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Orzeł-class submarine

Dutch series of submarines

Class overview
Name	Orzeł class(Eagle Class)
Built	1930s–
General characteristics
Type	Submarine
Displacement	1100 tons surfaced, 1473 tons submerged
Length	84 m (276 ft)
Height	6.7 m (22 ft)
Draft	4 m (13 ft)
Propulsion	Twin screws with diesel/electric motors
Range	7,169 nmi (13,277 km; 8,250 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Crew	56
Armament	12 550mm (21.7 inch) torpedo tubes (4 bow 4 stern 2x2 trainable mounts), One 105mm (4 inch) deck gun, One twin retractable 40mm L/60 Bofors gun

The Orzeł class was a short series of submarines built in Dutch shipyards for the Polish Navy in the 1930s. Four submarines were planned but only two were completed. They saw service during World War II.

Initially the design was to be built in the United Kingdom, but the price proposed was too high and the British Admiralty announced that building a fast submarine with over 20 knots (37 km/h) of surface speed was technically impossible.^[1] The two submarines were ordered in De Schelde and Rotterdamse Shipyards, ORP Orzeł (Eagle) and ORP Sęp (Vulture). Design was made in cooperation with a team from Polish Navy, and incorporated some features of the earlier Dutch submarine HNLMS O 16 including the external trainable mount. The hull was entirely welded, and all controls were hydraulically operated. The design was made to fulfill the Polish requirements for a multi-purpose vessel, to be used both in the shallow waters of the Baltic Sea and in the high seas. They were among the most modern submersibles in the Allied fleets at the outbreak of World War II. Their speed was 19.5 knots (36 km/h). This class of submarine was the basis for next Dutch O 19-class submarines.^[2]

Two further submarines based upon the plans of the Orzeł class were ordered from France in 1938 and their construction began in 1939, but because of the outbreak of war, they were never completed.^[3]

Orzeł was ordered in 1935 and commissioned in February 1939. After the outbreak of World War II, on 14 September 1939 Orzeł and Wilk (Wolf) were ordered to make for British ports. Wilk arrived in Britain on 20 September 1939. Orzeł arrived on 14 October 1939, after escaping from internment in neutral Estonia (the Orzeł incident) and an adventurous voyage with no charts. On 8 April 1940 Orzeł sank the troopship Rio de Janeiro at the start of the German invasion of Norway. Orzeł was lost with all hands due to unknown reasons while on patrol in North Sea. Orzeł's loss is one of the biggest mysteries in Polish naval history.

There were two boats of the Orzeł class built. Two more were ordered from France, but never completed.

Citations

References

• Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger, eds. (1980). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
• Jackson, Robert. Submarines of the World. Barnes and Noble Books, New York.
• Fontenoy, Paul E. (2007). Submarines: An Illustrated History of Their Impact (Weapons and Warfare). ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-85109-563-6.

• Orzeł class at uboat.net

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