Warships Military
ORP Błyskawica (Lightning) is a Grom-class destroyer which served in the Polish Navy during World War II. It is the only Polish Navy ship to have been decorated with the Virtuti Militari, Poland's highest military order for gallantry, and in 2012 was given the Pro Memoria Medal. Błyskawica is preserved as a museum ship in Gdynia and is the oldest preserved destroyer in the world.
She was the second of two Grom (Thunderbolt)-class destroyers built for the Polish Navy by J. Samuel White, of Cowes, in 1935–37. The Grom class were two of the most heavily armed and fastest destroyers in World War II.
In 1934 the British shipbuilder J. Samuel White won a competition to design and build large destroyers for the Polish Navy, beating a proposal from fellow British shipbuilder Swan Hunter. (A design by the French shipyard Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire had been rejected in 1933). An order for two destroyers of the Grom class was placed on 29 March 1935.
At the turn of the 1920s and 1930s, the Naval Directorate (KMW) made efforts to acquire another, after the "Wicher" and "Burza", destroyers. On November 24, 1932, the head of the KMW Rear Admiral Jerzy Świrski obtained, after a personal conversation with Marshal Piłsudski, his oral consent to expand the existing fleet. As a result, in May 1933, a tender for the supply of two destroyers was issued among the French shipyards, and after its fiasco, the next in January 1934 among the Swedish shipyards, also failed in disagreement. During this time, tactical and technical assumptions for the planned ships crystallised, including, among others, the use of the artillery department of the Bofors section, 120 mm, as the main artillery. More details
She was the second of two Grom (Thunderbolt)-class destroyers built for the Polish Navy by J. Samuel White, of Cowes, in 1935–37. The Grom class were two of the most heavily armed and fastest destroyers in World War II.In 1934 the British shipbuilder J. Samuel White won a competition to design and build large destroyers for the Polish Navy, beating a proposal from fellow British shipbuilder Swan Hunter. (A design by the French shipyard Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire had been rejected in 1933). An order for two destroyers of the Grom class was placed on 29 March 1935.
At the turn of the 1920s and 1930s, the Naval Directorate (KMW) made efforts to acquire another, after the "Wicher" and "Burza", destroyers. On November 24, 1932, the head of the KMW Rear Admiral Jerzy Świrski obtained, after a personal conversation with Marshal Piłsudski, his oral consent to expand the existing fleet. As a result, in May 1933, a tender for the supply of two destroyers was issued among the French shipyards, and after its fiasco, the next in January 1934 among the Swedish shipyards, also failed in disagreement. During this time, tactical and technical assumptions for the planned ships crystallised, including, among others, the use of the artillery department of the Bofors section, 120 mm, as the main artillery. More details
