7039 POLISH DESTROYER PIORUN 1942-1943

ORP Piorun (original name: HMS Nerissa) was a British and later Polish destroyer from the Second World War. The keel for this unit was laid in December 1939, and the launch took place in May 1940. The total length of the ship at the time of launching was 108.7 meters and a width of 10.95 meters. Full displacement reached approx. 2,400 tons, and the maximum speed was approx. 35-36 knots. The armament included 6 120mm universal guns in three twin turrets, a single 102mm cannon, and 4 40mm cannons. ORP Piorun was one of the eight N-class destroyers, which was very similar to the J and K types. The units of this type were built to complement the Tribal-class destroyers. Compared to them, it was a bit smaller and had a slightly worse seafaring performance, but they had better balanced weapons and were cheaper to produce. The unit entered service in the Royal Navy under the name of HMS Nerissa in 1940, but in November of the same year it was transferred to the Polish Navy in exchange for ORP "Grom" lost at Narvik. Under the Polish flag (already as ORP Piorun), the ship served mainly in the cover of Atlantic convoys - in total, she escorted 81 convoys! In May 1941, he also took part in the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck. The ship also took part in the Allied landings in Sicily in July 1943 (Operation Husky) and in the Normandy landings in June 1944. After World War II, the unit was returned to the Royal Navy and remained in service until 1955 under the name HMS Noble.