700-08 ORP KRAKÓW AND ORP WILNO - TWO POLISH RIVER MONITORS

ORP Krakow was a Polish river monitor from the interwar period and World War II. The unit was commissioned in October 1926. The total length of the ship at the time of launching was 35 meters and 6 meters wide. The displacement reached approx. 70 tons. The armament in the late 1930s consisted of 3 100mm howitzers and 3 7.92mm machine guns. ORP Kraków was designed after the launch of B-type monitors (also known as Gdańsk monitors) and was based on the experience gained from their operation. At the same time, preliminary projects assumed the creation of a smaller unit - especially in terms of displacement. Finally, a unit was created, practically devoid of superstructures, with a specific step amidships and a very low side in the stern part. After entering the service of ORP Kraków, in 1927 he was assigned to the Pinsk Flotilla, in which he served until 1939. During the September campaign, he operated in Pripyat, but did not take an active part in the fighting. He was self-sunk by the crew on September 21, 1939. The wreckage of ORP Kraków, however, was relatively quickly lifted from the bottom by the Russians, and then it was renovated and refitted. Initially - under the name "Smolensk" - he served in the Dnieper Flotilla, but from 1940 he was assigned to the Soviet Pinsk Flotilla. After active participation in the first weeks of the operation, Barbarossa was self-sunk by the crew for the second time - this time on September 12, 1941.