Lightning from the sea | The ORP Błyskawica

ORP Błyskawica (Lightning) is a Grom-class destroyer that served in the Polish Navy during WW2. It still stands as a museum ship in Gdynia, & is the oldest preserved destroyer in the world.

At the time of their construction in the mid-1930s, Poland’s 2 Grom-class destroyers were amongst the fastest & most heavily armed destroyers to be built. 114m long, Błyskawica was armed with 7 120mm guns, 2 twin anti-aircraft guns, 8 machine guns, 2 depth-charge chutes with 40 depth charges, & capacity to lay up to 44 mines.

2 days before the war, Błyskawica withdrew, along with fellow destroyers Grom & Burza, from the Baltic Sea to Scotland in accordance with the ‘Peking Plan’ agreed upon with the British, which would see them fight alongside the Royal Navy in the event of war with Germany.

This they certainly did. In May 1940 Błyskawica took part in the Norwegian campaign, shelling German positions & downing multiple enemy aircraft. Later that month she participated in the British evacuation at Dunkirk.

Błyskawica went on to carry out countless convoy & patrol duties, engaging U-boats & Luftwaffe across the Atlantic & Mediterranean. The ship also escorted troop transports, notably RMS Queen Mary, being one of the few ships that could keep up with the liner. In 1944, together with her sister destroyer Piorun, she took part in the successful Battle of Ushant against German destroyers.

Błyskawica’s greatest moment came on the night of 4 May 1942, when 160 Luftwaffe bombers were dispatched to annihilate the ship-building town of Cowes. Błyskawica was undergoing an emergency refit there & on the night of the raid, fearlessly rushed out of the harbour into the River Medina to fire round after round at the enemy, forcing the bombers to stay so high they were unable to accurately target the town. Afterwards, Błyskawica’s crew joined local emergency services to assist in digging & firefighting.

By the end of the war, Błyskawica had clocked up 146,000 nautical miles. In 2004 an area of Cowes was named Francki Place in honour of her commander, & in 2012 Błyskawica returned to the town to celebrate the 70th anniversary of her valiant defence.