02-2023 ORP WICHER 1939

ORP Wicher was a Polish destroyer (destroyer) from the interwar period and the beginning of World War II. The keel for this unit was laid in February 1927, the launch took place in July 1928, and the entry into service in the Polish Navy took place in 1930. The length of the ship was 107 meters and a width of 10.5 meters. The displacement was around 1,900 tons and the maximum speed was around 31 knots. The armament - at the time of launching - included: 4 130 mm guns, 2 40 mm anti-aircraft guns and 6 550 mm torpedo tubes. ORP Wicher was the lead ship of the destroyer class of the same name. The design of these destroyers was based on the plans of the French Bourrasque type units. ORP Wicher, although not a very modern ship when it entered service, undoubtedly constituted a new quality in the Polish Navy. The unit, however, was not without its drawbacks. First of all, it was relatively slow, it also showed some stability problems and did not have a very large swim range. In the course of the service, efforts were made to correct these shortcomings. ORP Wicher was built at the Chantiers Naval Francais shipyard in Blainville-sur-Orne, France. At the time of entry, the destroyer became the flagship of the Torpedo Squadron, and from 1932 - after entering ORP Burza service - he created the Kontrtorpedowow Squadron with it. In the interwar period, ORP Wicher made numerous courtesy visits, especially in the Baltic Sea basin, but in 1931 Marshal Józef Piłsudski returned to Poland from his holidays in Madeira. The unit took part in the initial phase of the September campaign and the defense of the Coast, but on September 3, 1939, it was sunk as a result of an air raid.