ORP NIEUCHWYTNY

ORP Elusive was a Polish heavy river cutter from the interwar period, World War II and the post-war period. The keel for this unit was laid in 1932, and the launch took place in 1934. The displacement of the unit reached 40 tons. The total length of the ship at the time of launching was 23 meters and a width of 4 meters. The armament at the time of launch consisted of a single 40mm Vickers cannon, but it was later changed. The ORP Elusive was designed and launched as an intermediate unit between river monitors and small vessels such as the gunboat. Commander Witold Zajączkowski was responsible for the design of the ship, called the "heavy armed cutter". After introducing structural changes, already under construction, the unit entered service and in 1934 was assigned to the Pinsk Flotilla, in which it served until March 1939. In the period from September 2 to 10, 1939, the unit actively fought against the German aggression, but on September 10, due to the almost complete immobilization of the ship, it was self-sunk by the crew. Shortly after the end of the September campaign, the wreckage of ORP Nieuchłatny was lifted from the bottom by Niemcow, and then it underwent renovation and retooling. It was also renamed Pioneer. He remained in German service until January 1945, when he was self-sunk for the second time. It is worth adding that under the German flag, the unit indirectly participated in the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. After the end of World War II (in 1947), the cutter was excavated for the second time and renovated. He remained in service until 1957.