, 'fast boats') in the waters of the English Channel in 1940. As a result of an agreement between the Polish Naval Command and the British Admiralty, the Poles took over only one of the two 35-ton motor boats built at Cowes (later S-1, with 'Sʼ being the first letter of the Polish word Ścigacz, meaning pursuer/destroyer). The second ship (taken over by the Royal Navy) was exchanged for two smaller 25-ton MGBs of Vosper type, originally built for Norway at the British Power Boat (BPB) Company Ltd works in Hythe (later S-2 and S-3). The increase in the planned number of ships necessitated the preparation of additional crew. S-2 was accepted by a Royal Navy commission on 18 July 1940. Its incorporation into the Polish Navy took place on 19 July. The twin S-3 was received by the British commission on 19 July, and was incorporated into the Polish Navy on 28 July 1940. The completion of the larger S-1 was delayed until the autumn of 1940. On 14 August 1940, S-2 and S-3 began combat operations from their base in Fowey (Cornwall). During the Battle of Britain, S-2 shot down a German Heinkel 111 bomber over Portsmouth. Both MGBs proceeded to the Caletan Strait (Dover Strait) area at the beginning of September. Their primary mission was to protect their convoys from German attacks (or attacks on enemy convoys) and to offensively patrol the waters adjacent to enemy-controlled ports. [...] In total, between 1940 and 1945, about 200 sailors (including 32–33 officers) served in the Group of the Power Boats in the UK. The boats accounted for 456 (i.e. about 40 per cent) of all Polish Navy patrols and operations during the Second World War.