700-31 POLISH MINELAYER ORP JASKÓŁKA

ORP Jaskółka was a Polish minesweeper from the interwar period and World War II. The keel for this unit was laid in 1933, and the launch took place in September 1934. The unit was commissioned in August 1935. The total length of the ship at the time of launching was 45 meters and 5.5 meters wide. Standard displacement was around 180 tons and the maximum speed was around 18 knots. The armament consisted of 1 75mm gun, 2 7.92mm machine guns, 20 naval mines and 20 depth charges. ORP Jaskółka was the first ship designed from scratch and built by the Polish shipyard in the Second Polish Republic. It was the first of the six Swallow-type minesweepers, commonly known as "birds", that formed the Minowców Division. Units of this type were created primarily to replace the FM-type ships in the line, but also to relieve the ORP Generał Haller and ORP Komendant Piłsudski gunboats in training tasks. ORP Jaskółka took part in the September campaign under the command of Capt. Mar. Tadeusz Borysewicz. On September 1, 1939, it took part in the Battle of Gdańsk Bay, and then conducted patrol and mine operations. It was sunk as a result of a German air raid on September 14, 1939.